Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl (2007, Unabridged, Compact Disc)

Blue van Meer, the narrator/protagonist of Marisha Pessl’s startlingly original literary mystery, is wise beyond her 16 years. Her renowned political scientist father has seen to that. Traveling America from guest lectureship to guest lectureship, gifted daughter in tow, he has her read great works aloud and orchestrates academic games to break up the tedium of their journeys. A Harvard student when the book opens, Blue reconstructs her last year of high school for us, when she and her elite group of friends fall under the sway of the beautiful and mysterious teacher, Hannah Schneider, whose death by hanging towards the end of the school term forms the core of the novel.

The book is organized like a course syllabus or summer reading list and closes with a pop quiz, but it is Nabokovian in size and scope. Though it is a coming of age novel and satirizes the high school scene, among other things, it is probably too erudite to cross over easily from the adult into the young adult market. Literary and academic in-jokes (Blue's very thoughts have footnotes) and high-toned philosophizing walk hand-in-hand with clever teen escapades and dialogue which YA's would otherwise be certain to enjoy. However, very sophisticated younger readers might find it well worth tackling and could learn a great deal by double-checking Blue's citations. As for adult readers, the more academic their orientation, the more cleverly this book will reveal its secrets.

Audio performer Emily Janice Card sounds exactly like a bright, animated adolescent, and she differentiates the other characters adeptly.