The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao

When you lose your way in life, the Elsewhere Express just might find you. Step aboard the train that can take you to your life’s purpose, in this cozy and inspiring fantasy from the author of Water Moon.

This hardcover edition includes:
Interactive endpapers with a scene you can color in A full-color illustrated book case beneath the jacket
You can’t buy a ticket for the Elsewhere Express. Appearing only to those whose lives are adrift, it’s a magical train carrying very rare and special cargo: a sense of purpose, peace, and belonging.

Raya is one of those lost souls. She dreamed of being a songwriter, but when her brother died, she gave up on her dream and started living his instead.

One day, as her thoughts wander while on the subway, she's swept off to the Elsewhere Express. There she meets Q, a charming, handsome artist who, like her, has lost his place in the world.

Together they find a train full of wonders, from a boarding car that's also a meadow to a dining car where passengers can picnic on lilypads to a bar where jellyfish and whales swim through pink clouds.

But they also discover that the train harbors secrets—and danger: A mysterious stranger has stowed away on the train and brought with him a dark, malignant magic that threatens to destroy it.

But in investigating the stowaway's identity, Raya also finds herself drawing closer to the ultimate question: What is her life's true purpose—and might Q be connected to it?

• Hardcover
• ISBN: 9780593725023
• 368 pages
• Published by Del Rey

• Preorder releases January 20, 2025
• All preorders are non-refundable. Learn more.