All it took was one look. One look for twelve-year-old Sydney and her nine-year-old brother Turk to know that everything had changed. The farm where their Uncle Frank and Aunt Lily used to live was gone, and along with it, their dreams of a "happily ever after." No safe place to hide from all that had gone wrong in their world; no one to tell them that everything would be alright. No one, even, to say that hopping a freight train and heading West probably wasn`t the greatest idea the pair had ever had. The farm had been their destination, but in its place was a strange new subdivision: The Royal Woods. Now what? Rather than return home and admit defeat, Sydney and Turk embark on the adventure of a lifetime. With an eccentric wanderer and friendly gas station attendant as their only friends---and some neighbourhood bullies as their sworn enemies---the pair struggle to make a life for themselves in their odd new surroundings. In The Royal Woods, Matt Duggan has created a world where fantasy and reality collide---where chickens ride ponies, where golf putters are magic, and where children survive on the strength of their own wits. In this strange and wonderful neighbourhood, you never know what will happen next.