Actual rating 2.5 stars. Spoilers ahead.

I made a promise to myself to find at least a few positives in every book I read but this was hard going. The premise is good, and I loved that the writers tried to not only write diversely but with a focus on the protagonists dealing with mental illnesses. But sadly, it was the execution that let it down for me.
First I need to talk about Gabby. This character gave me so much trouble. While you can sort of accept that Justin with anger issues, bad grades and a terrible home life might be tossed aside and not considered worth the effort by teachers and other adults Gabby is actually a very capable and good student with a fairly stable if pushy family life. So I found it practically impossible to believe that she would be cast aside by adults and school officials due to her diagnosis of OCD. Yes, maintaining friends may be difficult for her but why on earth wouldn’t any adult (especially the school psychiatrist) be at all concerned about this girl? The other huge problem I had with Gabby was the way her OCD was portrayed. It felt very much like very little research had actually been done into what OCD is, how it can affect people and why it can emerge in the first place. Ultimately it felt like the authors had looked at a list of the most stereotypical symptoms/signs of OCD, piled them all into a hat and picked out a few at random, without consideration about why they wanted their character to have these particular tendencies and how they would affect her.
Along the same lines we have Andrew. Z has uncaring and detached parents – who clearly don’t take a proper interest in their kids’ lives. It can be expected then that they may not notice or take much interest in Z’s depression. But Andrew’s home life seems to be fairly good. At least in the tiny conversation shown between him and his sister, there is no disinterest there. Again why is no one (again especially the school nurse and psychiatrist) taking his health issues seriously? He may have hypochondria but that is and can be a real and debilitating mental health issue.
I really liked the idea of giving these forgotten/discarded characters a way to deal with their issues and actually find a purpose or passion, but in actual fact, once they take the serum not one of them seem interested in understanding their mental health or why they had ended up in the situation they had. They’re just happy for the magic cure.
A little aside, but a pet hate of mine as a reader is when the author(s) jam in the title of the book into the book itself. This happened way, way too often. I didn’t need the group to constantly refer to themselves as The Lost Causes, to get the point the authors were trying to make.
My biggest problems came with the actual writing of the book. It relied so heavily on exposition I never felt connected to any of the characters. The old adage of “Show don’t Tell” isn’t just forgotten, it feels like all they are doing is telling and NOT showing.
We are told how terrible everyone’s home life is and apart from Justin, very little is actually shown. We’re told about all their health issues, but how was Z depressed? What caused Gabby’s OCD? And apart from being told about how her parents are a mess, how was Sabrina really affected by her brother’s death? More time is spent on Sabrina’s insta-love of Nash than her brother’s car accident. (Speaking from experience I know how all-consuming and life changing such an accident is)
Although even with the focus on this romance we’re never really given any indication of why they fall so deeply in love apart from each finding the other hot and “destiny” so even this is boring predictable.
I think one of the biggest issues overall is an overabundance of characters. 5 main protagonists (not including Patricia and Nash) can be hard going and I think the writers really struggled to develop well defined and realistic characters.
Because of this every character sounds the same. Yes we’re told Z is paranoid and a conspiracy freak but none of them have distinct character “voices”. In fact it all felt very monotone – another reason I couldn’t connect or invest in any of the characters. Surely even if they were all abandoned kids, each of their individual life experiences would make them sound and act differently?
Aside from the emotions of the characters we’re also told very basic things that surely there is a better way of showing. For example near the end of the book, when Sabrina meets up with Nash again we have this line:
“He was still wearing the same dark jeans and charcoal sweater, adhering to his usual palette of black, blue and gray”
This isn’t a description we should have so close to the end of the book. We should be able to see throughout the book that this character has a particular style or clothing choice – IF it’s important to his character or the plot – otherwise what’s the point?
I’ll admit the mystery driving the plot was interesting enough and the book did pick up in the last quarter or so – especially after they found out about the other “Lost Causes” but the final reveal confrontation felt rushed and again, so full of exposition that in the end I just didn’t care.
All in all, quite a disappointing read.

This book was a great take on teens with abilities, paired with mental illness.
Cannot wait to read more books from the author!

