Ticket to Ride™: An Unexpected Journey

All aboard the journey of a lifetime! Ticket to Ride is an immensely popular board game where players test their skills in teamwork, strategy, and luck. This new, 100% official, and high stakes Ticket to Ride book will whisk readers all throughout the North America, is perfect for fans of all ages, with chilling, pulse-pounding prose by bestselling author Adrienne Kress.

To say twelve-year-old Teddy loves trains is an understatement. He is obsessed. He knows everything there is to know about them, has the most amazing model train setup in the basement, and he carries around a classic caboose, a small model of a caboose of a 19th century steam engine that he received as a birthday gift. It’s his good luck charm! So when Teddy wins a Ticket To Ride the Excelsior Express in a writing contest, he can't wait. The Excelsior Express is a train that's modeled to look like it's from the 1920's but is outfitted with a high-tech locomotive system. This will be the train's flagship journey, and it's a dream come true for Teddy. Plus, he'll get to see his grandparents in Los Angeles, and travel all across North America from his hometown of Toronto, Canada.

Wait . . . dream come true?

Or maybe a nightmare.

When the train gets rerouted from Omaha to Pittsburgh, at first, Teddy doesn't think anything of it. Trains get rerouted all of the time. But then the train gets rerouted again. What's more, his lucky caboose is missing.

As it turns out, this ticket to ride takes Teddy, his new friend Olivia, a woman always dressed in yellow named Mina, two traveling musicians named Allie and Dex, and their fellow passengers on an unexpected journey and through some pretty hefty corporate corruption.

Based on the hit board game, Ticket to Ride, author Adrienne Kress weaves fascinating story with adventure in this book that's full of mystery, adventure, and friendship, in a style reminiscent of Lemony Snicket and Roald Dahl. Illustrator David Miles's spot art leaps off the page . . . and onto a train track. Fans of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and Adrienne's own Bendy and the Ink Machine novels will love this series.

"Perfect for readers who love trains and adventure. A valuable addition with an entertaining story line and enjoyable artwork." - School Library Journal

"With a crisp, engaging voice and sharp wit, Adrienne Kress is always a treat to read." - Kelley Armstrong, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

© 2025 Simon & Schuster Audio (Audiobook): 9781797170176

Release date

Audiobook: 1 April 2025