What is the main conflict in Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl?

Marisha Pessl's debut novel, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, focuses around one year in the life of the protagonist and narrator, Blue Van Meer. She is named after the Cassius Blue butterfly, which her mother loved to catch. Blue and her father, Gareth, a political science professor, move around the country every few months after the death of Natasha, Blue's mother and Gareth's wife. A successful book and Gareth's work as a visiting professor enable the traveling. Blue is happy that the entirety of her senior year in high school will be spent in Stockton, North Carolina. Blue will be attending the culturally-focused Saint Gallway School.