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The Naturals
(The Naturals #1)
by
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 r ...more
What Cassie doesn’t r ...more
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Hardcover, 308 pages
Published
November 5th 2013
by Disney-Hyperion
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Same. I strongly disliked Nobody, but loved this series so much!
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Start your review of The Naturals (The Naturals, #1)

Jun 25, 2013
Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies
rated it
it was ok
Shelves:
ya,
tstl,
slut-shaming,
shits-and-giggles,
romance,
mystery,
middle-school,
mary-sue,
jericho-fucking-barrons,
high-school

This book is Criminal Minds fanfiction, for the under-15 crowd. It takes a great deal of suspension of disbelief to read this book; and I'm not talking about the preposterousness of the idea that children---teenagers, can be FBI criminal investigators. The necessary suspension of disbelief from the reader's part is required in order to swallow the fact that a bunch of utterly incompetent, petty teenagers are capable of looking beyond their egotistical, self-centered noses.
There's this show I lov ...more

1.) The Naturals ★★★★.5
2.) Killer Instinct ★★★★
3.) All In ★★★★.5
4.) Bad Blood ★★★★.5
--------------------------------------------------
REREAD OCTOBER 2017
Wasn't as good as the first time because obviously I knew who the killer was, but still, this series is so good!
JANUARY 2016
*4.5 STARS*
WOW. What a way to start off my reading year! This literally is a YA version of Criminal Minds with a tiny paranormal twist. The FBI has found and recruited some teenagers who are 'naturals' at certain abilities ...more
2.) Killer Instinct ★★★★
3.) All In ★★★★.5
4.) Bad Blood ★★★★.5
--------------------------------------------------
REREAD OCTOBER 2017
Wasn't as good as the first time because obviously I knew who the killer was, but still, this series is so good!
JANUARY 2016
*4.5 STARS*
WOW. What a way to start off my reading year! This literally is a YA version of Criminal Minds with a tiny paranormal twist. The FBI has found and recruited some teenagers who are 'naturals' at certain abilities ...more

You know what astounds me about these MCs in YA literature??
Their level of self-confidence which easily, and almost always, borders on the self-centered/self-delusional-ness territory.
I truly can't imagine anyone would hurt other people for my sake at all, let alone to actually end their lives.
But nope, not a problem for our Cassie here. Cassie who almost casually stated "I knew suddenly that he could pull the trigger. He wouldn’t hesitate. If he thought I was in danger, he would put a bullet i ...more
Their level of self-confidence which easily, and almost always, borders on the self-centered/self-delusional-ness territory.
I truly can't imagine anyone would hurt other people for my sake at all, let alone to actually end their lives.
But nope, not a problem for our Cassie here. Cassie who almost casually stated "I knew suddenly that he could pull the trigger. He wouldn’t hesitate. If he thought I was in danger, he would put a bullet i ...more

Aug 18, 2013
Faye, la Patata
rated it
it was ok
Shelves:
1st-in-series,
2013,
academy-setting,
action,
august-2013,
boring-hero-heroine,
boring-narrative,
boring-romance,
crime,
drama

Man, this was such a huge letdown.
I was really looking forward to this book because I thought I'd finally get to read something like Criminal Minds or Lie To Me or, heck, even CSI. I loved those shows; I gobbled them all up when I first learned about their existence. The Naturals promised me that, but unfortunately, it was a disappointment all around.
These are what The Naturals consists of:
* 50% drama from an unnecessary love triangle;
* 20% of Cassie overthinking things, apart from being dul ...more

Rating: 4.5/5
The Naturals is a great book for fans of Criminal Minds, CSI and shows like them. I am a fan of all those kind of shows and when I read the blurb of this book I was dying to get my hands on it. And I am really glad I did. This had mystery, murder, serieal killers, kids with powers (not exactly supernatural powers bu still...), romance, fighting. It was just perfect. Exactly what I was looking for.
The Naturals are a group of teenagers that are trained by the FBI to solve mostly cold ...more
The Naturals is a great book for fans of Criminal Minds, CSI and shows like them. I am a fan of all those kind of shows and when I read the blurb of this book I was dying to get my hands on it. And I am really glad I did. This had mystery, murder, serieal killers, kids with powers (not exactly supernatural powers bu still...), romance, fighting. It was just perfect. Exactly what I was looking for.
The Naturals are a group of teenagers that are trained by the FBI to solve mostly cold ...more

