Monday, March 7, 2016

REVIEW: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Naturals (The Naturals, #1)  
The Naturals (1) 
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes



Genre(s): Mystery, Young Adult
Pages: 308
Published: Nov 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion




Synopsis:  "Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides—especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive."

Review:  If you like the shows like Criminal Minds, Homeland, CSI or Coldcase and want to mix it up with some teen drama, you will probably enjoy this book. Cassie is very good at reading people. She can tell you a bit about ones tastes, lifestyle, etc just by looking at you. When given the chance to prove herself working with the FBI, she jumps at the chance. But for her, it is also to try to catch her mother's killer.

She is teamed up in a safe house wit a couple guardians and other teens with special abilities. From a fellow profiler, to a walking lie detector. A team of 4 teens (5 once she joins) against the world of expect criminals. They are training and working on cold cases that the FBI has set aside without resolution. No current cases allowed.....HA! When do teenagers follow the rules?

Sloane is my favorite. All her random data and facts she shares brought a few smiles to my face. She is very socially awkward which just made her more endearing. There is a love triangle around Cassie involving the two boys, Dean and Michael, that she now lives with. So lots or eye-rolling teen drama. Sometimes it seems to hold up the story which was annoying. Especially when you toss in how naive Cassie can be.

Overall a fun read. The skills of these teens a bit over the top but yeah, some people are truly quite gifted. And while talented, these kids have their share of flaws, which I appreciate seeing in characters. There are some interesting twists and angles that I really enjoyed seeing unfold. It is a fairly fast, easy read for both teens and adults.


*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair, honest review. All opinions expressed are strictly my own.*

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