The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a thrilling murder mystery with interesting twist and turns. Barnes crafts a masterful story that will guarantee to have readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page. Graduating from Yale with a degree in cognitive behavior, Jennifer Lynn Barnes uses her in-depth knowledge to write a book revolving around characters with a gift for psychologically reading people. From the point of view of a relatable teenage girl, we see the world of crime-solving in a new light. With a fast-paced storyline and just the right amount of suspense, this novel is definitely one for the record books.
Cassie Hobbes is an average teen to the ordinary eye, but inside her head, she can piece together little things like your clothing and actions to understand who you are and what you want. When a FBI agent approaches her with an offer to join an elite team of gifted teenagers, she accepts in hopes of solving her mother’s murder. She and the other Naturals are tasked with finding the killer responsible for a series of murders, and the case begins to hit Cassie close to home.
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The victims resemble her mother and are murdered in the same manner she was. She and the team race to solve the case before Cassie becomes the next victim. The Naturals ends with a twist even the best of book predictors won’t see coming. We see the story through the eyes of Cassie, a reserved and resilient girl who seeks justice for her mother’s death.
When she is thrust in the midst of the FBI, she is quickly intimidated by the other Naturals and feels as though she doesn’t belong. Soon, though, she finds friends and a home in this unlikely place. Dean shares the profiling ability with Cassie but does everything to push her away. Brooding, he acts like the world is sorrowful and is haunted by his dark secrets. Michael is the flirty and arrogant second newest member of the Naturals who specializes in reading emotions. Lia is the sly and sometimes mean girl who can tell when someone is lying. She participates in an on-and-off-again relationship with Michael. Sloane is a super genius with an eidetic memory. Although she means well, she isn’t the best at reading people and often comes off as
awkward. Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ The Naturals deserves all five stars and more. The Naturals is wonderfully written and easily one of her best novels. Her book is notably one of the top murder mysteries, and perhaps the best one I’ve ever read. I admire her work as an author, and she inspires me to write as well. There are five books in The Naturals series, and I hope there will be another sequel! I have high opinions of this book because I love books that are thrilling, especially murder mysteries. Usually, I look for books with compelling storylines that keep me guessing until the end. It’s very rare that I find a book that I physically cannot put down. The Naturals was so easy for me to read in one sitting. For the entire time I was reading it, I would get upset at anyone who interrupted me. I had read The Fixer that Jennifer Lynn Barnes also wrote because it was a Truman award nominee. It was so phenomenal that I sought out my public library to read the sequel. However, I was disappointed to find out that Barnes had switched publishers and wouldn’t be writing another book in that series, especially since the last one ended on a cliffhanger. When I found another series by Barnes, I had high expectations. The Naturals turned out to be head and shoulders above The Fixer. I was definitely not disappointed! Personally, I love fast paced books with great characterization and an exciting plot. Not only this book, but the entire series brought all of this and more. If you love any of these attributes, I recommend reading The Naturals. I’ve read my fair share of terrible books and books on the opposite side of that spectrum, but The Naturals just stuck out to me. The Naturals certainly left a warm feeling in my book-loving heart.
Reverend Jeremiah Brown - Hillsboro's minister. He is a hard- hearted man who feels no qualms about convincing the town to condemn Bert Cates and his daughter as incorrigible sinners.
In this book, Kolbert travels to many places to find out what is happening with global warming. Quite often she ran into the same fear at the places she went, the fear for loss before the next generation. When she went to Alaska, many people were fleeing from their homes because the sea ice surrounding them, creating a buffer zone for storms, was melting and that was causing houses to just be swept away.
The main characters in this story are 6 friends from Cedarville Middle School, a crooked businessman, and a Doberman Pincher. Griffin Bing is, “The Man With The Plan,” and he organizes the missions this group of friends get involved in. Ben Slovak is Griffins best friend and he has a ferret that goes everywhere with him to help him with his narcolepsy or sleep disorder. Pitch Benson is an expert at mountain climbing and she helps them get into impossible places. Melissa Dukakis is a computer expert which comes in handy for eves dropping. Logan Kellerman is an actor and he is good at distracting people. Savannah Drysdale is an animal whisperer which has helped them get past guard dogs. S. Wendell Palomino or, “Swindle” is a crooked businessman who has caused these friends a lot of problems. Luthor is a huge temperamental Doberman who be...
The Novel House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski uses two characters of his own creation to construct the book in its entirety. The first contributor, Zampano, who is the author, who may or may not be trustworthy of the interpretation of The Navidson Record, because he is blind. Early on in his efforts to finish the book he dies under suspicious circumstances. At this point, Danielewski employees another to contribute, Johnny Truant, who composes the introduction and notes for the book. Zampano documents the Navidson Record which is about Will Navidson and his family. Navidson calls his brother Tom and a family friend, Billy Reston, to investigate a hallway that appears out of nowhere between two rooms. Once a labyrinth appears in the house,
Jaycee is just your average girl at the beginning of the story. She never imagined that she would reveal one of the darkest secrets in Lake Ridge by simply trying to figure out who killed her ex-best friend. The police make it clear that they are not on her or her partner Eduardo’s side. When you are trying to solve a murder mystery for someone who has darker skin and may have connections to a gang, you aren’t as equal as the white christian community. So, without the help of the police Jaycee has to try and figure out all of these little pieces of evidence that lead to the unsuspected conclusion that solves the mystery. Her and Eduardo eventually piece the clues together to figure out who really killed Rachel. With all of the bits of evidence that Jaycee finds throughout the story, she is eventually able to figure it out by questioning Evan Cross, who the reader soon finds out knows all the answers. “And when she kept looking, you killed her?’ He nods. ‘It wasn’t supposed to go that far, she wasn’t supposed to get hurt--’ He stops, realizing he’s said too much. ‘Except that she did,’ I finish for him (Wolf 309). Jaycee was the one who initially got all of the answers out in the public, not the police, nor the investigators, which directly makes this book a cozy. Along with this idea, this mystery book is also a Noir. Jaycee thinks that she can trust certain people, but her word is completely turned upside-down when she learns the real truth. This book really teaches you that no matter what you think, you really can’t trust anyone, except for the ones that stick with you even after they said you’re on your own. Jaycee begins to trust Skyler, which was a horrible idea and almost gets her killed. “‘We have to go!’ I yell. The roaring of the fire gets louder. I reach for his hand and try to stand, but he grabs me, wraps his arms around me, and then rolls over so I’m
The story of Chris McCandless is a long story that is complex to tell in its entirety. This essay will analyze Jon Krakauer’s book, Into The Wild, in an attempt to pursued you that Krakauer did a magnificent job telling McCandless’ story up to his death.
