Special Topics in Calamity Physics

Marisha Pessl’s mesmerizing debut has critics raving and heralds the arrival of a vibrant new voice in American fiction.

At the center of this cracking good read is clever, deadpan Blue van Meer, who has a head full of literary, philosophical, scientific, and cinematic knowledge. But she could use some friends. Upon entering the elite St. Gallway school, she finds a clique of eccentrics known as the Bluebloods. One drowning and one hanging later, Blue finds herself puzzling out a byzantine murder mystery.

Nabokov meets Donna Tartt (then invites the rest of the Western Canon to the party) in this novel that has won over readers of all ages.