Easiest five stars I've given a book these past six months.
To be fairly honest, it was a 4,5 at the start because it has little flaws that prevent it from being absolutely perfect, but since it put me in such a fierce and euphoric mood, I decided to round the ratings up. After all, if a book makes you feel something positive, that's a start, and a very good one.
I mean, yesterday I finished The Song of Achilles and, even if I loved it with a burning passion, it also left me numb like a rock bec ...more
To be fairly honest, it was a 4,5 at the start because it has little flaws that prevent it from being absolutely perfect, but since it put me in such a fierce and euphoric mood, I decided to round the ratings up. After all, if a book makes you feel something positive, that's a start, and a very good one.
I mean, yesterday I finished The Song of Achilles and, even if I loved it with a burning passion, it also left me numb like a rock bec ...more

2.5/5
This book sparked my interest when I saw it marketed as a teenage Criminal Minds, teens with natural talents (such as profiling, statistics, detection of deception and emotion), being recruited by the FBI to help crack cold cases.
The few things that peaked my interest didn't really come to fruition, there wasn't much to compare to Criminal Minds and there was no cracking of co ...more
“Sloane slipped an arm around my waist. "There are fourteen varieties of hugs," she said. "This is one of them.”
This book sparked my interest when I saw it marketed as a teenage Criminal Minds, teens with natural talents (such as profiling, statistics, detection of deception and emotion), being recruited by the FBI to help crack cold cases.
The few things that peaked my interest didn't really come to fruition, there wasn't much to compare to Criminal Minds and there was no cracking of co ...more

“None of us had normal childhoods," Sloane said quietly. "If we had, we wouldn't be Naturals.”
This is kind of unusual review for me, since I've already read the first three book in this series (In very record time!) Actually finished the third book - All In - just right now. This review will be completely spoiler free for all three books, I just want to mention a few of my thoughts on the characters and The Naturals series overall. I have to say that the first book was just a starter, each b ...more
This is kind of unusual review for me, since I've already read the first three book in this series (In very record time!) Actually finished the third book - All In - just right now. This review will be completely spoiler free for all three books, I just want to mention a few of my thoughts on the characters and The Naturals series overall. I have to say that the first book was just a starter, each b ...more

Love triangles are the bane of enjoying YA books peacefully.

First of all, let me tell you about how I read this series and DNF'ed it.
Innocent 16-year-old Nedia stumbled upon a series called THE NATURALS. She liked the series. The series liked her back. She found a fictional boyfriend called Michael. She started shipping Michael and Cassie. Nedia was certain that they will end up together. How could they not? But, Oh, no! Nedia was so so wrong. She shipped the wrong ship. That ship was sinking. A ...more

First of all, let me tell you about how I read this series and DNF'ed it.
Innocent 16-year-old Nedia stumbled upon a series called THE NATURALS. She liked the series. The series liked her back. She found a fictional boyfriend called Michael. She started shipping Michael and Cassie. Nedia was certain that they will end up together. How could they not? But, Oh, no! Nedia was so so wrong. She shipped the wrong ship. That ship was sinking. A ...more

Muuuuuurder. That's all that needs be said, peoples. Go read this book because there's serial killers and murders and bone-chilling plot twists. I love reading these kind of books, but am I ever frightened? Um, nope. I always feel like it's definitely a book and not reality. BUT THIS WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! I was soooo sucked in, I actually felt my stomach churning. It's so incredibly well written it just blows my mind.