I received a free e-copy through NetGalley from the publishers at Kids Can Press. Trigger warnings: murder, depression, mental illness.

Five high school students are brought together when a murder case runs cold. The FBI is running an experimental program on a serum that gives teenagers psychic or supernatural powers. Sabrina, Andrew, Gabby, Justin, and Z only have one thing in common: everyone in their lives has given up on them. With a host of issues from drug abuse to depression, their parents, teachers, and counselors consider them lost causes. But for the first time, The Lost Causes have a purpose in helping to solve the murder, and they may just find they have more in common than they thought.

Mixed feelings are so hard to write about, and most of my feelings about this book are mixed. I like the premise of this story. Marginalized groups, forgotten children, people with mental illnesses, are so often overlooked in fiction, and that representation is important. I’m just not sure I like the way they’re being represented here. The serum, while giving the characters supernatural powers, also basically “cures” their conditions, and magical cures are always dubious. I don’t think there’s any doubt that a magical cure for drug addiction or OCD would be amazing, but it’s far more realistic to have characters have to deal with their issues the way people with these issues actually have to, even in a supernatural novel. It seemed like a quick and breezy solution to having characters society has “given up on” without having to actually address their problems.

The writing is passable but not great, and the story itself is a fairly interesting paranormal mystery. Etting and Schwartz kept me guessing for most of it, and watching the characters discover and use their powers to solve the case was interesting. The characters never quite came alive for me though, and I wanted more scenes of the five of them bonding all together or in smaller groups rather than just taking for granted that they’re suddenly friends now. It would have helped with the overall character development as well. I’m never much for romance, but I definitely could have done without the one between Sabrina and one of the FBI agents. It doesn’t matter that he’s only in his twenties, and she’s mature for her age; it’s never clarified whether Sabrina is eighteen or not, but since she’s still in high school, I’m guessing not. Just no.

Those things aside, I think this would appeal to the younger portion of YA readers who like paranormal mysteries or suffer from anger issues, depression, or other mental illnesses. It’s important to see characters in fiction who look like us. The violence/sexuality in the novel is extremely underplayed which, again, makes it suitable for a slightly younger demographic. Magical cure notwithstanding, the novel works fine as an imaginative piece of escapism.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

Five teens are unwittingly exposed to a top secret drug the FBI has developed that gifts each of them with extrasensory powers. In order to keep their powers, they are expected to help the FBI solve a mystery that has them baffled.

This will make a great book talk. It has a strong hook, quick pace and relatable characters. It blends science fiction and mystery with a healthy dose of government conspiracy in a story that will appeal to a broad range of readers.

A great young adult thriller - it feels like the best episode from Paranormal Wittness.

The Lost Causes by Jessica Etting and Alyssa Schwartz is good in theory; a group of misfits thrown together in a strange and slightly magical scenario to hunt a serial killer. The government twist on the story adds a sort of suicide squad-esque feel, and the idea behind the story is genuinely intriguing. Where it falls flat for me is the writing style. To me, it reads like a bad fanfiction. With characters falling in "love" described with middle school like gestures and amateur adjectives. It was a bit of a beast to get through and I found myself cringing rather than being engaged in the plot.

A group of five misfits are called to meet in the old building outside the main high school building. The heat is busted, and they find themselves face-to-face to two FBI agents, ready to recruit them for a special program. in the sweltering room, they all have water to drink while they listen to the pitch. It turns out that not everything is as it seems. Soon they each find themselves free of their entrenched problems, but they also seem to have a new skill -- a psychic ability unique to each of them-- all within days of the meeting. Soon they find themselves gathering together and questioning, but also thrilled by the new freedom they have from their entrenched problems. They are asked to look into the recent murder in their tiny town, and it turns out to be something their new psychic abilities has them primed for the case. But if the FBI agents lied before, will they hesitate to lie again? Thrilling book.

