Twelve (Novella) Book Review
Twelve by Jennifer Lynn Barnes book review and recommendation with NO SPOILERS
Date: 4-11-25 Post Written By: MK Overall Rating: 8.8/10
Book Cover Rating: 5.9/10
(My personal opinion)
Title: Twelve
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Pages: 144
Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Mystery
Subplots: Thriller, Crime, Romance
Romance Level: 1/3
Series: The Naturals #4.5
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2017
Number of Editions: 7
Formats: Kindle, Audiobook (this seems to be accurate for the most part, but Twelve was included in the back of my Bad Blood book)
Goodreads Rating: 3.79/5
# of Goodreads Ratings: 50,816
Amazon Rating: 4.2/5
# of Amazon Ratings: 3,387
Movie/TV Show?? : No
Book Type: Novella
POV Type: Dual, First/Second Person (with occasional flashbacks)
Pacing: Fast
Generally: The Naturals novella wrapping up the series, one more case, possible lighthouse jumper
My Review
Going Into It:
Going into this book I was on a massive high from the last book!!
Main Characters:
Mackenzie McBride- Mackenzie is twelve years old. The Naturals saved her from kidnapping in a previous case. She is stubborn and LOVES to dance.
Celine Delacroix- Celine is a newer FBI member. She has recently finished their training program. She is an AMAZING sketch artist.
Cassandra Hobbes- Cassie is the main character of this book. She is twenty-three years old. She’s a Profiler (she can basically look at someone and see the little things they do and decide things about them: job, family, personality, wants, interests). She is kind and truly wants to make people happy.
Dean Redding- Dean is twenty-four years old, and is also a Profiler. He pretends to be the person he is profiling in order to truly understand them. He struggles to get close to people because he thinks he will hurt them.
Lia Zhang- Lia is twenty-three years old. She’s basically a human lie detector. She can effortlessly lie, and often uses this to mask her real emotions. She also had a VERY rough childhood.
Michael Townsend- Michael is twenty-three years old. He can read others’ emotions. Michael rarely (if ever) shares his true emotions. He is daring, and sometimes, stupid with his actions. He tends to purposefully rub people the wrong way, but in reality has a caring side as well.
Sloane Tavish- Sloane is twenty-two years old. She’s basically a human wikipedia. She is constantly overflowing with facts, statistics, and data. She can also remember (almost) everything she sees and hears. She is really sweet, but sometimes insecure.
Loved these characters!! There were two new additions to the normal five main characters, and I loved them too!! Though, I’m still biased towards the main five characters. Even though this was short, there was still room for solid character development!!
Character Rating: 9.6/10
Setting:
This book takes place in Maine.
Wow!! There was certainly some tension and drama around this setting, given that it directly connected to the plot. Though, it was clearly less elaborated upon, because the novella is so short.
Setting Rating: 7.0/10
Plot:
Since this was a novella, there wasn’t much room to have an in depth story line. That being said, Jennifer Lynn Barnes was still able to make an engaging, exciting plot that kept me on the edge of my seat.
Plot Rating: 8.0/10
Writing:
Jennifer Lynn Barnes did an AMAZING job turning this short novella into a story with thrill and excitement. She wrote this book in an engaging way that highlighted the strong characters and plot.
Writing Rating: 10/10
Ending:
Absolutely fabulous! I know Bad Blood technically wrapped up the series, but this helped in wrapping it up to an even greater extent. It also scratched that itch I, for one, ALWAYS have (wondering how the characters are doing once the main series is over).
Ending Rating: 9.6/10
The Overall:
Overall, this was a great novella that balanced excitement/thrill with fun. Even though it was short, it still had a solid plot, and satisfying conclusion. I loved hearing from the characters again, and it scratched an itch I didn’t even know I had. If you have already read The Naturals series, I highly recommend this!!
Overall Book Rating: 8.8/10
I would obviously recommend this book
Support independent bookstores by buying on Bookshop: Twelve
Or buy on Amazon: Twelve
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She often goes by Jen
She has written over 20 books
She has received degrees from both Cambridge and Yale.
When she was just 19, she became a published author
She has a dual appointment in Psychology and Professional Writing.
For more information, view Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s website: jenniferlynnbarnes.com
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