The Naturals – Reflection Week 4

 THIS BOOK! I totally loved it!! I read it all! But I couldn’t put it down until I finished it, it was THAT good! Towards the end, I was suspicious of EVERYTHING and at one point I wanted to yell NOOOOOO!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? DON’T YOU SEE THIS IS HOW PEOPLE GET KILLED IN MOVIES?? So yeah, I kinda figured it out before Cassie did, but it was ok, cause it wasn’t glaringly obvious from the start. Also: major creep factor! I mean seriously, it was SO messed up! I’ve still got many questions unanswered. It’s really hard to not give away who the killer is. 

Why did it have to end with a cliffhanger? I need to know who Cassie ends up between. Is it the rich, smart Michael or the dark and mysterious Dean? To be honest I would love it for her to be with Dean because I feel a huge connection between them, something for me is just sparking. I feel like Michael is just a good friend. I don’t want to say who the killer is, but once you find who had done it, your jaw will be on the floor. If I were to recommend this book. I would say It’s a great book, to read, because your heart races every time a clue is unlocked or the characters are getting closer to finding the murderer. 

I honestly thought this book was great. I think this book would be particularly good for Year 8’s, I would choose this book for Year 9’s or Year 10’s. I though this because I feel that this used so many gruesome scenes, and won’t suitable for people at my age. But for me, I’m fine with reading these books, because I really enjoy reading suspense and science fiction based books.

The Naturals-Coat of Arms

Coat of Arms

Fiery red hair: The red hair symbolizes Cassie’s genes with her mum. ‘You’ killed people who had red hair.  He or she only kills women who are ‘psychics’ and have red hair. In some cases, the murder victims with different hair colours are found with their hair dyed newly-red. I thought this really symbolized Cassie life because she could have been the next one to be killed.

The triangle: The love triangle is a prevailing theme throughout the book. Cassie has to flip between who she likes more, Michael or Dean. Sometimes the triangle can get in her way for her investigation.

Father: Her Father, is the only parent she has. The Father is wearing solider costume as he does work for the army, also included there are some blood stains on the costume, as it does symbolize the idea of the Father being one of the suspects of the mudrder. This makes a distant connection between Cassie and her Father.

FBI: The FBI is helping to investigate the murder of her mother.  A spy normally has to be to kill someone the ‘bad guy’. For Cassie, she doesn’t have to since she has a very intelligent mind, that’s every spy wishes for.

The Naturals-Reflection Week 3

Cassie feels like she doesn’t belong in her dad’s loud Italian family (who are a riot, by the way). At the house with the other Naturals, she knows exactly where she stands and doesn’t feel like such a freak. Her working with the FBI might also get her closer to her mother’s killer. Dun dun DUNNNN! Cassie is also freaking fantastic, because being in her head is like being in Cumberbatch’s Sherlock, but without the psychopathy. Her profiles are made quickly and seemingly at random, but she can back up what she surmises with solid observations, AND I LOVED IT. Seriously, oh-my-gosh creepy. Starting the book with her seeing the walls of the house with linings of portraits of serial killers were family photos should go. Each portion of the house is set up to represent a past crime scene, even the pool. Oh, and we also get snippets from the viewpoint of the killer (which works surprisingly well), and this particular killer LIKES TO CARVE OFF THE FACES OF THEIR VICTIMS. Eek! 

The Naturals-Bridge Builder

For my ‘Bridge Builder,’ I decided to present it with self-connection, world connection, and text connection.

The Naturals-Reflection Week 2

I adored Cassie from the moment I met her. Being inside her head was really fascinating. The type of things she would notice about people and the conclusions she would come to were really extraordinary.

I am going, to be honest, there is a love triangle and I am completely torn on who I want Cassie to end up with. First, you have the charming, confident, and mysterious Michael, who seems a little too perfect at times. He can read people’s emotions so it is extremely hard to hide anything from him, but he is an expert on hiding his own emotions from others. I feel like we just barely got a glimpse into who Michael really is, so I am very interested to see more of his character. I don’t even want to talk about the KISS! because I bet whoever reads the book will definitely know what they would feel when reading the scene and the ‘love triangle’.  His relationship with Cassie is sweet and I think in many ways they bring out the best in each other. The character Barnes is very interesting and quite mysterious. 

May I just say before you read this book. DON’T READ IT AT NIGHT! I am telling you, the scary scripts of the murderer and the weird scenes of Cassie dreams will keep you up at night. The weird conversations with Agent Locke keep me at the edge of my seat.

When reading the book, there will always be times where you keep on questioning the characters and the author and you will never know what is going to happen next.

The Naturals-Discussion Director

Cassie is confused about her feelings for Dean and Michael. Which guy do you think is right for her? Why? Or should she avoid a romantic relationship with both of the boys?

Why does Cassie feel like an outsider around her family? Would she have left for Washington, D.C. if she felt more comfortable around them?

If you could have any talent, which one would it be and why? Not including the ones from the book…

Would you rather have someone in your life be murdered or would you want to know the killer not be able to tell anyone who they are? And it will be your fault if someone was killed. Why?

Who do you think the killer is? Female or Male. Why?

The Naturals-Reflection

Week 1

Going into The Naturals, I think I was expecting just an okay book. But I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this–in fact, I really, really liked it! There’s something about this book that just WORKED. 

Wow. It’s really amazing to jump out of your comfort zone every once in a while, is it? I mean, I guess this book isn’t strictly outside my “comfort zone” … maybe just outside my norm. But still, it’s good to mix things up. I have to be in a very specific mood to pick up a modern thriller, and luckily, that mood finally struck, because I’ve been wanting to pick up this book for a long time it hasn’t disappointed.

Immediately when I started reading, I began to think of  Criminal Minds counterparts, but this was a disservice to Barnes’ character creations.  Cassie, while a little bit clinical due to her natural ability, is still a very deep character with some painful memories that serve as her motivation.  I adored her character. Cassie intelligent brain was able to pinpoint the backgrounds of other people. I became to envy her special talents, her ability to predict the future is one that every die heart fan of science fiction novels wants. 

After reading about the stories of Cassie, I’m instantly very intrigued to read the stories of the rest of the group members, as it helps me to find who the killer is. I hope when reading the next few chapters were able to find out.

The Naturals-Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Newspaper Article

The Naturals

The Naturals, a book about a girl called Cassie that is privileged with the skill of the ability to read people’s past history. The story title instantly intrigued me. The word Naturals is more about things that are ‘normal’ but however, the group is cast with people who aren’t ‘normal’. This is making me want to read this story.