Bella Bathurst’s ‘Special’ has been critically acclaimed as a ”Lord of the Flies’ for females.’ Ostensibly, this is quite an accolade for Bathurst: it’s not everyday that a writer’s first novel entertains comparisons with one of the most-read works in Western literature’s cannon. However, the analogy also highlights one of the book’s biggest downfalls ‘Special’ has been done before; and William Golding did it better.

Golding’s boys are complex, their interactions with one another profound. Liberated from the shackles of culture and precedent, what becomes of man? Is man fundamentally good? Evil? The boys Samneric, Jack, Ralph and of course Piggy incite exploration into these and other weighty philosophical issues. In other words: deep stuff.

If a similar exploration of weighty philosophical issues is ‘Special”s ambition, it unfortunately falls short. Grossly short.

‘Special’ tells the story of a group of British schoolgirls, a run-down manor, a two-week class trip, incompetent chaperones, a town within hitchhiking distance, a (libidinous) group of British schoolboys and liquor. The results are painfully predictable: cat fights, gossip, sexual rivalry, depression we’ve all been there. We’ve all done that.

You know these types. You went to junior high with them. You might have even been one of them. They smoke, they drink, they seduce older men encumbered at present with adolescent angst, they’ll probably grow up to be well adjusted housewives.

There’s Caz: tall and thin, naturally blond, with terrific grades and congenital know-how when it comes to make-up and men; her perfect ankles drive other girls wild with envy. If she were to buy a lottery ticket, she’d probably win. In other words, she’s ‘that girl.’

There’s Jules: not unsightly but not beautiful, an invidious middle child who worships Caz and demeans any and all who she perceives contenders for her idol’s attentions and affections; she is the best friend, the ‘bitch.’

Then there’s Ali, the iconoclast intellectual, the ‘outcast’ and Izzy, cursed with eczema, halitosis, hypochondria and an obnoxious personality. And so on.

Yes, Bathhurst’s girls are formulaic as far as the plot goes, the author paints a picture that we’ve already seen. ‘Special’, though, does make for an engaging read. Though the characters are flat, they are not without color. When the reader glimpses Caz in action how she manipulates men and women, how she wants them to want her, how she wants them to hate her it’s fascinating. Bathhurt’s cookie-cutter characters may not be all that unique, but they are, in their own right, special.

And that’s one word ‘Lord of the Flies’ failed to emphasize.