Pessl is obviously a very creative writer, full of ideas and of potential. However, her style is way overt he top for me. One or more metaphors or similes in every single sentence is just too much. A lot of her figures of speech and imagery are excellent - highly inventive and apt - but the fact that there are so many undermines them and means that there is also some sloppy writing. You feel that she is trying to cram in as many stylistic elements as possible to prove her calibre. Maybe this is a case of less is more, though.

As for the story, it's a pretty standard coming-of-age story for most of the (too-long) book. Unconventional, yes, but still fairly standard. The twist is good, but it comes way too late to rescue the story. ( )

A bit tedious due to the overuse of parentheticals citing some academic work Blue, the main character thought relevant to whatever it was she had just said. The parentheticals didn't do much, with the exception of maybe shedding some insight into the main character's line of thinking.

It's a mystery, but one where the reader never really finds out what happens. Though some people might enjoy the open-endedness, it was a little too much for me. I wanted to know, at the very least, if it was a murder mystery. But, no. I was left with a weird "Final Exam" section that further opened up the possibilities and annoyed me.

But, I will admit the story was interesting, particularly the first two-thirds or so. The bluebloods, despite their unbelievable adult-like behavior, kept me reading. And, the part of the mystery that was actually somewhat revealed was pretty fascinating, if far-fetched. ( )

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, but I can definitely see why it rubs some people the wrong way. It's written in such a omg-look-how-dang-smart-and-a-good-writer-i-am-give-me-a-pony-way that sometimes comes off as too clever by 9/10. There are occasional passages where the reader just has to step back and say "dang, she's smart, and a good writer," while looking up local stables. Basically, it comes down to which side of the fence you come down on. ( )

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, but I can definitely see why it rubs some people the wrong way. It's written in such a omg-look-how-dang-smart-and-a-good-writer-i-am-give-me-a-pony-way that sometimes comes off as too clever by 9/10. There are occasional passages where the reader just has to step back and say "dang, she's smart, and a good writer," while looking up local stables. Basically, it comes down to which side of the fence you come down on. ( )

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, but I can definitely see why it rubs some people the wrong way. It's written in such a omg-look-how-dang-smart-and-a-good-writer-i-am-give-me-a-pony-way that sometimes comes off as too clever by 9/10. There are occasional passages where the reader just has to step back and say "dang, she's smart, and a good writer," while looking up local stables. Basically, it comes down to which side of the fence you come down on. ( )