The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, (published by Hachette Books in November 2013) is a detective fiction targeted towards the young adult audience. The novel follows Cassie Hobbes, a seventeen year-old profiler, who has been recruited by the FBI to solve cold cases. She joins the Naturals program, along with three other teenagers who also have unique and valuable talents, such as detecting lies, reading emotions, and being a statistical genius. As Cassie connects with her fellow Naturals and attempts to find her place among them, the memories and people of her past begin to haunt her. The further she gets into the program, the more she realizes that their current case of serial murders is more personal than they could have ever imagined. Cassie’s skills, motivations, and relationships are tested as she dances with a serial killer who is hell-bent on wreaking death and destruction at any cost.
Though The Naturals is told entirely from the first person point of view, Barnes implements a disturbing twist as the reader is allowed a glimpse into the mind of the serial killer. No more than a few pages long, the killer’s perspective is shown in the eyes of a profiler, using the personal pronoun “you” instead of the more commonly used “I” or “they.” This second person point of view is representative of how Cassie is learning to profile her suspects, a tool utilized to build suspense and keep readers guessing. As a profiler, Cassie delves into the dreadful and twisted minds of criminals, trying to understand and predict their behavior by tapping into the darkest parts of herself. The layer of detail Barnes implements into these sequences gives the novel a sinister tone that is fundamental to its themes and how they impact the characters.
“Blood does not define family and family does not define who you are” is the central theme of The Naturals. The five recruits have all been subject to varied scarring situations at the hands of or as a result of their families at some point in their early life. Most are slow to trust, keeping each other at arms length to fend off the horrors that come with caring for someone. Underneath it all, they fear facing the potential reality that they are destined to become who and what they claim to hate. Moments of self-isolation are a result of this angst, contributing to characters realizing that they are not alone and have each other to guide them through the darkness. Themes of isolation are also present throughout the story due to the group’s varying skill sets that no outsider can begin to understand. The FBI did not only recruit the teens to capitalize on these unique skill sets, but to also replicate them in the ordinary agent. Being a Natural means that you are regarded more as an experiment rather than a kid. The alienation of being extraordinary has followed Cassie and her friends their whole lives, and now is a plague in the one place they are supposed to belong. This allows for deeper bonds to be built between the group like, for instance, the connection Barnes establishes between Cassie and Dean, a fellow profiler, exploring how they are able to understand one another at a deeper level than anyone else ever could. Their minds, hard-wired to pick up on minute, personal details that an ordinary profiler would not be able to determine, become one as they intuitively detect definitive answers that they cannot explain. For once, Cassie feels that she has found someone that recognizes her for who she is and knows firsthand of the detrimental effects the gift of extreme observation has. The constant scrutiny and similar life experiences leads the teens to find solace, albeit reluctantly, in each other. Though dysfunctional at times, the teenage Naturals and their unwavering loyalty to their own demonstrates the value of teamwork and finding those who you can consider family.
The believability of the characters only comes into question on account of the unconventional upbringings of the Naturals and the absurdity that human beings could be capable of what these teens specialize in. The level of genius each of them have in their speciality is breathtaking as they face life-threatening stakes and go against the odds of what is conventionally considered to be humanly possible. Cassie and Dean unconsciously pick apart a killer’s psyche and Michael, Sloane, and Lia see parts of the mind that would otherwise be hidden to the ordinary person. Barnes was meticulous when creating her story, carefully and purposefully weaving the plot into her characters. As Barnes slowly fleshes out her characters through Cassie’s watchful eyes, readers are exposed to the depth of their motivations and thoughts and are influenced by the heartbreaking stories covered with humor that is relatable, to a degree, and the clear empathy Cassie holds for her friends. By the end, one can understand why the characters say and act the way they do as it has been artistically splayed and spaced out within the pages.
The Naturals is a web of character driven action that will have readers on the edge of their seats as puzzles and patterns get deeper, darker, and stakes rise. This heart-pounding mystery is a fun, yet mature read, as the darker plot undertones can be disturbing. In terms of literary value, The Naturals urges readers to pay close attention to a detail-reliant storyline and realize that things are not always as they seem. Reader interest is sure to be grabbed as Barnes balances extraordinary and relatability expertly in an ominous world of FBI investigative work and never knowing who the true enemy is.
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