Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Reading Time
    • Home
    • Reviews
      • Highly Recommended
      • CBCA Short Listed
      • Early Childhood Books
      • Younger Readers
      • Intermediate Readers
      • Older Readers
      • ANZAC books
      • Great Read Alouds
      • Information Books
      • LGBTQIA+
      • Picture Books
      • Professional Development
    • Interviews
    • Suggestions
    • News
    • Meet The Review Team
    • Contact Us
    Reading Time
    You are at:Home»Reviews»Highly Recommended»The Special Ones

    The Special Ones

    0
    By Admin on June 20, 2016 Highly Recommended, Older Readers

    special ones

    Em Bailey, The Special Ones, Hardie Grant Egmont, 1 April 2016, 320pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781742976280

    Four young people are being held captive on a remote farm with no modern luxuries like electricity or packaged food. Forced by a strict set of rules, and knowing that they are being watched, they must pretend to be the people from a 100 year old photograph. Their captor has developed a website so that their ‘immortal’ lives are broadcast to eager followers and every evening the captives must access an online chat room to impart their wisdom and share their knowledge of living safely away from the toxins of modern life.

    To begin the story we see life from ‘Esther’s’ point of view. Through ‘Esther’ I could feel their fear, their loneliness and their longing, and sense the captor always watching. Forced to sew clothes, bake bread and make candles,  ‘Esther’s’ life is limited to the house and the veranda. She is not allowed to touch people nor look at Harry for more than three seconds. If any of the captives break a rule, jeopardising the role they play, one or all are severely punished or ‘renewed’.  I found myself watching and listening carefully to every character as I waited for one wrong move; I even cringed expecting punishment.

    For the first third of this novel I initially applauded ‘Esther’s’ strength in trying to help smooth their harsh conditions and guide the captives away from fatal character errors but, when I learned her secret, I was disappointed at her subjugation. ‘Esther’s’ secret is only one of the twists which helped reshape my opinion of the story. My thoughts were turned upside down like this in several places yet I did not lose the momentum of the story; certainly a literary skill!

    Easing me in, like the calm before a storm, the story gradually builds pace and a sense of urgency until we are given glimpses into the mind of the psychopath, and then… disappointingly, the build-up plateaued. Unfortunately this is where the author seems to be hacking away at the story; the events are discordant, jarring on my nerves a little and there is barely enough literary ‘meat’ or descriptive passages to provide background to the unfolding events.

    I was left feeling that there had to be more.  Could this be the wonderful feeling I have when looking forward to a sequel, or is it merely a poor ending? Sometimes an author finishes a book abruptly leaving you unsatisfied but, in this book, there are several teasers, for example, [possible spoiler]is the captor’s ditsy neighbour, Mrs Lewis, the same person as Detective Lewis from the Fraud and Extortion Squad? I am also keen to read more about this captor and the author’s perception of a mental illness that can develop such immense emotions and the drive to act upon them.

    The Special Ones was a compelling read for me. Although I lost the emotional connection to the victim, I became immersed in the mind of the villain and concerned about the values of our communities. Highly recommended to readers 15yrs + with lots of juicy topical issues to talk about.

    Reviewed by Sharon Smith

    • Read Rebecca Kemble’s review of The Special Ones

    Booktopia

    Related Posts

    Wonderful Shoes

    A Human for Kingsley

    Dirt Circus League

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    • Themes
    • Curriculum
    Action adventure Airplanes Alphabet Anxiety autism Bullying CBCA Awards Coming of age Dystopian emotions family fantasy friendship grief Historical humour magic Mystery Post apocalyptic Readers Cup reluctant readers school Sci-Fi series of books siblings Sport Starting school Teacher Notes
    ANZAC Australian animals Australian history Biography Culture & Diversity Disabilities First Nations Geography health Humanities mental health Poetry Reconciliation resilience Science STEM Stolen Generation sustainability Wordless books



    Recent Comments
    • Cherie on Elephant Island
    • Patricia Tilton on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Jilanne Hoffmann on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Penelope Pratley on The Secret of Sapling Green
    • Emily Flint on Walk of the Whales
    Recent Posts
    • Wonderful Shoes
    • A Human for Kingsley
    • Dirt Circus League
    • Dark Rise
    • Bear and Rat
    Recent Comments
    • Cherie on Elephant Island
    • Patricia Tilton on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Jilanne Hoffmann on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Penelope Pratley on The Secret of Sapling Green
    • Emily Flint on Walk of the Whales
    © Copyright 2021 The Children’s Book Council of Australia - All rights reserved

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Posting....