The In-Between Bookstore Summary, Characters and Themes

The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill is an exploration of identity, memory, and the complexities of healing old wounds.

The story follows Darby, a nearly thirty-year-old grappling with his dissatisfaction and sense of loss in New York City. When he returns to his hometown and reconnects with a mysterious bookstore, Darby finds himself slipping back in time to his teenage years. Through these surreal journeys, he confronts his younger self, unresolved trauma, and fractured relationships—especially with his old friend Michael. This novel blends elements of magical realism with emotional introspection to portray the challenging yet hopeful process of self-discovery and reconciliation.

Summary

Darby is approaching his thirtieth birthday feeling adrift and unsettled. Newly unemployed and uncertain about his future, he decides to leave the chaos of New York City behind and return to Oak Falls, Illinois, where he grew up.

Staying with his mother, Darby finds himself confronting the shadows of his past, especially as he visits the local bookstore where he once worked as a teenager. This ordinary bookstore turns out to be a portal—not just a place filled with books, but a magical threshold that transports Darby back in time to his teenage self in 2009.

These trips to the past become a lifeline for Darby, offering him an extraordinary chance to revisit moments that shaped his identity and emotional scars. Inside the store, he watches his younger self behind the counter and cautiously begins interacting with him, stepping carefully into a world where memory and reality blur.

What unfolds is a delicate, sometimes painful, dialogue between his adult self—burdened with years of regret and self-doubt—and the confused, struggling youth who once stood where he now does.

Central to Darby’s journey is the complicated friendship with Michael, an old friend whose connection with Darby ended abruptly and painfully years ago. Through flashbacks and present-day encounters, the book reveals the layers of tension and unspoken feelings that fractured their bond.

Darby’s visits to the past become attempts to understand what really happened, to make sense of the fallout, and maybe to change its course. Yet the effort to rewrite history comes with deep emotional challenges, as Darby wrestles with internalized shame, confusion about his gender identity, and unresolved transphobia.

The story navigates a delicate emotional landscape, showing how young Darby’s self-doubt and fear mirror the adult Darby’s longing for acceptance and closure. Their interactions are marked by moments of conflict and connection, revealing the intricate dance of self-acceptance and forgiveness.

The bookstore’s time shifts follow a strict logic: the past always moves in parallel with the real world, giving Darby only brief windows to intervene, reflect, and learn.

As Darby grows more desperate to heal the wounds from his youth, he revisits symbolic places like the Falls, where he and Michael once shared meaningful experiences. These physical and emotional landmarks help him reconnect with memories long buried and see the past through new eyes.

Yet changing the past is not simple, and the risk of erasing his present self looms large, creating a tension that drives the narrative forward.

In the latter half of the story, Darby’s present life becomes increasingly tangled with his trips to the past. Friends in the present, like Olivia and Ian, grow concerned as Darby retreats into his memories.

Meanwhile, the presence of Michael in the present forces Darby to confront his true feelings and desires, both for reconciliation and understanding. A haunting parallel emerges between the conversations Darby has with his younger self and those unfolding with Michael in the present, highlighting how choices echo across time.

Ultimately, Darby reaches a breakthrough when he openly shares his emotional truth with his younger self, offering both self-forgiveness and a hopeful message for the future. This moment becomes a catalyst for healing not only the fractured friendship with Michael but also Darby’s own sense of identity and worth.

In the present, Darby and Michael reconnect, sharing candid conversations that reveal long-held misunderstandings and open the door to a renewed relationship based on honesty and compassion.

As the story concludes, Darby leaves Oak Falls with a sense of emotional growth and wholeness he never expected to find. Though the past remains unchangeable, Darby embraces the power to shape his future differently, carrying with him the lessons learned from the magical, bittersweet journey through The In-Between Bookstore.

Characters

Darby

Darby is the central character whose journey drives the narrative. As an adult on the cusp of turning thirty, he is caught in a deep personal and emotional crossroads.

His dissatisfaction with life in New York City and recent unemployment trigger a return to his hometown, Oak Falls, where he confronts unresolved issues from his past. The bookstore becomes a mystical portal that allows him to physically and emotionally revisit his teenage self, offering a unique lens on his identity struggles—especially his gender identity and internalized transphobia.

Darby’s adult self is burdened by guilt, confusion, and longing, especially regarding his fractured friendship and romantic feelings for Michael. His interactions with Young Darby reveal his internal conflict and desire for healing.

Over time, Darby matures through these time-traveling encounters, coming to terms with his emotions, forgiving himself, and ultimately gaining a hopeful outlook toward his future. His character is a compelling mix of vulnerability, introspection, and the courageous pursuit of reconciliation with his past.

Young Darby

Young Darby represents the teenage version of Darby seen during the trips into the past. This character embodies the raw, often painful experiences of adolescence—confusion about identity, shame, and emotional vulnerability.

Young Darby’s internalized shame and the weight of unspoken truths highlight the difficulties he faces in accepting his gender identity and his feelings for Michael. His reactions to adult Darby’s presence range from distrust and frustration to moments of fragile connection, underscoring the tension between past innocence and adult regret.

