Marisha Pessl's debut novel is rife with literary allusions and obscure academic citations. Yet it is these references that make Special Topics in Calamity Physics so interesting, as all the events in the novel can be associated with something else.

The narrator of the book is Blue Van Meer, a teen whose professor father flits around to little known colleges across the U.S., guest lecturing for several months before moving on. In keeping with the pedagogical theme, the book is arranged like a syllabus for a literature course. Each chapter is aptly named for a classic novel, such as Chapter 11, titled Moby Dick, where a man drowns to death. The last chapter consists of a final exam.

The story starts when Blue is a freshman at Harvard. She decides to recount her life story, following her father's advice: "Always have everything you say exquisitely annotated, and, where possible, provide staggering Visual Aids." So Blue provides sketches, sly comparisons and references, taking the reader along as she makes new friends, witnesses a murder and a suicide, and uses her logic and genius IQ to solve the crimes.

When Blue was a senior in high school, her father decided to stay in one place for the entire year. There, Blue became part of the Bluebloods, a clique that included her high school's strangely engaging film teacher and five other students. When the teacher, Hannah Schneider, supposedly killed herself, it was up to Blue to discover the truth.

But Special Topics in Calamity Physics is no ordinary whodunit. The engaging and slightly precocious Blue is certainly not a typical mystery sleuth. She is likable and convincing, despite her extraordinary intelligence and unusual upbringing. The end of the novel is not clear-cut; it is poignant and surprising, as the truth is not always pretty. In all, Marisha Pessl's novel is certainly ambitious. At times, the references, metaphors and allusions can become a bit tiresome, but there is enough witty wordplay and pop culture references to keep it accessible.

- Ashley