Helpful Score: 6
We used this for our neighborhood book group. It was very discussable, if you know what I mean. It takes a bit to get past Pessl's unusual style of writing, but then the plot just clicks along. Plot twists and surprises keep you wanting to find out how it all ends. Very unique book.
Helpful Score: 3
Wow - great read! Don't give up after the first couple of chapters. It may take you a while to understand Blue's world, but once you do - you won't want to leave. It's the kind of book that you'll be thinking about for days after - putting it all together.
This is a tremendous look at the world of a dispossessed teen, who somehow gets a free pass to popularity. Or it seems free. At first.
This is a tremendous look at the world of a dispossessed teen, who somehow gets a free pass to popularity. Or it seems free. At first.
Helpful Score: 3
I was somewhat disappointed with the pacing of this book. I bought it in hardback based on good critical reviews, but I found the first 350 pages difficult to get through. Much of the first two thirds of the book is spent developing characters, and not much of significance happens as far as plot. However, the author's writing style and some of the characters were interesting enough that I plodded on. During the last 100 or so pages I was glad I stuck with it. The end of the book is exciting and full of surprises. I just wish the pacing were more even throughout the story.... I thought many times about giving up during the early chapters.
Helpful Score: 3
Fantastic book! It's a mystery but a completely different kind of mystery than anything I've ever read before. What a treat! The ending is something that I absolutely did not see coming. The story revolves around young Blue Van Meer who is entering her senior year of high school after having spent a gypsy like lifestyle with her college professor father. She enters an exclusive private school and is befriended by a group of teens known as the Bluebloods with their mentor, a film teacher named Hannah. The Bluebloods rule the school and have weekly dinner soirees with Hannah. Blue doesn't know why she has been included in their clique and doesn't know how to fit in with them. Hannah is quite a mystery and the kids try their own private investigation to find out what the truth really is about their unusual teacher. The things that end up happening are where the Calamity Physics come in. Don't miss this wonderful novel.
Helpful Score: 2
good story once you get into the groove of her writing style, which took me awhile...
