The Elsewhere Express

The Elsewhere Express cannot be bought a ticket for. It turns up only for people whose lives have drifted off course, and what it carries is rare: a sense of purpose, a little peace, a feeling of belonging. Samantha Sotto Yambao, author of Water Moon, builds a wistful, dreamlike fantasy around this magical train.

Raya once wanted to write songs. When her brother died, she set that dream aside and began living his instead. One day on the subway, her mind drifting, she is swept aboard the train. There she meets Q, an artist who has also lost his footing in the world, and the two of them set out to explore a train unlike any other.

The carriages are full of wonders. The boarding car is a meadow, passengers in the dining car picnic on lily pads, and in the bar jellyfish and whales glide through pink clouds. But the long, strange night holds darker things too. A mysterious stowaway has slipped on board carrying a malignant magic that could destroy the whole train.

As Raya tries to uncover who the stranger is, she also edges closer to a question she has avoided since her brother's death: what is her life's true purpose, and is it somewhere the Elsewhere Express can actually take her? This is a gentle, imaginative story about grief, hope and finding your way back to what you were meant to do.