Inertia by Rebecca Schwartz

Summary (from Goodreads):

Rachel Simons just wants to graduate college and move on to an exciting biology career doing something very geeky. The only thing standing between her and her future is a required course: physics.

Weird happenings are going on in the physics department. Rachel’s physics professor Peter Parker, aptly nicknamed Spider-Man, has a strange document up on his computer when Rachel visits during his office hours.

Is Peter Parker really a superhero, and is there an arch enemy who’s trying to kill him - and maybe Rachel as well? Justin Borgstrom, Peter Parker’s assistant, has unwittingly dragged Rachel into the center of the conflict, and Rachel’s not sure she’ll live through the end of the semester, fend off Justin’s romantic advances, or ever pass physics.

Review:

The author, a friend of mine from college, sent me a copy and asked me to review her book on the blog. I am so excited to review this one. I saw or at least listened to a very early draft of this in college, and not only does this bring back the memories for me, but it also reinstates my need for more college series in general. I also wanted to buy a copy of the book, so when I saw it released in paperback, I bought a copy as well.

I love the main character. She’s so sure of herself and so intelligent. It’s nice having a main character interested in science. The girl knows her birds and her biology. Also, it’s nice to have a main character who embraces her geeky side. She’s a comic book reader. She also just picks up on things super quickly, and manages to use logic and deductive reasoning to get herself out of tough binds. On top of that, she doesn’t fall for guys who use women and won’t even consider crushing on guys who don’t consider females equal to themselves.

There’s an interesting cast of probable superheroes. And I’m not sure if I liked the actual story or the story Rachel makes up in her head more. Both were awesome. I liked how involved the teachers were. The small campus setting was entirely believable for me. Everyone knew each other and everyone seemed to always see everyone in the dining hall. I also connected to the snowstorm and the rural Vermont setting. But, that’s no surprise considering the author and I went to the same college (in upstate New York).

I didn’t always understand the relationship with the roommate. Sometimes I loved their witty back and forth banter. It was like watching a great episode of Gilmore Girls where the mother and daughter would quickly respond to each other in a way that just showed both how smart they were, and how close to each other they were. However, there were other times where I found myself skimming their lengthy dialog to get back to the mystery. I guess sometimes the dialog just felt too long. But, more than that I wanted to know the roommate better. How did this relationship happen? How come the girl (that some refer to as the ice princess) is so close to Melissa?

I loved the mystery. I had to know everything just as badly as Rachel did.  I liked that school was important and never seemed to be just the background of the story; it was actually part of the story. Though, I wonder if the campus will look into more security in future installments of this series.

Also, I’m glad that Rachel never made it easy for Justin. I loved all scenes with the two of them. Rachel was always honest about how she felt and Justin never seemed too taken aback by her honesty.

All in all this was a definite one-sitting read. I literally read it from beginning to end in one sitting. It was fun and addicting. I can’t wait to see what happens next now that a certain professor appears to have left the campus. What seriously makes this book great, apart from a setting any college student (past or present) can relate to, is the snarky, intelligent main character. I give it a 9/10.