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Thursday, November 30, 2017

A little YA fun...

They are the lost causes:  Sandra, Gabby, Justin, Z, and Andrew. Five teens struggling with drug addiction, OCD, anger issues, depression and hypochondria; five teens who everyone has given up on. Which makes them the perfect subjects to assist the FBI in tracking down a killer, all with a little help from a secret serum that unlocks an untapped psychic ability in each of them. Suddenly, Sandra can see ghosts, Gabby has visions of the past, Justin can move objects with his mind, Z can hear the thoughts of others, and Andrew 's brain can process information like some kind of genius. Which only leaves two questions:  Can they trust these newfound gifts?  And what isn't the FBI telling them?

This YA novel requires a little upfront suspension of disbelief in order to truly enjoy it. But if you can get past the absurdness of the FBI having an ESP-inducing serum that only works on teens and that they would recruit a bunch of misfit delinquents to help them solve one of their cases...this ends up being a very entertaining read. In The Lost Causes, authors Jessica Koosed Etting and Alyssa Embree Schwartz have created five quirky characters that are genuinely likeable. Seeing them bond as friends as well as try to solve the FBI's case on their own were some of my favorite parts. I also enjoyed the bits with them trying to figure out their new psychic abilities. I cared less about the whole FBI investigation, especially at the beginning of the book, but even that got more interesting and more suspenseful as the story went along. There was even a good twist at the end that made the initial premise more believable. All in all, I thought this was a fun read. And if the authors ever decide to write a sequel, I will be checking it out.

Happy Reading!

18 comments:

  1. Sometimes we need to dismiss that disbelieving factor to enjoy a book. For me, I suppose it has to depend on the subject matter and whether or not if it's too ridiculous. Having superpowers and psychic abilities are fine with me for that matter. After all, what're comics for? ;)

    Anyways, this sounds like a fun read.

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    1. I'm with you. If I wanted real life I'd watch the news. :D

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  2. This sounds like such a fun read. I love books like this, where you have to just go with it and believe even though it sounds unbelievable. I'll definitely check it out :)

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    1. If you go with it, this book ends up being super fun. And everything kind of works and makes sense at the end. :)

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  3. Juggling 5 characters in a book is tough. But it sounds like the author pulled it off with each of the 5 teens being distinct in their personalities.

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    1. It is hard, and Andrew gets a little short-changed when compared to the other characters, but even then he has his own distinctive traits.

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  4. This one sounds fun. Maybe not the best book out there with the greatest and deepest plot but fun.

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    1. It is fun. Not deep. Or life changing. But a very enjoyable weekend read.

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  5. Psychic gifts sounds great. :) Funny, but when you start off with a fantastic premise, it is so much easier to accept.

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  6. I think this one sounds fun. I might have to give it a try. Glad you enjoyed it!

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  7. This is the kind of book I loved when I was a teenager. I read a lot of similar type books back then. It does sound fun.

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    1. I obviously still love these kinds of books...maybe because I really don't want to grow up. ;D

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  8. I don't read a lot of YA but this sounds like it would be fun. I'm with Literary Feline - I totally would have loved this when I was a teen!

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    1. Right? There are several books that I wish I could have read when I was the exact right age for them. :)

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  9. I don't read lots of YA but I do like the sound of this one, thanks xxx

    Lainy http://www.alwaysreading.net

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    1. I don't read a ton of YA books either, but I couldn't resist this one. :)

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