My favorite books are ones that make me think, challenge me as a person (maybe even help me grow some), provide rich character development/involvement and are quirky and well-written. This book satisfied, to a high degree, all of these. As an old friend once joked, "I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me." 
 I was set to give the book a 4.5, maybe a 4...until the "Great Rock and Roll Pauses" chapter. After that one, this book was a 5 for me. I was mildly surprised to see, in the poll I took for this title, that chapter was the most popular one. I see I wasn't the only one it affected. It was presented in a powerpoint slide format, something I don't think I've ever seen in a novel, from the viewpoint of a 12 (I think)-year old. So much was sad in this chapter using very few words and a few graphics, I thought it was masterful. 
 The book will not be for everyone, though. Egan utilizes just about every writing mechanic, and each chapter can range from mildly different to another universe-different from previous ones. The time frame jumps around, so you cannot be certain, without checking, when things are really going on. Many, many characters are used. A minor character that you will barely remember from one chapter will later turn out to have a chapter all their own. 
 This was unlike anything I've ever read, and I've never spent so much time flipping back through earlier chapters to see who did what to whom and when they did it and who this person is and such. That Egan was able to write this way demonstrates, to me, how talented she is. 
 In short, I loved it, I thought it was fantastic, this is a book I will actually re-read.