Marisha Pessl Special Topics in Calamity Physics, 2006 After reading the first two paragraphs of Marisha Pessl’s debut novel, you will want to throttle the narrator. Blue van Meer, a brilliant high school student who gamely follows her professorial father from post to post, illustrates their adventures with enough literary, scientific and academic references to make David Foster Wallace cringe. Keep reading, though, and the references will eventually grow on you — especially as you become enwrapped in the mystery-cum-awakening story. The plot might seem increasingly muddled, but Pessl’s sharp and pointed prose sift through the layers of obfuscation — culminating in an ending that will make you want to start at the beginning. — Julie Steinberg
Alexandre Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo, 1844 On his wedding day, 19-year-old Edmond Dante is wrongfully accused of treason, undergoes an unfair trial, and is sentenced to life in the fortress prison, Chateau d’If. And you thought you understood teenage hell. But Dante, being the badass he is, escapes from his island prison after 14 years, finds buried treasure, and returns to exact excruciating revenge on those who wronged him. He remakes himself as the Count of Monte Cristo, and essentially acts like a one-man mafia, destroying the things that his enemies most value. We’re talking V for Vendetta on steroids, the original Shawshank Redemption — all translated from a 19th century French novel. It’s epic, so read it. — Katherine Rea
David Foster Wallace The Broom of the System, 1987 David Foster Wallace’s 1987 novel, The Broom of the System, is far more impressive than most debuts tend to be. Wallace’s untimely death in September — he committed suicide after a lifelong battle with depression — has brought the writer a resurgence of attention, but Broom is not a voyeuristic glimpse into Wallace’s inner life. A twisted and quirky plot, in which Lenore Beadsman, heiress and switchboard operator, juggles her paranoid boyfriend, evangelical pet cockatiel and cold-blooded great-grandmother makes for a smart, absorbing read which will stay with you long after you’ve put it back on the shelf. — Jessica Spiegelman
