#edward underhill

[transbookoftheday]

The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill

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, Darby’s refuge growing up and eventual high school job. When he walks into the bookstore now, Darby feels an eerie sense of déjà vu—everything is exactly the 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 better—if he can figure out how before his connection to the past vanishes forever.

The In-Between Bookstore is 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.

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: January 2025

So Not My Type by Dana Hawkins (January 5th) Sophie Black has clawed her way up from coffee runs to project manager at a top Seattle ad agency. She’s laser-focused on her career—until the CEO’s daughter, Ella Northwood, joins the team. Forced to work together on a high-stakes campaign, sparks fly as Sophie’s scrappy determination clashes with Ella’s polished privilege. But there’s more to both…

[the-final-sentence]

And that’s enough.

Edward Underhill, from This Day Changes Everything

[peachesobviously]

Original covers I’ve illustrated for Edward Underhill’s novels, jacket design by the incredible Kerri Resnick (sharing them now because I just realized I’ve never shared them on here)

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

[solreads]

The In-Between Bookstore - Review

Title: The In-Between Bookstore

Author: Edward Underhill

Genre: Fantasy, Contemporary

Audience: Adult

Format: Novel

Representation: Trans man POV character

Summary: Thirty years old, freshly laid off and broke, with the dreams of a New York City life curdling, Darby Madden moves back to his small Illinois hometown only to find himself feeling just as out of place in the home he left behind. The town has changed. It’s being developed; new shops are springing up on the corners; his mother is selling off his childhood home; and his childhood friends have grown into people he doesn’t recognize. Amidst it all, he wanders into the bookshop that was his refuge as a teenager and finds everything exactly as it was, including his pre-transition, high school self behind the register. 

With this door to the past, Darby hopes to discover what went so wrong with his closest friendship and perhaps nudge sixteen-year-old Darby down a happier path. 

Reflections: I was initially drawn in by Darby’s internal conflicts and the complicated relationship with ‘home’ and childhood born of his queerness and transness. His memories of his teenage years were all warped through the lens of this hidden turmoil he had no name for at the time. And it stuck that way; even as an adult far from his hometown, he carried that childhood turmoil. The use of the time travel element as a device to reframe this time of his life, allowing him to see that wider, adult perspective, hooked me. However, I wasn’t fully satisfied with how it played out. The magical element went fairly underused. I like how the story showed the compromises of either finding a more accepting place to build a home or making a place for yourself as a queer person in the home you already have through Darby and his friend Michael’s decisions. Similarly, I enjoyed how Darby as an adult was able to see more in his hometown and the possibilities for a life and a community there than his isolated, confused teenage self did and how he tried to provide the kinship his younger self was lacking. But Darby‘s character development still ended up feeling a little weak. 

Warnings: Mentions of misgendering, dysphoria, transphobia

Notes on Rep: Explicit on-page representation

[lakecountylibrary]

Pride Month Read & To-Read

Two great Pride Month reads Kate recommends:

Loveless by Alice Oseman (aro/ace rep)

Georgia has parents who are still in love, two sets of grandparents that are still together, and a brother who married his girlfriend. But at eighteen she has never even kissed someone (not even her lesbian best friend, Felipa) or particularly even wanted to. In college she comes to understand herself as asexual/aromantic, and tries to capture the part of her identity that has always eluded her.

Destination Unknown by Bill Konigsburg (gay rep)

1987, New York City. C.J. isn't just out-- he's completely out there, and Micah can't help but be both attracted to and afraid of someone who travels so loudly and proudly through the night. As their lives become more and more entangled in the AIDS epidemic that's laying waste to their community, whatever Micah and C.J. have between them will be a bond that will determine the course of their futures.

And two (probably) great Pride Month reads Kate is looking forward to:

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli (lesbian rep)

Imogen Scott maybe be hopelessly heterosexual, but while visiting her newly out best friend Lili at college, any support Lili needs, Imogen's all in. Even if that means bending the truth, just a little, when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she's told all her college friends, including her new bestie Tessa, that Imogen and Lili used to date. And the more time Imogen spends with Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with.

