Description

***THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!***Embark on a magical journey in this uplifting and inspiring fantasy from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Water Moon – perfect for fans of Spirited Away, Dallergut Dream Department Store and The Starless Sea.
DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS BEAUTIFUL LIMITED EDITION HARDBACK, featuring gorgeous illustrated endpapers with a scene you can colour in!

‘This book had me sobbing on the beach. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.’ -Sydney J. Shields, author of The Honey Witch

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Raya is a lost soul, going through the motions of life without a dream of her own.
One night, on her subway ride home, Raya’s thoughts wander too far. She wakes on the Elsewhere Express, a magical train that offers its passengers a sense of purpose, peace, and belonging. The journey is a chance for Raya to reimagine her life – but only if she finds her compartment before time runs out.

Once aboard, Raya meets an intriguing artist named Q and together they race to find their place on the train, through a boarding car carpeted in meadow grass and along a dining carriage where passengers picnic on lilypads.

But a mysterious stowaway has boarded with them, and with it a dark, malignant magic that threatens to destroy the train. The closer Raya comes to uncovering the stowaway’s identity, the nearer she draws to the ultimate question:

What is her life’s true purpose – and is it a destination the Elsewhere Express can take her to?
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Praise for The Elsewhere Express!

‘The Elsewhere Express will carry you to the stars.’ -Molly O’Neill, author of Greenteeth

‘Wondrous and wonderful’ -Sarah Beth Durst, author of The Spell Shop

‘The Elsewhere Express reads like a Ghibli movie . . . Its musical prose, vast imagination, and exploratory storytelling will spirit you away.’ -Charlie N. Holmberg, author of The Paper Magician

”I am dazzled by Samantha Sotto Yambao’s extraordinarily beautiful imagination.’ -India Holton, author of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

‘I didn’t want to leave the elsewhere express after devouring it in 24 hours!’

‘Finishing The Elsewhere Express forced me to experience all five stages of grief and I could not be happier. I will absolutely continue to look forward to anything Yambao writes!’

‘The Elsewhere Express was a 5 daydream full of feeling. It tickled my imagination and made me think. What a beautiful book 💜’

‘I could read this book over and over again and undoubtedly will.’

Publisher Review

With its poetic, descriptive prose, The Elsewhere Express takes the reader on a magical ride exploring loneliness, life’s purpose and ultimately human connection through a playful, surreal tale. Without question, the book will delight fantasy enthusiasts as they nestle into this perfect escape… a story that whisks them from the mundane and into an imaginative wonderland they might not want to leave. * J.Penner, Author of A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic * The Elsewhere Express reads like a Ghibli movie. I loved following these deeply hurt, broken, and lost characters on this Alice-in-Wonderland-esque adventure with a Miyazaki flair. Its musical prose, vast imagination, and exploratory storytelling will spirit you away. * Charlie N. Holmberg, bestselling author of the Whimbrel House series * This book had me sobbing on the beach. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. The Elsewhere Express is a gorgeous story about finding your place somewhere in between two great inevitabilities: love, and loss. * Sydney J. Shields, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Honey Witch * The Elsewhere Express is nothing short of exquisite. Luminous and soulful, it will enchant you with its dreamy, whimsical charm even while it carries you through an exploration of such profound subjects as loss and the purpose of life. I am dazzled by Samantha Sotto Yambao’s extraordinarily beautiful imagination. * India Holton, the bestselling author of The Dangerous Damsels series * A delicately layered dream of a book that glimmers with the promise of hope after grief, The Elsewhere Express will carry you to the stars. * Molly O’Neill, author of Greenteeth * Wondrous and wonderful, lovely and tender, THE ELSEWHERE EXPRESS is a lyrical feast for the imagination! * Sarah Beth Durst * The Elsewhere Express is not just thought-provoking, but dream-provoking: with pages upon pages of sensory marvels apt to enliven your own idle thoughts (as they did mine!). This uniquely painterly story, full of songs and spectacle, is fueled by a dauntless hopefulness that I hope might find its way into my own dreams as well. * Sylvie Cathrall *