Special

A group of thirteen year old British girls is incarcerated for two weeks in a kind of boot camp, being subjected to hiking, biking, swimming and gym under the supervision of two remarkably incompetent and unsympathetic teachers. They experience smoking, drinking, sex, anorexia, self-mutilation, anaphylactic shock and accidental death. They form friendships and enmities (mostly the latter) and play cruel tricks on each other. Nobody is ever happy. Much of the writing is excellent, and I got hooked into reading it by the vivid opening description of a long monotonous drive in a bumpy van. It's been compared to Lord of the Flies, but LOTF raises the interesting question of what society children would make without adult intervention and marches relentlessly to a gripping climax. These children have adults around, but all of them are stupid or malevolent or unperceptive. Such teachers and parents do exist of course, but these are never made plausible because we are never shown why they behave as they do. The story is told from the POV of four of the girls and the adults are only described from the children's perspective. It's rather like reading a series of those blogs and chat groups that infest the Internet. The result is that ultimately it's rather plotless, without over-riding conflict or resolution.

When I first got the book to read, I had no idea how strange it would be. After a few pages, I had fair warning, but I couldn't put it down. Their life at the manor house is depressing, and their attitudes toward each other are competetive and confusing. My life at 13 compared to theirs was tame. While I was reading, I could not believe they are only three years younger than me! It is unsettling, how wild they are.The descriptions of their lives and of their confrontations are disturbingly realistic. A book both touching and frightening, it gives a new view to the term "teen angst," and a new eye to the outcast girls. The ending is one of complete suprise and horror, so prepare yourself. I give this book 4 stars.

After reading a review in EW I picked up this book out of curiosity and was not disappointed. Special follows a group of English school girls who in between tests and the end of the school year are dropped off at a manor. Bella Bathurst quickly lays down the caste system of the girls. There's the three popular girls, Hen a sick Scottish girl, Jules desperate for love, and Caz, a girl who seems void of any kind of feelings or conscience. There are the wannabes, and then there are the outcasts; Izzy a sickly fat girl and Ally, who's role is summed up in the first chapter when she extends her hand for a man to shake and he walks by her, unaware of her existence. A lot happens in the week that the girls are at the manor. The girls get drunk, fight, excercise, meet boys (some men) and are taken advantaged and take advantage. Bathurst has a way with description, noting people and surroundings down to the last detail without overburdening us. When the girls talk to each other it seems like something real 13 year olds would say to each other. The end is jarring, completly coming out of left field. It's comparisons to LORD OF THE FLIES is justified. I thought about this book for days after finishing it. Highly recommended.

I picked up this book absolutely clueless to what I was about to read. I had read the back cover, and it seemed intriguing so I gave it a chance. I think that my use of the word intriguing is an understatement, becasue Special is so much more than that. Although I think that the characters are very mature for their age, I think that Bathurst captures the cruelty that teenage girls enflict upon one another. I highly reccommend this book for those girls 14 and up. The graphic descriptions might be a little too graphic for those who aren't mature enough to handle it. However, be prepared for an intense, and shocking ending. Also be prepared for a cliffhanger that leaves the actual events up to your imagination.