Dr. Gareth Van Meer and his daughter, Blue (yes, that's her real name), could be categorized as nomads. Blue has been "the new girl" at school more times than she can count, due to her father constantly accepting new positions at universities around the country. They're not your standard father/daughter pairing--Gareth is a highly-read professor, often (and I mean often) quoting published works in every day conversation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Blue is practically a mirror image of her father. 
 They settle in Stockton for Blue's senior year of high school, and this is where she really starts to live. She never had close friends due to their constant moving--it was always just her and her dad--but she is suddenly thrown into a group dubbed the "Bluebloods." They're the untouchables, a level above even "popular." The only thing they have in common is Hannah, the school's film teacher, who is more a friend than an instructor. Each Sunday they gather for dinner and conversation in her home. 
 Already I'm not doing this book justice. It's the way the story is presented, rather than the story itself, is what makes it so... beautiful. Its descriptions are over the top, perhaps intentionally. Blue and her dad are supposed to be the highly intellectual type, which you can clearly tell from Blue's inner monologue. Such as (turning to a random page here) her description of serious high school romances: 
 Teachers--not all, but some--stayed awake all night hating them, because of their weird grown-up youth, which was like gardenias blooming in January, and their beauty, which was both stunning and sad as racehorses, and their love that everyone except them knew wouldn't last. 
 It's wordy, over-descriptive, and I love it. 
 Of course, with her new friends, Blue goes through a minor rebellious stage. She and her father disagree on things, and that's what seriously pulls at the heartstrings. You're not really sure how you feel about the Bluebloods. They don't exactly hide the fact they don't like Blue, but they tolerate her for Hannah's sake--graceful, quirky Hannah, who they worship like a minor deity. Hannah, of course, has her own secrets as well. 
 I can't end this review without mentioning this scene, which seriously made me laugh out loud. Blue and her father get into a fight, and she starts chucking books at him. This is the sort of family we're dealing with. And when she's emptied the bookshelf, he asks, "Are you finished bombarding your father with the Western canon?" And when they make up and she points out that he's bleeding, he replies, "You got me, huh. Was it the Bible or An American Tragedy? I'd like to know for symbolic purposes." 
 I need to meet someone like Gareth Van Meer. 
 The whole thing gets a little murder-mystery like at the end, and Blue is doing all sorts of extensive research. Which she shares with us. And the end is weird. Like, really weird. I'm not entirely sure what happens, but then again, neither do the characters. I suspect it's meant to be that way. Leaves you thinking. I love a good open-ended conclusion. 
 The whole thing is heavy and unnecessarily deep, but that's what draws me into it. This was my Hurricane Irene read, devouring it for hours at a time with a flashlight because there is absolutely nothing else to do in the country with no power. I wouldn't have had it any other way. It needs to be absorbed all at once.