Special

definitely one of my top ten books. I found it very insightful and the rawness of it gave the book this eery edge that is rare to find. The ambience created in the book by bathurst was fantastic and the style original. I enjoyed all of it and found it very unique. I read it when I was seventeen though so perhaps a much older audience would not be able to appreciate it's brilliance and beauty.

Special (4/5 people found this helpful)

Has anyone reviewing this read it in a teenage mind-set?
I myself am only 17 and reading it was, for me, a real-eye opener, showing that im not the only one who feels in my position. I think the book shows a good understanding of female relationships, and although most people begin to see this as they mature, for a younger audience i think this book is great. It really feels as if there is a writer there who actually understands teenage girls and is writing from their point of view... not another writer trying to be a teenager and failing dismally.

Especially Special (2/4 people found this helpful)

Finally, a true reflection of teenage life as a female. Girls who go on school trips together, or are at boarding school together, usually have an entirely different experience to that of the classroom/playground.

Although sometimes dark and a little shocking, "Special" rings true on every level. Everyone will sympathise with at least one of these girls, and I'm sure that we all went to school with all of them. One of those books you will just read from cover to cover!

it sucks being a teenager (3/4 people found this helpful)

I disagree with Keelis' (review below) closing line, which by the way is absolutely superb: "Overall, this book may appeal to you if you like books which are very slow and boring." A killer put-down, but I think it's a little bit unfair on poor Bella Bathurst. OK, the book is definitely jam-packed with clichés about the horridness of being a teenager - but that's the whole point, teenagers ARE clichéd, and that doesn't make their suffering any less real... I definitely remember the years Bathurst describes as being pretty d-n awful, and I think she does a good job of keeping your attention throughout all this dreariness. Maybe it's a little bit voyeuristic, but it's still effective.

One quibble, though: girls like Cat always pop up in these sort of books: perfect Lolita-like little creatures, old beyond their years in their exquisite cruelty. I agree that girls (just like boys) can be real bullies, but I wonder if this not an idea we carry with us from adolescence... at that point, these sort of girls seemed to be the devil incarnate, when they were probably just as freaked out as we were. Or is that just me becoming old and well-meaning and totally out of touch??

Nothing Special about Special (2/4 people found this helpful)

The back of this book promises "a fierce, subversive, darkly probing exploration of female adolescence", and while it might be considered fierce, only the very naive reader is going to find it subversive or darkly probing. Instead, this story of a two week school trip by a group of 13-year-old English schoolgirls, is more of a catalogue of female teen issues, such as anorexia, cutting, drinking, date rape, divorced parents, absent parents, running away, anger, sexual identity confusion, and so on. The core protagonists of the book are all set up as types: Caz is the beautiful alpha female, Jules is her jealous and caustic sidekick, Hen is the Scottish outsider trying to join the A-list, Ali is the quiet wallflower , Izzy is the gross fat and annoying hypochondriac, Mel and Vicky hang out in the background, Ms. Naylor is the sadistic spinster school marm, and Jaws is the understanding younger teacher.

Unless one believes that girls heading into teenagerdom are sweet little angels, there's little new here: They are cruel to each other-some more than others. They are jealous of each other-some more than others. They are terrified of being cast out-some more than others. And so on. Although Bathurst does a decent job of bringing the characters to life, none ever really rises above the level of cliché. More problematically, they often display levels of introspection and sophistication beyond their years. I had to keep reminding myself that these girls were supposed to be thirteen and not sixteen or seventeen. Some have likened it to Lord of the Flies, which is a rather lazy analysis, since the only theme the two books share is the ability of children to be cruel to one another. But while Lord of the Flies was making a much larger point above the nature of man, Bathurst's book is about the banal horror of everyday life as a teenage girl with no strong role models or support systems. In short, nothing special.

Bella Bathurst

Reader Reviews:

loved it, have read it twice (0/2 people found this helpful)

Special (4/5 people found this helpful)

Especially Special (2/4 people found this helpful)

it sucks being a teenager (3/4 people found this helpful)

Nothing Special about Special (2/4 people found this helpful)

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