The Naturals is a 2013 YA novel written by Jennifer Lynn
Barnes. It was published on 7 November 2013 by Quercus and its ISBN is 1780876823. I picked up the paperback from
an evil corporate conglomerate plotting to take over the world. There are NO SPOILERS in my review.
PLOT
Cassie Hobbes is not like most teenagers. Most teenagers
don't lose their mother in a bloody, unsolved murder. Most teenagers can't tell
who you are, where you're from and how you're likely to behave within moments
of meeting you. And most teenagers don't get chosen to join The Naturals.
Identified by the FBI as uniquely gifted, Cassie is
recruited to an elite school where a small number of teens are trained to hone
their exceptional abilities. For Cassie, trying to make friends with the girls,
and to figure out the two very different, very hot boys, is challenging enough.
But when a new serial killer strikes and Cassie is drawn
into a lethal game of cat and mouse, she realises just how dangerous life in
The Naturals could be.
WHY I BOUGHT IT
I follow Jennifer Lynn Barnes on Twitter so I saw the whole
thing as she talked about a new project and watched as it formed into The
Naturals. I followed Jennifer Lynn Barnes after reading Tattoo and Fate which I
had a love/hate relationship with.
WHAT I THOUGHT
As mentioned I heard a lot about the ongoing development
process of the book and it was worth the wait. At first you might think trying
to combine YA with grisly crimes would be a step too far and that the effect
would be discordant at best. JLB somehow manages to combine the two, I say
somehow but I know how she did it, good research and great writing.
Cassie is an interesting protagonist with a rather unique
set of strengths and special skills but at the beginning of the book she is
just a girl who is a little aimless in life the arrival of the FBI offers her a
chance at purpose and at justice.
The rest of the Naturals are an interesting group but as it
is only the first book I am not going to judge them yet it would not be fair as
we have barely just met them and I for one need more time to decide if they are
three dimensional.
Now for the story which is scary it does as many commentators
have stated capture the feel of Criminal Minds that whole “why the hell am I
watching this is totally creeps me out” vibe, there is no doubt that this is a
scary read, a different kind than something like Michael Grant’s Gone
series but still very scary.
I mentioned that this was similar to Criminal Minds a lot of
the same terms are thrown around and indeed apparently it was Criminal Minds
who started that whole UNSUB thing that has pressed its way deep into pop
culture. Indeed much like Criminal Minds we get to see things from the killer’s
perspective though more in his thoughts as this is a book, I think I would have
liked to hear how that was done on an audiobook but I have the paperback.
So by now you should have realised I like the book and now
all there is to see whether or not it is for you. If you like action and a plot
that makes you think with the YA elements of snappy dialogue then this book
will welcome you with open arms.
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