As a boy (15 or so years ago) I found Alan Mendelsohn on a table of street vendor goods and fell in love with that book. I used to reread it every 6 months or so, just to reaclimmatemyself to Pinkwater's twisted sense of humor and irony. I enjoyed the fact that the book doesn't pander to its audience. A good read for any teen. (Wish I still had my dog-eared copy but, alas, I lent it out and never saw it again when I was in high school)