The In-Between Bookstore // A Novel

What would you tell your teen self if you could go back in time? Underhills tender, innovative debut is the smartest take on this trope Ive ever read. . . and for the record, I read it in a single sitting. A beautiful, thoughtful study of how we find our truest selves, and whom we choose to trust with that gift.Jodi Picoult, #1New York Timesbestselling author

A poignant and enchanting novel about a magical bookstore that transports a trans man through time and brings him face-to-face with his teenage self, offering him the chance of a lifetime to examine his life and identity to find a new beginning.

When Darby finds himself unemployed and in need of a fresh start, he moves back to the small Illinois town he left behind. But Oak Falls has changed almost as much as he has since he left.

One thing is familiar: In Between Books, Darbys refuge growing up and eventual high school job. When he walks into the bookstore now, Darby feels an eerie sense of dj vueverything isexactlythe same. Even the newspapers are dated 2009. And behind the register is a teen who looks a lot like Darby did at sixteen. . .who just might give Darby the opportunity to change his own present for the betterif he can figure out how before his connection to the past vanishes forever.

The In-Between Bookstoreis a stunning novel of love, self-discovery, and the choices that come with both, for anyone who has ever wondered what their life might be like if they had the chance to go back and take a bigger, braver risk.

Edward Underhillgrew up in the suburbs of Wisconsin, where he could not walk to anything, so he had to make up his own adventures. He studied music in college, spent several years living in very small apartments in New York, and currently resides in California with his partner and a talkative black cat. He is the author of the young adult novelsAlways the Almost,This Day Changes Everything, andIn Case You Read This, and a book for adults,The In-Between Bookstore. Visit him on Instagram @edwardunderhill.

• Publisher: Avon
• Publish Date: January 6, 2026
• Pages: 272
• Language: English
• Type: Paperback
• EAN/UPC: 9780063357648
• Dimensions: 8.0 X 5.3 X 0.6 inches | .7 pounds
• BISAC Categories: Literary FictionLGBTQ+, Science Fiction, Literary Fiction, Popular Fiction