I think this book is good, but it can be great if it is worked on a bit more. I thought the first chapter was cheesy and poorly written. It didn't make me want to read more, but I was given this book to read so I trudged through. The premise is really interesting, but it fell flat for me. I think the characters can be underdeveloped at sometimes, they do warm my heart and I found myself hoping nothing bad would happen to them. I think this book can be really amazing if the author edits it, works on the character, and work on descriptions before it's sent out into the book world!

Cheesy but very interesting. There were a lot of subplots and story lines that really pulled you in and made you want to keep reading. It did feel like there was too much going on.There were a lot of main characters and not all of them fit into the story well. Many, like Andrew felt like they were just there to hit a demographic. Honestly, quite a few of the characters could have been cut out. Sabrina's power could have easily been turned into a separate novel, though she was my favorite character and the appearance of the ghosts kept me reading until the end to find out why they were there. I wasn't a fan of Nash; his backstory was too unbelievable and I didn't like his instant-love with Sabrina. I preferred Gabby and Justin's story, which at least felt a little more natural. Over all, the mystery itself was very engrossing. No matter how cheesy the plot got, I just had to keep reading until the end.

I did not see many of the twists and turns in this book coming! I enjoyed being able to sit back and know as much as the characters as the story progressed. I found it interesting that I didn't find this frustrating whereas with other books I would have. I think that this is due to the flow of the writing in this particular book. The book has an appropriate pacing and I found that I didn't have to wait long before another part of the mystery would be revealed or something else would happen to keep me on the edge of my seat.
I had to get used to the point of views switching back and forth in the book because they were not clearly labeled. There were times where I found myself backtracking to make sure that I understood who was speaking at certain moments in the book.
I found all of the characters engaging which is rare for me. I usually dislike at least one of the characters in a book but I found that I could relate in some way to each of "the lost causes". They are each dealing with some type of mental health issue and are not coping with them very well. Each of the them provide a unique voice to the story as well different psychic abilities. I found it interesting that their abilities seemed to coincide with the issues that they were dealing with. I would explain why but I don't want to give away too much. The characters reminded me a lot of the characters from The Breakfast Club but with special abilities.
I'm sure that there is going to be a sequel considering that there were a few unanswered questions as well as a huge breadcrumb left at the end of the book. Personally, I'm hoping that the authors delve more into one of the FBI agents past. I know that there is more to him than meets the eye. He is a puzzle that I want to solve.

I was a little leery of this novel at first because it had the potential to become absurd. Teens given “superpowers” by the FBI to solve a crime? It sounded too far off the believability scale for me, yet Etting and Schwartz managed to pull off a fun and interesting read that I’m excited to recommend to my teens. The plot line was mostly believable and played in further as more is revealed towards the end. The novel finishes off with a great cliffhanger that draws you in even more. The characters were quirky and fun. Conversation and stereotyping was a little contrived, yet worked out in the end. The romance between teen and agent was somewhat forced and I felt unnecessary. The idea behind this novel was very unique, though, and can give kids who feel like lost causes themselves a great read.

I found myself enjoying this book more than I thought I did. "Lost Causes" centers around a group of just that, lost causes who have pretty much been written off for their various issues. It's a fun read with entertaining aspects and some fun characters. I love the way the plot panned out but I felt some aspects of it were just plain strange. I enjoyed reading this overall.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and Kids Can Press in exchange for an honest review...Thank you!

Five troubled teens from distinctly different social groups soon discover they have something in common. When they are all called to a special group therapy session they discover that they have all been written off, deemed as lost causes, by everyone around them. An FBI agent, posing as a therapist, offers them a serum which gives them psychic abilities while simultaneously resolving their other issues (OCD, drug dependence, anger issues, depression, and hypochondria). The only drawback is that in order to keep their abilities they must help the FBI search for killer who has stolen a batch of the serum. As they get closer to catching the killer they begin to realize just how much danger they are in. If something were to happen to them they might not be missed at all.
I was so excited to receive a copy of this novel as it had been on my TBR list ever since I had read the description and I was not disappointed. I hope that this becomes a series in order to see how the characters and their abilities develop.