Always the Almost by Edward Underhill (trans, gay rep)

Trans boy Miles Jacobson has two New Year's resolutions: win back his ex-boyfriend Shane, and finally beat his arch-nemesis at the Midwest's biggest classical piano competition. Miles hatches a fake-dating scheme with the new boy in town, Eric, a proudly queer cartoonist from Seattle who asks his pronouns and cares about art as much as he does. But the ruse turns real with a kiss, which throws all of Miles' plans - and feelings - into disarray.

See more of Kate's recs

(Summaries provided by publishers)

[sluttylittlenewsboy]

The dedication in the book I'm reading <33

[nat-reviews-books]

Currently Reading: Always the Almost by Edward Underhill

I planned on starting this a while ago and never got past the first page. This morning, I decided I'd give it another shot and quickly read the first 2 chapters before I got ready for work. I'm loving how much reading I've been doing this month, and I'm hoping to keep up the momentum.

[queer-books-bracket]

[queerographies]

[Tutta la musica che hai dentro][Edward Underhill]

Miles Jacobson, un adolescente trans, sogna di riconquistare il suo ex e di vincere una prestigiosa competizione pianistica. Ma l'amore, l'identità e la musica si intrecciano in un percorso tortuoso e commovente. Riuscirà a trovare se stesso?

Cuore, tasti e identità: un romanzo che tocca le corde del cuore Titolo: Tutta la musica che hai dentroScritto da: Edward UnderhillTitolo originale: Always the AlmostTradotto da: Chiara MessinaEdito da: De AgostiniAnno: 2024Pagine: 432ISBN: 9791221212617 La trama di Tutta la musica che hai dentro di Edward Underhill Miles Jacobson ha sedici anni, suona il pianoforte ed è un ragazzo trans.La…

[transbookoftheday]

🍂 Trans Books To Read If You Love "Heartstopper" 🍂

Here are some trans books you should read if you love "Heartstopper":

Book titles:

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier

Always the Almost by Edward Underhill

The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta

Out of the Blue by Jason June

Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min

The Borrow a Boyfriend Club by Page Powars (comes out September 14, 2023)

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: February 2024

Good Christian Girls by Elizabeth Bradshaw (1st) Lacey Heller is sure that nothing interesting could possibly happen at Camp Lavender, because it never does. Her parents have been running this Christian camp for girls ever since she can remember. Little does Lacey know that Jo Delgado is coming to camp this summer—and she’s going to change everything. After the incident, Jo’s aunt sends her to…

[the-final-sentence]

I lift my hands, open my eyes, and begin to play.

Edward Underhill, from Always the Almost

[bookcoversonly]

Title: This Day Changes Everything | Author: Edward Underhill | Publisher: Wednesday Books (2023)

[pridepages]

eARC Review: This Day Changes Everything

A HUGE thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:  

RELEASE DATE:

See my full review under the cut!

Move over, Nick and Nora! Abby and Leo are the next lost-in-the-big-city love story.

Edward Underhill's second novel is another YA turn full of trans joy and queer romance. It's a book that reminds you what it's like to be that young in both the good ways...and the painful.

What I admire most about this novel is the ambiguity at its heart. Because here's what they don't tell you: some parts of growing up never really stop.

Sometimes we know who we are.

Other times...we are liminal. Constantly becoming and unbecoming, existing in transition because we can't predict the future. We don't know what will become of us when we choose to skip the Broadway show...to walk in the bookstore...

To get on the train.

Maybe it'll be the best thing we ever did. Maybe it'll be the worst. But as this story promises: we can learn to live with that uncertainty. We can live and love in the ever-present, ever-changing now. It might even be where the best parts are.

So this is a book I'd recommend for readers seeking a story about coming out and about struggling with their identity. But I would caution one subset of reader: despite the blurb, I wouldn't characterize this book as sapphic.

Abby, one of our main characters, is trying to figure out her feelings. She has a crush on her best friend (another girl) and she wants to explore those feelings. But, in the end, a sapphic romance is not in the cards.

To be honest, this is what cost the book half a star for me. I felt like I was promised one kind of love story for Abby, and then the ending took a turn for the unexpected (at least by her, savvy readers will figure out fairly quickly where her actual love story is going).

But I made my peace with it. A narrative about keeping your heart open to the twists and turns that life has in store for us is still a story worth honoring.

After all, the universe is what you make it!