Book Review: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

AUTHOR: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

PUBLISHER: Disney-Hyperion

PAGES: 308

STAND ALONE/SERIES: Series

SOURCE: Bought

OUTLINE:

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.

MY THOUGHTS

Criminal Minds in book format with teenagers. That is all! No, but seriously if you like Criminal Minds, or any shows like it you might enjoy this read.  I have to admit that so far Ms. Barnes can do no wrong by me. I have enjoyed every one of her books I've read. 

The Naturals is a book that brings together so many of my favorite things in one story. You got mystery/thriller, special abilities, hot guys, a little bit of girl drama.  I love that this story is not like other YAs. It has it's own feel. 

If you read above you noticed that I mentioned it has some of my favorite things. Let's talk about those one by one.

1. Mystery/thriller and murders. I mean what could be better right? I love YA mystery books because I'm the type who likes to try and figure out the who done it. I do the same thing when I watch those type tv show/movies that don't tell who it is until the end. Most of the time I'm soooo completely wrong. Like I was with The Naturals, I knew it was a person close to the group, but I kept jumping around from one person to the next. Then to find out in the end that other things were tied to the murder. LOVED IT!!!! Yeah so I'm definitely going to be reading the next book in the series.
2. Special abilities, and I don't mean the kind like in The Darkest Mind, or The Young Elites. These abilities are more natural to put it simply. :) Notice I say abilities instead of powers. These are more like feelings or very correct guesses. I love that the abilities are different and more realistic. One is able to feel emotions, one's a human lie detector, one's number smart, and the others are able to read peoples interaction (profilers) 
3. So the third is a little more for the girl side of me. HOT BOYS! I definitely had the case of flip flops. I would like Michael and hate Dean, and then I'd be like  I like Dean and hate Michael. To be honest they both had the likeable and dislikeable sides. I can't get into much because their stories unfold within the story.
4. The last is the drama between the girls (and boys) When you have a group that's been together awhile, and then a new girl appears things tend to get catty. :)

I really enjoyed all the characters even though up until the end they were all a little bit of a suspect in my book.

The ending was not what I was expecting.