Character Profiling

Describe the major characters in your book. Who is the protagonist and antagonist? What are the major characters like - appearance, age, mannerisms, clothing, etc. Also, do you think that the author has effectively developed these characters. Please explain your answer.

This year, for book of choice, I am reading The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. The book is titled The Naturals because it is about a group of teenagers with natural aptitudes for certain gifts; the FBI has enlisted them because of these abilities. 

The protagonist in this book is Cassie Hobbes, a 17 year-old girl with auburn hair. Her natural ability is profiling. She can profile anyone just by taking in their behavior, personality, and environment. 

The other teenagers in Cassie's life include Michael Townsend, Lia, Sloane, and Dean Redding. (The girls' last names have not been identified yet). They are also all 17 years-old. Michael has dark hair, is not that tall, and always wears a different style of clothing every time he changes. Lia is Asian, has black hair with blue streaks in it, is tall, and also always wears a different style of clothing (Michael most likely learned it from her). Sloane has blonde hair, is dainty, and wears patterned and bright-colored clothing. And then there's Dean, who has dark blond hair, is muscular but lean, and wears simple teenage boy clothing, AKA jeans and a white or black t-shirt (he's also hot *rolls eyes*).

Michael can read people's emotions, Lia is a human lie detector (and is very good at lying herself), Sloane is good with numbers and statistics, and Dean, like Cassie, is also a profiler. 

These characters also each have their own sets of problems. Michael has daddy issues, Lia has some problem in her life that has not been identified yet but makes her a little like a bad word, Sloane is unaware of social cues, and Dean has a lot of issues, and from what I've gathered, it probably has something to do with murder. He holds everyone at arm's length, especially Cassie.

In my personal opinion, yes, these characters are well developed; they have many layers to them and conflicts both inside and out, BUT (yes, there is a but), from having read a lot of YA (Young Adult), it is kind of obvious what is going to happen and what their issues are. It's sort-of like these characters are stereotypes/stock characters in YA fiction.

As for the antagonist... I'm not entirely sure yet who it is, but there are chapters entitled YOU, and they are about a serial killer, so I think it may be safe to assume that whoever that may be is the antagonist of this book.