I feel like a bad person for not enjoying this. I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't like it, though. There were just a lot of little things that irked me. 
 But let's start from the beginning. 
 Kathy, Ruth, & Tommy are students at Hailsham, a special boarding school. Growing up, they're not entirely certain why they're special. But hints are dropped throughout. The first big indication of them being "special" is a vague reference to not being able to have children. At that point, I kind of figured it out. But I digress. 
 It's all a sort of flashback. Kathy is now a grown woman, and she's reflecting on her Hailsham days with an odd sense of nostalgia and longing. It's as if anything after Hailsham fails to matter--she interacts with her fellow students, and it's all they talk about. 
 But I couldn't get past the way in which the story is told. Like I said, it irked me. An example, rather than explaining: 
 Maybe, looking back, there was an atmosphere of something being held back, but it's possible I'm only thinking that now because of what happened next. 
 And then we learn what happened next. It's like this the entire time. Some conclusion is drawn, and then she says, "but then there was that situation." It reads like a glorified diary, or a teenage girl telling stories to her best friend. 
 Which I suppose is also accurate, since Kathy is still stuck on her boarding school days. 
 When the "big secret" is revealed, I was more glad it was finally over than anything else. I already knew most of it at that point. And I really didn't feel much about it. It was a little sad at times, but despite reading nearly 300 pages of their friendship I didn't feel connected to them at all. 
 I still can't understand why Kathy and/or Tommy remained with Ruth. What tied them all together? A mutual background isn't enough; there were plenty of Hailsham students that they lost touch with. I suppose I didn't feel anything because I didn't believe their friendship to begin with. 
 The book's redeeming factor is the friendship between Kathy and Tommy. If Tommy wasn't part of this book, I wouldn't care about it at all. He's your typical nice guy, a little sensitive, and the one everyone picks on. It pisses me off how often he's called stupid, even if they're just joking. But honestly, one character isn't enough for me. 
 It's an interesting concept, and the whole back story could have been explored more. Maybe I would have been more into it. But as it stands, I just feel it's all terribly awkward.