The only reason it's not getting 5-stars is I felt a bit detached. A few ti ...more

The only reason it's not getting 5-stars is I felt a bit detached. A few ti ...more

I honestly didn't even have time to add this to my "currently reading" shelf because i completed this book in whopping 2 1/2 hours, WOAH. This book was absolutely phenomenal! I am so compelled to do a booktube review of it because there are just so many amazing things I have to say about it! It was ridiculously fast paced and never had a dull moment. The author actually just tweeted me back telling me the sequel comes out in November, because I had NO IDEA it was a series!!!! I cannot wait for m
...more

The Naturals is a hit or miss for me and very hard to review. Some parts of the book I really enjoyed, while others I found lacking. To give you an example - I'm not even sure if this book is part paranormal or not. As a serial killer mystery, however, it has its fair share of appealing qualities.
This novel starts by introducing us to our protagonist, Cassie, who's always been good at reading people with only the tiniest of details. She quickly meets with an FBI team who takes her on to train a ...more
This novel starts by introducing us to our protagonist, Cassie, who's always been good at reading people with only the tiniest of details. She quickly meets with an FBI team who takes her on to train a ...more

It was a freaking mega fantastic book. I simply couldn't stop reading it. It was mind-blowing and thrilling at the same time.
I haven't been on such emotional roller coaster for a long time. I loved one characters, I hated another but after some pages everything became vice versa.
It was especially interesting to read the profiler's job - all their I-You-UNSUB thing. It gives you a lot to think and a lot to analize (and believe me I've seen all the episodes of CSI LOL).
Sometimes you just forget th ...more
I haven't been on such emotional roller coaster for a long time. I loved one characters, I hated another but after some pages everything became vice versa.
It was especially interesting to read the profiler's job - all their I-You-UNSUB thing. It gives you a lot to think and a lot to analize (and believe me I've seen all the episodes of CSI LOL).
Sometimes you just forget th ...more

WOAH. This was AMAZING! I really didn't expect to love it this much, but you can't argue with Xavier's Institute vibes and serial killer mysteries! It had my favourite gender balance of characters, three girls and two boys, was blurbed by Ally Carter and was all about teens training to be part of the FBI...literally all the best things combined into one book.
Sidenote: Although there may be a love triangle, it's VERY RESPECTFUL of everyone's feelings. I'll give an example: (to set the scene, thi ...more
Sidenote: Although there may be a love triangle, it's VERY RESPECTFUL of everyone's feelings. I'll give an example: (to set the scene, thi ...more

Oct 29, 2013
Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
favorites,
my-ya-library-catalogue
Via The Obsesses Bookseller at www.nikihawkes.com
I want to start out by saying that I loved this book. It was intense, fast-paced, fascinating, and totally absorbing. In short, it had everything I’d hoped to find in a novel but with that extra-special something that turned it from great to phenomenal! It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, and was definitely a “drop everything until you finish it” type of read. I plan on recommending it as often as I can, and here are a few reasons why:
Conce ...more
I want to start out by saying that I loved this book. It was intense, fast-paced, fascinating, and totally absorbing. In short, it had everything I’d hoped to find in a novel but with that extra-special something that turned it from great to phenomenal! It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, and was definitely a “drop everything until you finish it” type of read. I plan on recommending it as often as I can, and here are a few reasons why:
Conce ...more

I don't usually read mystery/thriller novels because I get easily bored with it - I'll skim it until I get to the last chapter and read its conclusion because my impatient mind would want to know immediately what happened, who the real killer is, and how the characters solved it.
But with this book, I wanted to savor every single sentence and stay with the characters all throughout. This book made me stay.
This book stars teenagers who are natural at solving crimes, hence the name of the book. The ...more
But with this book, I wanted to savor every single sentence and stay with the characters all throughout. This book made me stay.
This book stars teenagers who are natural at solving crimes, hence the name of the book. The ...more

This is my first book by this author, but definitely not the last! Cassie is a natural born profiler, and is recruited by the FBI, to participate in a program with other natural born teens. This book had a bit of everything it's a mystery, some romance, some thrills, and lots and lots of twists and turns. I enjoyed all the characters and found it interesting how they used their gifts. Can you imagine playing truth or dare with somebody who always knows if you're lying or not? Are crushing on a g
...more

