This was hands down the best book I have read in some time. It was one part mystery, two parts teenage drama, with a twist of literary and pop references. Unlike many books by new authors, Marisha Pessl really came through on a satisfactory way to end her novel. This is quite an achievement considering the enormous undertaking of writing a 550 page post-modern treatise on loneliness and the world of academia that still reads as a funny and smart mystery novel. Are you confused? You won’t be after you read “Special Topics In Calamity Physics”.