Special Topics in Calamity Physics

This book really should sink under the weight of its own braininess, but it's just too good to ever quite do it. Warning: if you are not an over-educated English major, former homeschooler who read way too many classics of Western literature, or didn't really pay close attention in those college English classes, this probably won't tickle your pickle. For example, Blue, the hero, narrates and footnotes her life as she goes along like a good little scholar and the titles of the chapters are titles of classic works of literature.
But I know I could sure relate to the over-educated, under-socialized, emotionally scarred protagonist who lives her life in books until her senior year of high school. 'Course her circumstances are a little unusual. Her mother died when she was young, and her charismatic, pedantic, extremely liberal political science professor of a father takes off guest lecturing across the country, daughter in tow. The whole thing starts off as a meandering, almost-too-smart coming-of-age novel. Blue, the heroine, settles down at an exclusive private school for her Senior year, is befriended by the fascinating film teacher Hannah and pulled into her small orbit of prodigies. Relationships, drama, first love- All of these eventually give way to a dramatic murder mystery that develops into conspiracy-theory thriller to rival the Da Vinci Code.
One of the most original books I've read. If nothing else, you'll get to say hello to all the S.A.T. words you've been pining for so desperately since high school. And I think it's absolutely incredible that this was Marisha Pessl's first novel.