Jessica Etting

What do a hypochondriac, an addict, a short-tempered football player, an obsessive compulsive, and a depressed rich girl have in common? Nothing, until they meet Patricia and Nash, two FBI agents who are investigating a local murder. At first the teens are angry when they discover that the two agents have given them a serum that has enhanced latent psychic powers they each possess, and that they have been chosen because everyone in their lives, including their parents, have deemed them lost causes. However, when their mental and behavioral issues slowly disappear as a result of the drug, they begin to see the benefit of helping with the investigation. They even find themselves clicking as a unit and developing friendships beyond what they ever thought possible, but there is still a murderer who may have some of the same serum they were given that must be stopped at all costs.
The Lost Causes is an enjoyable young adult novel. It does require some suspension of disbelief as there are many coincidences as well as the idea that the FBI would use teenagers as unwitting test subjects and investigators, but most of the characters were well developed and the story took several twists and turns on the way to the finding the killer. Overall, a very enjoyable read.… (mer)

I read this after reading and very much liking their new book. This was equally good and sucked me in quickly. Start with five very interesting teens who are unable to function in society, and are written off by parents, peers, and school personnel. Everything changes when they receive a note to meet in an unused classroom, allegedly with the head guidance counselor. Instead, they're confronted by two FBI agents, one an older woman, the other a guy just a few years older than they are. Sparks of all sorts start flying; attraction between one of the girls and the young agent, friction thanks to mistrust among the five, and between them and the two agents when they learn they've been set up. However, their growing realization that their difficulties fitting in and coping have morphed into something close to superpowers is so desirable, they agree to help the agents solve the case of a murdered woman who was a retired FBI agent.
That leads them into danger, deceit, a growing trust of each other, and enough red herrings to start a fish fry. The end is what I call a pivot point-You can hope for a sequel, but can be satisfied imagining what might come next based on the vividity of your own imagination.… (mer)