The Naturals
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
18 min
8 Key Points
4.5 RateWhat's inside?
Dive into a thrilling world where gifted teenagers use their extraordinary abilities to solve FBI cases, discovering their own identities along the way.
Key points
01Unveiling the Gift
Cassie Hobbes, a seventeen-year-old girl with an extraordinary talent for profiling people, had been living a life of quiet solitude with her grandmother since the unsolved murder of her mother. The loss of her mother had left a gaping hole in her life, a void she filled by studying human behavior, using her uncanny ability to understand people's motives and actions as a way to cope with her grief. However, her life was about to take an unexpected turn when the FBI came knocking. The FBI, having identified her unique talent, recruited her into a special program known as "The Naturals." This covert operation was designed for teenagers like Cassie, those with innate abilities that could be honed and used to solve cold cases that had left the bureau baffled. Alongside a select group of other gifted teens, Cassie was trained to sharpen her skills and use them to untangle the mysteries of unsolved crimes. Her first assignment with the FBI was a daunting one, a cold case that had remained a mystery for years. As she delved deeper into the case, she began to suspect that her mother's murder might not have been as random as it initially seemed. The deeper she dug, the more she unearthed about her mother's past and the secrets that had led to her untimely death. Navigating her new life with the FBI was not without its challenges. Each member of the Naturals had their own unique ability and personal demons, creating a complex web of relationships that Cassie had to maneuver. Despite the difficulties, she found a sense of belonging with the Naturals that she hadn't experienced since her mother's death. Throughout her journey, Cassie learned to harness her natural ability to profile people, using it not only to solve crimes but also to understand her own past. As she unraveled the truth about her mother's murder, she also discovered more about herself and her unique gift. Her journey was not just about solving crimes; it was about understanding herself, her past, and the extraordinary gift she possessed.
02The Naturals: A New Beginning
Cassie, a seventeen-year-old with an uncanny ability to profile people, finds her life turned upside down when she's selected for the Naturals program. This initiative, spearheaded by the FBI, aims to harness the extraordinary talents of a handful of teenagers to crack cold cases that have left even the most seasoned detectives baffled. Upon her induction, Cassie meets her new comrades. Dean, another profiler, is a brooding figure, wrestling with his past and constantly striving to keep his emotions under control. Lia, the team's human lie detector, is ironically a master of disguise, always concealing her true emotions. Sloane, blessed with an eidetic memory, serves as the team's data analyst, capable of recalling the minutest details from any case. And then there's Michael, the emotion reader, a charismatic and self-assured individual, whose gift often leaves him swamped by the emotions of others. As their training commences, the team is subjected to a series of grueling exercises designed to sharpen their skills. They are trained to collaborate, merging their abilities to unravel intricate cases. Cassie, still acclimating to her new reality, finds herself inexplicably drawn to Dean's silent resilience and Michael's magnetic charm, sparking a palpable tension within the group. Their training is put to the ultimate test when they are assigned their first cold case to crack. The case, a murder that has remained unsolved for a decade, proves to be a formidable challenge for the fledgling team. As they delve deeper into the investigation, they unearth a tangled web of deception and secrets that pushes their abilities and their trust in each other to the limit. Amidst the mounting pressure, Cassie must navigate her burgeoning feelings for Dean and Michael while keeping her eyes on the prize. As they edge closer to cracking the case, the team comes to a startling realization. Their unique abilities are not just instrumental in solving crimes, but also pivotal in understanding each other and themselves. The Naturals program, it appears, is not just about cracking cold cases, but also about aiding these gifted teenagers in understanding their abilities and learning to control them.
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03The First Case
04Unraveling the Mystery
05The Unexpected Twist
06The Final Showdown
07Unresolved Past
08Conclusion
About Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Jennifer Lynn Barnes is an American author known for her young adult books. She holds a PhD in psychology from Yale University and is a professor of psychology at the University of Oklahoma. Her works often incorporate her academic interests, including cognitive science, adolescent development, and forensic psychology.