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4.3
The Elsewhere Express: A Novel
by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Published Jan 20, 2026
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About this book
Raya is a woman adrift, having abandoned her own dreams of songwriting to live in the shadow of her late brother’s memory. Her life shifts irrevocably when she is swept away from a mundane subway commute and onto the Elsewhere Express, a magical, elusive locomotive that appears only to those who have lost their way. Onboard, she encounters Q, a mysterious artist who is equally untethered from his own path.
The train is a surreal, Ghibli-esque marvel, featuring meadow-like boarding cars and dining carriages where whales swim through pink clouds. Yet, beneath the wonder lies a gathering threat. A malignant stowaway has boarded the Express, bringing a dark magic that jeopardizes the safety of the train and its passengers.
As Raya and Q navigate the shifting, dreamlike landscape to uncover the stranger’s identity, their connection deepens amidst the unfolding peril. Forced to confront the losses that brought them to this liminal space, Raya must decide if she is ready to let go of the life she thought she owed to others to finally claim the destiny she was meant for. The Elsewhere Express offers a ticket to discovery, provided the passengers are brave enough to embrace their own truth.
Available Formats
Kindle: $7.99 Kindle: $13.99
What readers are saying
Karissa EckertReally Loved Water Moon, but this book just wasn't for me.
"Series Info: This is a stand alone book. Thoughts: I really loved Yambao''s Water Moon when I read it last year and was super excited to read this new book by her. Unfortunately, I just could not get into this story. After struggling with this for a week and a half (kind of unheard of for me to be reading a book that long!) I was still only 65% of the way through and decided to call it quits. I found the world here incredibly hard to visualize and found the two main characters very hard to engage with. The story alternates between three viewpoints: Raya, Q, and Lily. Raya is a daughter that was born to a family who wanted single child, a son. They got a son with a chronic health disorder and had a second child, Raya, in case their oldest son needed a transplant or something. When tragedy strikes Raya is left feeling that she doesn't have a purpose in life. Q is an amazing painter who is loosing his sight. As he shuts down his galleries and wraps up his final painting project, he has no idea what is next for him. Both Raya and Q are riding the train home when they end up somewhere else on a strange magical train, the Elsewhere Express. Lily is supposed to provide all newcomers to the Elsewhere Express with an orientation, but from the moment Q and Raya arrive, nothing goes as planned. Initially, I really thought Q and Raya were going to be interesting characters, I liked their backgrounds and challenges. However, once we get to the Elsewhere Express we get thrust into an extremely long and drawn out intro to the train that is confusing and constantly being interrupted by events that don't make sense. I had trouble picturing this world within the train and figuring out what was going on. I tried to kind of "go with it," but that just led me to being completely ambivalent about the story. Raya and Q as characters get lost in the odd world and background of the Elsewhere Express (both lost as in physically lost but also lost as in the location takes over the story and we lose the characters into the background). The system and magic of the Elsewhere Express is still being "setup" nearly half way through the book. You don't start to get an actual plot until about the 50% mark when you find out something has boarded the train that shouldn't be on there. This really pushes any character development and engagement to the background. While I really love kooky and creative metaphorical worlds, this was a bit of a stretch for me to picture, and I really struggled to follow the story. This book should have been right up my alley, but somehow it missed the mark and left me floundering. Added to all of the above is the fact that the chapters here are extremely short (most taking 1-3 minutes to read on my Kindle). This made the story feel very fractured since you are switching POV with each chapter. It also gave me a lot of chances to stop reading the book, which I often took because I just wasn't that into the story. I finally realized I am not at all curious about what will happen to Q and Raya, I am not at all invested in this story, and I don't really care about the mysterious guest on the train. So, I stopped reading this. I find this really disappointing because I really enjoyed Water Moon and how creative that world was. The Elsewhere Express just feels like it goes a step too far in ambiguous world-building, and it feels like it leaves its characters behind. I normally give DNF books 3 stars, but I got so far into this one and had so many things I found disappointing that I decided to go with 2 stars. My Summary (3/5): Overall this wasn't for me. I loved Yambao's last book "Water Moon", but really struggled with this book. The characters seem intriguing at first but get shunted to the background once we board the train. The train seems like an amazing and magical place but then nearly half the book is spent setting up all the rules and magical properties of it. I ended up just struggling to picture anything and really not caring. I was thrilled to read this and left feeling disappointed. ["
January 29, 2026
Tiffani Y.This is a BEAUTIFULLY written magical realism/fantasy book
"I don’t think I’ve ever read such a beautiful, Inspiring, Thought provoking book as The Elsewhere Express! When People lose their purpose in life they may find themselves on the Elsewhere Express. It is unlike any train you have ever seen. Every car is different and magical. It brings you on a journey to find yourself and your purpose in life. Q boards the train after struggling with how to be an artist as he loses his eye sight. Raya boards the train after trying to keep her brother’s memory alive and losing her passion for music. This book gives you a healthy dose of “what did I just read”. Mixed with the feelings of calm and joy. And a dash of “do I know my life’s purpose?”. This special Edition Hardcover is Beautiful! Every single page was designed with such thought. The audiobook was phenomenal. Amanda Centeno has the perfect, calm voice to narrate this book. This was a fantastic book to do my first immersive read. ["
March 27, 2026 Verified Purchase
Jennifer Thompson-ThalasinosA Journey of Grief
"I’ve had a notion to write a book about a train that comes at the right time…that leads to somewhere special…based on the song “The Snow Came Down” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. This book is somewhat of a take on that concept. It’s the story of two people who find themselves on this rather mysterious train that seems to morph into many different things as it travels to a place that will change their life. It also reminded me of an episode of the new Twilight Zone that starred Ione Skye called “Night Route,” but in that case it was a bus. I loved the concept of this book, but I will say it was a bit of a confusing read for me. It took until the 70% mark before I really caught on to what was happening which is why I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars. There are heavy themes in this book including grief, guilt, and having guilt after someone passes. As a widow of ten years I resonated with a lot of the sentiments from this book. The book itself is beautiful. There are sprayed edges and you can color the end pages! If you want to escape your life for awhile and go for a trip I recommend reading this book. ["
March 24, 2026
Amelia GoodmanVery pretty book
"Very pretty book. It does have colorable front and back inside covers. The spayed edges are gorgeous. The main outer covers are amazing. Dusk jacket it lovely. Story? Good but had a hard time with the set up. ["
March 19, 2026 Verified Purchase
