Monday, January 12, 2026

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes


Kids are clamoring for this series from the author of The Inheritance Games series. The Naturals was first published in 2014 but has had a social media resurgence in 2025. It's the story of 17-year-old Cassie, recruited by the FBI because of her natural ability to read people. She's brought together with a small group of teens who are also "naturals" at some aspect of crime solving. The teens aren't supposed to get directly involved with murder cases, but Cassie is motivated by her mother's murder many years ago, and one of the other teens has a criminal father. So the crime solving is personal, and the naturals get access to some evidence they can't put down. As in many YA books, there's also a love triangle. It's a gritty murder mystery, one that I would say is most appropriate for 8th-up (but younger kids are asking for it). It's smart and feels like watching a crime TV show. CW: mention of sexual abuse, mutilation, and use of the word "whore"

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