Olivia Kidney, by Ellen Potter, 2003

Olivia Kidney lives in a New York City apartment building full of colorful characters with impossible stories: a princess in a glass apartment; a lizard-charmer and her companion, a murderous pirate; a spiritualist medium who loves new shoes; and a lonely ghost. Locked out of her apartment, she meets her crazy neighbors while searching for her father, the building super, and for someone who can help her find her brother, Christopher, who is dead. Marvelous absurdity and cleverly interlaced stories overlay Olivia’s loneliness; it’s never clear what’s actually real. Recommended.