In-between Days

Australian author Wakefield (Friday Never Leaving) sets this reflective novel in the desolate town of Mobius, where 17-year-old Jacklin “Jack” Bates has moved in with her older sister, Trudy. Mobius is about as depressed a town as it gets (Jack describes it as “a populated dead end, a wrong turn, a sleepy hollow”), and the story meanders among inhabitants who aren’t sure what to do with themselves. When it comes to the malaise and stagnation of life in Mobius, Wakefield’s writing is unflinchingly honest, though the story lacks tension. Jack does her job, loses said job, fights with Trudy, hooks up with a 21-year-old, learns to drive, has philosophical conversations with a drifter named Pope, struggles to reconcile with her estranged parents, and has other small adventures, but the events don’t really coalesce to lend a driving force to the narrative. Even so, readers who let themselves sink into Wakefield’s descriptions of small-town life, its constraints, and frustrations will enjoy following Jack as she searches for meaning, finding love and purpose in the unlikeliest people. Ages 14–up. (Aug.)