Waldo Billingsly has just received a sentimental letter from his grandfather, Old Hoss. It's a note that sets in motion a rollicking adventure full of characters with names like Brisbane and Phosphate, classic cars like 1965 Dodge Darts, magical cornfields, and top doo-woppers. The Unreals lives up to its namesake with everything from an Extremely Untouchable Ward to a Garden of Old Movie Monsters where one of the book's surreal characters, Bucktooth, comments, "This water sure tastes real.".