Mini review:
DNF
When I had first heard about this book I was hesitant. At the time I wasn't interested in reading this. I ended up reading the author's other book The Fixer. While I didn't enjoy it I wanted to read this book. Unfortunately this book was a mess.
It felt really sloppy and that too many things were happening at once. Cassie's thoughts were also a bit weird to read about.
I would still recommend this. Despite being a mess it does have an interesting premise. And I've heard that it get ...more
DNF
When I had first heard about this book I was hesitant. At the time I wasn't interested in reading this. I ended up reading the author's other book The Fixer. While I didn't enjoy it I wanted to read this book. Unfortunately this book was a mess.
It felt really sloppy and that too many things were happening at once. Cassie's thoughts were also a bit weird to read about.
I would still recommend this. Despite being a mess it does have an interesting premise. And I've heard that it get ...more

Duuuuude. This was surprisingly dark considering it's genre. I was not expecting this to be as good as it is. I even lost a little sleep so, kudos Ms. Barnes, kudos. This was supposed to be a filler book that was kinda just there and I don't know how to NOT read... But damn. I'm mentally shooting myself for not having picked it up sooner! I adore finding little treasures like this hiding in the unpredictable abyss of literature that is YA. Will definitely explore more of this series in the futur
...more

Nov 05, 2017
K.
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2017,
audience-young-adult,
crime,
own-it-kindle,
setting-usa,
thriller,
2020,
difficult-topics
Trigger warnings: murder, blood, death of a parent, stalking, serial killers.
26/7/2020
I've been catching up on the recent seasons of Criminal Minds lately (don't bother, they're crap) and that reminded me of this series and I figured it was time for a reread. And given that I flew through the first book in a single afternoon, yup. It was definitely time for a reread. I'm looking forward to rereading the rest of them next month because they're utterly gripping and the characters are great.
5/11/ ...more
26/7/2020
I've been catching up on the recent seasons of Criminal Minds lately (don't bother, they're crap) and that reminded me of this series and I figured it was time for a reread. And given that I flew through the first book in a single afternoon, yup. It was definitely time for a reread. I'm looking forward to rereading the rest of them next month because they're utterly gripping and the characters are great.
5/11/ ...more

This book is a built-in negation of its own premise.
Cassandra and her fellow teens are supposed to be "naturals" at reading people and deducing clue to their behavior (eg. knowing what motivates serial killers, telling when people are lying, etc) but this only ever happens in controlled testing situations. Throughout the book they are ridiculously oblivious and naive.
The book seemed even weaker after I noticed that the author has a graduate degree in psychology -- I had been guessing that it w ...more
Cassandra and her fellow teens are supposed to be "naturals" at reading people and deducing clue to their behavior (eg. knowing what motivates serial killers, telling when people are lying, etc) but this only ever happens in controlled testing situations. Throughout the book they are ridiculously oblivious and naive.
The book seemed even weaker after I noticed that the author has a graduate degree in psychology -- I had been guessing that it w ...more

Jun 24, 2015
Natalie (Never trust a duck)
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
bringing-out-the-sleuth-in-me,
i-own
People are bat-shit crazy.

I loved the book, the reasons it is not a 5 star are as followed;
* It was too YA to really hook me all the way.
* The ending was slightly predictable, I didn't guess it exactly, but almost.
* The "natural thing" kinda bugged me as I thought, honestly if some people could do this, then they all would of been rounded up years ago and working for the fbi/cia/etc already, it wouldn't of been a new thing.
* A love triangle.. jeez... how many times can this be done.. seriously.
Apart from those issues m ...more
* It was too YA to really hook me all the way.
* The ending was slightly predictable, I didn't guess it exactly, but almost.
* The "natural thing" kinda bugged me as I thought, honestly if some people could do this, then they all would of been rounded up years ago and working for the fbi/cia/etc already, it wouldn't of been a new thing.
* A love triangle.. jeez... how many times can this be done.. seriously.
Apart from those issues m ...more

