A group of teenage schoolgirls are on a field trip to the Forest of Dean. Vain, spoilt and interested primarily in sex, alcohol and outfits, the girls squabble and smoke, skive and bitch, torment their teachers and betray their friends, and the reader bears witness to the development and disintegration of relationships. So far, so typical. But this world of teenagers is a hall of mirrors, where the everyday can become monstrous, and nothing is quite what you expect. Soon enough something dark and sinister begins to move underneath the surface.
‘Special is a work of brilliance and insight. At times it’s like reading an anthropological text on a strange, distant tribe, while at others it feels uncomfortably familiar – but I have to say I’ve never come across a book that makes me so glad to be grown-up’ Daily Telegraph
‘Sinister and menacing’ Patricia Duncker, Books of 2002, New Statesman
‘A brilliant and disturbing take on underoccupied teenage girls’ Maggie O’Farrell, Books of 2002, Observer
Anne Donovan
Shena Mackay
Donna Tartt
Zadie Smith
Carol Shields
Valerie Martin
Crystal E. Wilkinson
Louise Welsh
Donna Tartt
Zadie Smith
Carol Shields
Alice Sebold
Julie Otsuka
Edna O'Brien
Valerie Martin
Shena Mackay
Haven Kimmel
Nora Okja Keller
Liz Jensen
Siri Hustvedt
Sonya Hartnett
Lucy Ellmann
Anne Donovan
Janet Davey
Sandra Cisneros
Bella Bathurst
Barbara Kingsolver
Ruth Ozeki
Susanna Clarke
Maggie O'Farrell
Tayari Jones
Kamila Shamsie
Naomi Alderman
Lisa McInerney
Ali Smith
Eimear McBride
A.M. Homes
Madeline Miller
Téa Obreht
Barbara Kingsolver
Marilynne Robinson
Rose Tremain
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Lionel Shriver
Andrea Levy
Valerie Martin
Ann Patchett
Kate Grenville
Linda Grant
Suzanne Berne
Carol Shields
Anne Michaels
Helen Dunmore
Tune into host Vick Hope and a line-up of incredible guests on our weekly podcast full of unmissable book recommendations.
Join the Women's Prize newsletter for a chance to win a stack of all 6 brilliant 2023 shortlisted books, and get the latest book news, author features and exciting competitions! (You can unsubscribe at any time)*