Young Darby’s struggle is portrayed with authenticity, showing how early emotional wounds form and the lasting impact they have. His character is crucial as a mirror reflecting Darby’s present pain and a catalyst for the emotional breakthroughs that drive the story forward.

Michael

Michael is a pivotal figure connected deeply to both versions of Darby. As a close friend and romantic interest, Michael’s relationship with Darby is fraught with mystery and unresolved tension.

Throughout the story, Michael’s queerness and his own emotional landscape remain somewhat veiled, adding layers to the narrative’s complexity. The fallout between Michael and Darby is a key emotional rift that Darby desperately seeks to understand and possibly mend.

Michael’s character represents both the pain of missed connections and the hope for healing and reconciliation. His presence in the present-day storyline contrasts with the memories of the past, offering a dynamic interplay between what was lost and what might be regained.

Michael’s candid revelations toward the end provide crucial clarity and emotional resolution for Darby, making him integral to the theme of forgiveness and moving forward.

Olivia and Ian

Olivia and Ian are part of Darby’s present-day life and serve as contrasts to the past and the bookstore’s mystical time shifts. They represent the life Darby is currently navigating and the social circles he inhabits outside of his nostalgic and emotional journey.

Their growing tension with Darby highlights the strain his preoccupation with the past places on his current relationships. These characters act as anchors to reality and remind Darby—and the reader—of the complexities of living in the present while being haunted by the past.

Though not as deeply explored as Darby or Michael, Olivia and Ian provide important context for Darby’s emotional isolation and the potential consequences of his internal struggles on his social life.

Themes

Temporal Identity and the Quest for Self-Reconciliation Across Time

The In-Between Bookstore deals with how identity is not a fixed, linear concept but something fluid and fragmented, especially when viewed through the lens of time travel. Darby’s journeys to his past self force him to confront the discontinuities in his identity across different temporal selves.

This theme explores the paradox of being both the observer and participant in one’s own history, challenging the coherence of a singular self. The interplay between Young Darby and Adult Darby reveals the internal conflict between who one was, who one is, and who one might become, emphasizing how unresolved trauma and self-doubt transcend time.

This nuanced dialogue between past and present selves underscores the difficulty of reconciling the person we once were with who we have grown into, particularly when past choices continue to haunt the present psyche.

Psychological Landscape of Internalized Transphobia and the Struggle for Authenticity

Embedded deeply in the narrative is a sensitive and complex examination of internalized transphobia, not merely as a social condition but as an intimate psychological battlefield. Darby’s reflections expose the way internalized stigma can fragment one’s sense of self and sabotage personal relationships.

This theme intricately examines how shame, fear, and societal pressure become internalized narratives that distort self-perception and complicate emotional connections, particularly with significant others like Michael. It delves into how internalized transphobia is not a static experience but a dynamic process involving denial, anger, and gradual acceptance.

With the temporal shifts serving as metaphors for this internal upheaval, the story poignantly illustrates the courage required to confront one’s own prejudices and the ongoing journey toward self-acceptance and authenticity.

Consequences of Emotional Silence and the Ethical Dilemmas of Attempting to Rewrite Past Trauma

The novel probes the morally ambiguous territory of trying to alter the past to heal emotional wounds. Darby’s repeated interventions in the timeline illuminate the fragile and often unpredictable consequences of changing historical emotional events.

This theme interrogates the ethics of interfering with personal history—whether the desire to fix past mistakes can justify the potential erasure or transformation of lived experiences that shape identity. It raises questions about fate, free will, and the permanence of emotional scars.

The tension between the hope for redemption and the risk of negating valuable lessons from suffering is portrayed with subtle complexity. Healing might not come from rewriting the past but from embracing and understanding it.

Symbolic Significance of Space and Memory

The physical settings in the novel—particularly the mystical bookstore and the Falls—function as potent symbols where memory, identity, and time converge. The bookstore is not merely a place of commerce but a liminal space existing outside normal temporal boundaries.

It represents the in-between state of Darby’s emotional and psychological journey. The bookstore becomes a sanctuary where past and present collide, allowing the protagonist to navigate through memory and trauma.

Similarly, the Falls embody the emotional watershed moments in Darby’s life, places charged with both beauty and pain. These spaces are richly layered with metaphorical meaning, representing how physical environments can hold and reflect emotional histories.

They become touchstones for understanding and transformation.

Queer Relationships, Communication Breakdown, and the Long Shadow of Unspoken Truths

The relationship between Darby and Michael is a layered study of queer intimacy fraught with miscommunication and emotional fragmentation. Their dynamic highlights the ways in which silences, misunderstandings, and unspoken feelings can corrode relationships.

This is particularly true within queer contexts where external pressures and internalized fears complicate expression. The narrative reveals how past relational trauma reverberates through time, affecting present connections and emotional availability.

This theme explores the challenges of vulnerability and honesty in queer relationships, the difficulty of articulating identity and desire, and the powerful need for reconciliation—not only with others but within oneself. It also contemplates how truth, once revealed, can be both liberating and painful.

Healing often requires shared acknowledgment of past wounds.