Jul 27, 2013
Jeann (Happy Indulgence)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
review-copy,
young-adult
This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!
I have no idea why it took me so long to read The Naturals. But I’m so glad I finally did, because I really enjoyed the FBI angle.
The Naturals is about a group of teens who help the FBI solve crimes with their ‘abilities’. This is genius, I mean FBI and YA, why hasn’t this been done before (or why hasn’t anyone told me about it)?
It’s these abilities that I found really fascinating. Cassie is a profiler, who can deduce who an ...more
I have no idea why it took me so long to read The Naturals. But I’m so glad I finally did, because I really enjoyed the FBI angle.
The Naturals is about a group of teens who help the FBI solve crimes with their ‘abilities’. This is genius, I mean FBI and YA, why hasn’t this been done before (or why hasn’t anyone told me about it)?
It’s these abilities that I found really fascinating. Cassie is a profiler, who can deduce who an ...more

good lord i don't know why this has taken me so long to read. i had heard this was great but i never knew. i NEVER KNEW how great until UGH.
cassie is such a great character and yeah this definitely is tropey for a thriller mystery and is basically criminal minds in young adult format but IT IS GOOD AND YOU SHOULD R E A D IT!! cassie's back story is tragic but believable because jennifer lynn barnes wrote her character with just enough emotion but also enough real-ness? idek what i'm tryin to say ...more
cassie is such a great character and yeah this definitely is tropey for a thriller mystery and is basically criminal minds in young adult format but IT IS GOOD AND YOU SHOULD R E A D IT!! cassie's back story is tragic but believable because jennifer lynn barnes wrote her character with just enough emotion but also enough real-ness? idek what i'm tryin to say ...more

Jun 01, 2016
Lexie
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
Mystery fiends, profilers, anyone contemplating murder
Shelves:
mystery,
read-in-2016
Reviewed at The Honest Bookclub.
Oh, this book feels a little bit like home.
(Because YA mystery, serial killers, the FBI, behavioral science and psychopaths are apparently home to me.)
Hear me out. It's not how it sounds. Because I am the sort of weirdo who reads the Acknowledgments section at the end of the book, I now know the author to hold extensive degrees in psychology, in psychotherapy, and to have specialized in behavioral science.
And boy, doesn't that make so much sense.
Because to center ...more
Oh, this book feels a little bit like home.
Hear me out. It's not how it sounds. Because I am the sort of weirdo who reads the Acknowledgments section at the end of the book, I now know the author to hold extensive degrees in psychology, in psychotherapy, and to have specialized in behavioral science.
And boy, doesn't that make so much sense.
Because to center ...more

This was so brilliant.
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Not Another Teen ...: April 2020 - The Naturals | 13 | 16 | Jun 17, 2020 02:04PM | |
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Teen girl in crime solving network with other teens who have special skills, ie. she can look at someone and figure out from their body language and what is on them, what they are like etc. [s] | 6 | 20 | Dec 09, 2019 08:49PM | |
Best natural beauty products | 1 | 1 | Oct 21, 2019 03:08AM | |
YA Buddy Readers'...: The Naturals (The Naturals #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - GBR - Starting March 1st 2019 | 8 | 168 | Apr 06, 2019 04:23PM | |
Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes | 3 | 10 | Feb 22, 2019 04:42PM | |
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. YA book about Young gifted Detectives. [s] | 2 | 25 | Sep 13, 2018 02:57AM | |
YA Buddy Readers'...: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - Restarting September 6th 2018 | 21 | 149 | Sep 06, 2018 11:19AM |
Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has been, in turn, a competitive cheerleader, a volleyball player, a dancer, a debutante, a primate cognition researcher, a teen model, a comic book geek, and a lemur aficionado. She's been writing for as long as she can remember, finished her first full book (which she now refers to as a "practice book" and which none
...more
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“Sloane slipped an arm around my waist. "There are fourteen varieties of hugs," she said. "This is one of them.”
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“You feel stupid. Doesn't mean you are.”
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