This is a YA novel about a group of teens who are chosen to receive a serum from the FBI that gives them certain psychic/mental powers. The thing that the teens all have in common is that they are all "lost causes" (see what the authors did there?) who have been abandoned by teachers and parents etc.
All the teens have mental or behavioural issues, and they felt very realistically "teenage". The authors have done a good job of capturing the voice of teens.
The authors do a good job of creating a mix of characters for this novel too, and although some of the teenagers felt a little like caricatures at times, overall the characters felt realistic for the high school/teenage setting.
This is a mystery novel, and the mystery was good and it did have some unexpected twists and turns which kept the plot moving and kept the story itself interesting. The mystery was difficult enough to make me want to continue reading the novel, and actually I finished this novel very quickly.
The novel features a romance between two of the teens which was well written by the authors, it was cute and felt realistic, and provided a nice minor plot line within the main story. However, there is also a romance between one of the teenagers and one of the FBI handlers assigned to look after them. This felt quite inappropriate to me, he was 22 and she 17 so age difference/legality wasn't an issue, it was more the feeling of it being an abuse of his power over her, and it just didn't sit right when I was reading it.
Overall I enjoyed this novel, it is an interesting YA mystery, with some good mental health portrayals. My enjoyment was only slightly dampened by a romance that felt inappropriate.

Characters
The five central characters are wonderfully flawed teens that are a reminiscent blend of the Scoobies from Buffy, the kids working at Empire Records and the detentionites from Breakfast Club.
The bring the book to live and are the key reason you become so involved with the book.
My favourite of the five is Z, but it is FBI agent and swoon worthy Nash that is my new book crush. He’s everything you want in an agent made to turn teen heads. Sabrina’s feelings and opinions about Nash also help you crush on him, just that little more.
Plot
It’s a crime thriller plot with an added supernatural element. There is enough mystery and obstacles to keep you guessing about who is the perp right until the end. There’s also enough tension to ensure the book is a page turner from start to finish.

Writing
It may take a while to get into this multi-person narrative. Each character takes on the voice of one of the five teens and it’s a struggle at first while you’re figuring out each narrator but you quickly get into the swing of it and it adds a depth to each character that you will love.

3.5 Stars - this book is a lot of fun with lots of twists and turns making it an excellent mystery/thriller. There were some odd transitions here and there that interrupted the flow of the storytelling and the whole book suffers from a lot of those familiar YA tropes without ever really delving deeper into some of those hard-hitting issues the authors address (Definitely a missed opportunity there). However, at the end of the day, this is a really great mystery. One that is not only compulsively readable but will also have you guessing until the very end. And that ending (Sheesh!) ;-)

A book that kept me on the edge of my seat, and I also really loved the OCD representation since I have OCD and I always really appreciate representation in media that is accurate.

Psychic murder investigation is not a particularly new concept for a teen novel but each version brings its own quirks. Here we have the Breakfast Club type team, government experimentation. It's a decent concept. The execution isn't great. The characters are fairly one dimensional, their relationships transparent. The mystery jumps around. Even accepting the various psychic abilities and their effects on individual personalities, some of the clues seemed a bit improbable.

When I started to read this I quickly thought of my all time favorite movie, The Breakfast Club with the mix of quirky characters who probably wouldn’t be thrown into a situation like this. I should say this is in no way a remix of the movie but when you read it you instantly think of it.
I really enjoyed reading the book. It was a pretty quick read and did it with a few days. I have to say that that I don’t know if this is something I would have picked up on my own because I didn’t hear much about this book before seeing it in my email but once I read the description I had to give this book a try and I am happy that I did. Plus this book was right up my alley with the mystery and suspense.
As I was reading the book I loved how you were kept in suspense because you had no idea what was coming next and I love books like this because as you are reading its nice not having the predictable things happen. I thought it was the perfect pace and one that you can absorb it all before something happens.

This book was interesting.
I have to say I really enjoyed the murder mystery aspect mixed with paranormal elements, it made the story more unique and mixed two genres together that wouldn't normally be. Often times with YA books you feel like you're reading the same story over and over with different character names. I love how this book stepped outside of that box and made something really interesting.
While I didn't love the book, it was hard to put down and I really did enjoy reading. Would recommend to older teens!