Daniel Pinkwater's best book
ever. It concerns a young, geeky outcast named
Leonard Neeble who has just moved from urban
Hogboro to the vapid
suburb of
West Kangaroo Park, where he is tormented by his aggressively vapid classmates until he meets another new kid, Alan Mendelsohn, who's a little eccentric and says he's from
Mars.
Together, Alan and Leonard explore Hogboro and its outlying suburbs, including some that are only found in alternate dimensions, where they meet the evil villains, Manny, Moe and Jack.
Pinkwater has an amazing knack for telling completely whacked-out stories in a way that makes utter ridiculousness sound totally normal.