The Naturals

It was an enjoyable book to read. It was written a while ago and has lots of those tropes I don't enjoy that were popular at the time. Like two boys who are in love with the same girl. I had a hard time differentiating between them as well. Only Sloane was really different from the other characters, the rest were very much the same to me. 

I did like reading it and it really wasn't a long book but it just felt like there was no substance. 

3.8/5

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a captivating YA mystery novel that seamlessly blends thrilling suspense with a touch of the superhuman. This book really had me constantly flipping through the pages because of its fast pacing and engaging story.

The diversity represented within the group of characters is refreshingly modern and relatable. Hailing from various ethnic backgrounds and walks of life, they feel like real teenagers you might encounter rather than book characters. Their differing personalities and abilities not only make for an engaging dynamic but also provide an X-Men-esque vibe that adds a layer of intrigue.

While I enjoyed central plot, I could have done without the romantic love triangle subplot. These clichéd romantic entanglements often feel like forced distractions in an otherwise tightly woven mystery narrative. Thankfully, Barnes more than made up for it with bone-chilling interludes told from the UNSUB's perspective. These disturbing glimpses into a psycho upped the tension and made me dread the fate of Cassie each turn of the page.

Speaking of dread, the ending completely blindsided me. Just when I thought I had all the clues pieced together, Barnes pulled the rug out from under me with a jaw-dropping revelation that reframed everything. However, it also felt a tad rushed and anticlimactic, and it still left me desperate to dive into the next book and hopefully I could unravel the unanswered questions that lingers in my mind.

Do note that The Naturals doesn't shy away from mature subject matter. There are graphic depictions of torture, murder, and other violent crimes, which some readers may too disturbing or triggering. However, for fans of gritty crime media like Criminal Minds or the CSI, you'll surely have an exhilarating experience going into this book.

Overall, this is a must-read for anyone seeking an electrifying take on the YA mystery thriller genre. Just like me, you'll find yourself wanting to reach for the second book as soon as possible.

We've all heard of Quantico, VA, the small town that is home to the FBI Academy, Laboratory, NCIS, and so on. What most of us don't know is that it's also home to a secret training ground for teenagers who are so intuitively good at profiling and other forensically-inclined psychological skills that they're described as “Natural.” Two FBI agents and one retired Marine run this program and house, using the teens to crack cold cases. Sharpening their skills in a safe environment, so that when the time is ripe, they'll be Super Agents.

The Naturals opens with Cassie – being raised by her grandmother while her father's off somewhere with the Armed Services. She's seventeen and can read people like a Richard Scarry book, which makes her a great small diner waitress. Until she's given the chance to join program and she jumps at it, becoming the fifth member of the team.

Cassie jumps into the training, and picks things up quickly. I really enjoyed reading those scenes – she and Dean, the other profiler, sound so much like Will Graham from NBC's Hannibal that I really got into it. Outside Quantico, things are afoot that will keep this from being all training and cold cases – and I bet, for those who survive, the next books will also pretty fresh cases, too.

Walking into a two-guy, two-gal house – and, apparently, being more attractive than she's aware – Cassie complicates things. Soon she's part of at least one Romantic Polygon. It's not too painful at the moment, but I could see it overtaking things in a book or two. It's marketed as YA, so it was likely anyway – still, you should know it's out there.

None of the characters – including Cassie – are much more than groupings of characteristics and tics at this point, but I'd be willing to guess that they could be within another book or two. For now, they're good enough for what the book is. It really is a fun read

A fast, fun read with just enough suspense to keep you moving, but not as much as you'd get in a Thomas Harris or Val McDermid psychological thriller – a great way to cut your teeth on the subgenre. I'll come back for more – and I'll pass it off to my daughter, who will likely eat it up.

My first audiobook ever! Are you guys proud of me?

I listened to most of this while I walked, finished it in a car trip yesterday. It was nice. Solid plot, some captivating characters, good ending. I don't think I'll be following Cassie through her other adventures, but I had fun listening to this one.

Sorry for the rambling that will 100% be happening. I am wayyy to giddy and sleep-deprived for this right now - HOWEVER you know when you start reading and you're just immediately immersed and you can NOT put it down? That's exactly what this book does! or at least for me ... i know not everyone has the same tastes or reacts to things the same way. BUT THE PLOT TWISTTTT - I totally fell for it and I couldn't be happier
this book is so good and it's like this perfect combination of Criminal Minds (well maybe NCIS is more accurate but CM was the 1st one I thought of so - hnstly u could probably put any good crime show...) + well actually I cant really think of a good example right now - maybe SoC bc of the dysfunctional characters that somehow work relatively well together??

I'll start by saying mystery/crime procedural isn't really my jam, so I know I'm not the target audience for this book. I read it with an eye toward maybe booktalking it to the local junior high kids, since mysteries/MURDER are very popular with them, and some reviews recommended this for grades 7-9. I'm ultimately NOT going to booktalk it–I definitely do think a lot of kids in that age range would enjoy that, and most of them probably wouldn't be too shocked by it, given other media they're exposed to. BUT this is a book about profilers of serial killers, and they talk about serial killers & sexual assault, and I'm just... choosing not to promote this to every junior high kid.

I think the concept–teens who are Natural profilers/lie detectors/emotion readers/whatever are collected by the FBI and sent to live in a training house that's kind of like an un-televised Real World situation–is cool if implausible, and a lot of teens would be into it.

Some teens might like the love triangle? For me, aside from being a little ~over~ love triangles, as many are these days, I was also confused by this one because I could NOT tell the two boys apart and I kept forgetting which one of them was supposed to be the ~bad boy~? Like, they are both broody FBI profilers-in-training.

Overall, a fast, enjoyable mystery (I def did not predict the ending!) and like I said–not my genre. If you (or your teens) are into mystery/procedural you'll probably like this more.

3.75

this was a pretty standard ya book for the most part; really enjoyed the fbi parts, the romance not so much (it was mostly cringy). the last 30 pages were good so I bumped the rating up and I will give the series a chance! yeah it's not perfect but I'm trying not to be harsh on ya, especially since this one was mostly readable and not too youngish

rating- 5/5

An emotion reader, a deception specialist, a statistician who could not be allowed to ingest coffee, and two profilers who can crawl into the heads of killers

did not expect a YA crime novel to hook me in

YA mystery is literally THE childhood genre right up there with YA dystopian.

nostalgia

transported back in time

very good pacing, writing and short chapters

crafted perfectly

“Personally, I wouldn't mind taking out an ad in the paper or hiring a skywriter to announce that he and Locke were outsmarted by three bored teenagers.”

found family

The love triangle is SO 2015.

BUT I ABSOLUTELY ATE IT UP.

Michael had never made any secret of the fact that he was pursuing me. Dean had fought any attraction he felt for me every step of the way.