This book is about a girl name Ellen Foster who is ten years old. Her mother committed suicide by over dosing on her medication. When Ellen tried to go look for help for her mother her father stopped her. He told them that if she looked for helped he would kill them both. After her mother died she was left under her fathers custody.
The obvious theme of the story is crime and mystery, however as a reader when reading beyond, it is realizable this story is not only based on finding the true evil. This novel consists of another theme which is decision-making, and friendship. In this novel, it is conspicuous the theme is crime due to the doings of the characters and the direction the author is leading the readers. Nevertheless, Collin has to make some difficult decisions in order to save himself as well has his new friendship with Alyssa. From Colin's perspective, we come to realize Alyssa is a beautiful female and him, as any young teenage boy feels once they get to know a beautiful girl, wants to help her out and become her Romeo. In this situation, Collin manages to give a hand to Alyssa often enough, at this point Alyssa begins to trust Collin furthermore. Alyssa now reveals to Colin as to why she vandalizes the posts he’s been cleaning daily. Following this event, Colin has to make a crucial decision, Colin has to reveal to the police the doings of the gang, however, all at once he has to make sure the gang does not find out Alyssa went to the cops or else Alyssa’s brother will face an unwanted life or death situation. This situation may not be something all teenagers are facing or even most, but this scenario does reflect upon other situations teenagers at this present time have to face. Being caught in between doing the right thing and helping your friend is a common situation most teenagers tend to face at this moment. Most teenagers tend to head in the route of their friend, however, this plot clearly portrays there is always a way around the obstacles. Collin instantly thought of a plan to help his friend and do the right thing. Alike this event, teenagers need to come to learn to think outside of the box, figure a way out and not narrow the
The Europeans changed the land of the home of the Indians, which they renamed New England. In Changes in the Land, Cronon explains all the different aspects in how the Europeans changed the land. Changing by the culture and organization of the Indians lives, the land itself, including the region’s plants and animals. Cronon states, “The shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes well known to historians in the ways these peoples organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations less well known to historians in the region’s plant and animal communities,” (Cronon, xv). New England went through human development, environmental and ecological change from the Europeans.
To start off Melinda is a freshman. The first year of high school. High school is tough, but it becomes extremely tough due to the fact of her having no friends. Plus home is not any
What we see is not the truth, but rather our interpretation and distortion of the things we struggle to perceive, as our imagination fuses with our conception of reality. We conceptualize these omnipotent forces through our uses of symbols – to create an understandable world through abstractions – in order to explain what these forces are. [INTRODUCE CAPRA]
Every individual has two lives, the life we live, and the life we live after that. Nobody is perfect, but if one works hard enough, he or she can stay away from failure. The Natural is a novel written by Bernard Malamud. It is Malamud’s first novel that initially received mixed reactions but afterwards, it was regarded as an outstanding piece of literature. It is a story about Roy Hobbs who after making mistakes in his life, he returns the bribery money and is left with self-hatred for mistakes he has done. Hobbs was a baseball player who aspired to be famous, but because of his carnal and materialistic desire, his quest for heroism failed, as he was left with nothing. In the modern world, the quest for heroism is a difficult struggle, and this can be seen through the protagonist in The Natural.
The government of the United States of America is very unique. While many Americans complain about high taxes and Big Brother keeping too close an eye, the truth is that American government, compared to most foreign democracies, is very limited in power and scope. One area American government differs greatly from others is its scope of public policy. Americans desire limited public policy, a result of several components of American ideology, the most important being our desire for individuality and equal opportunity for all citizens. There are many possible explanations for the reason Americans think this way, including the personality of the immigrants who fled here, our physical isolation from other countries, and the diversity of the American population.
Cassie Knight has everything a girl wants: popularity, best friends, great personality, and, of course, a fabulous fashion sense. Her dad eventually gets a promotion, and Cassie will move from sunny Houston to the frozen lands of Maine. However, being Cassie, she doesn't let this get her down. Cassie is the kind to always remain
In his novel, Native Son, Richard Wright favors short, simple, blunt sentences that help maintain the quick narrative pace of the novel, at least in the first two books. For example, in the following passage: "He licked his lips; he was thirsty. He looked at his watch; it was ten past eight. He would go to the kitchen and get a drink of water and then drive the car out of the garage. " Wright's imagery is often brutal and elemental, as seen in his frequently repeated references to fire, snow, and Mary's bloody head.