Busted - Gina Ciocca

Busted by Gina Ciocca
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): Marisa wasn’t planning to be a snoop for hire—until she accidentally caught her best friend’s boyfriend making out with another girl. Now her reputation for sniffing out cheaters has spread all over school, and Marisa finds herself the reluctant queen of busting two-timing boys.
But when ex-frenemy Kendall asks her to spy on her boyfriend, TJ, Marisa quickly discovers the girl TJ might be falling for is Marisa herself. And worse yet? The feelings are quickly becoming mutual. Now, she’s stuck spying on a “mystery girl” and the spoken-for guy who just might be the love of her life…

MY OPINION: ***

This book was uniquely interesting. It's another novel from Gina Ciocca, author of a book I just read, A Kiss in the Dark. This book had an interesting plotline and I thought it was original.

Our main character, Marisa Palmera, catches her best friend's boyfriend cheating on her and from there, she finds herself busting more boys after it spreads all over her school. Her next "case" is for a girl named Kendall, who just moved back. They are "frenemies" and I completely understood her relationship with her. I've had relationships of the same sort and they're kind of horrible. Kendall's boyfriend, TJ, is her Marisa's next subject because Kendall's convinced that TJ is interested in somebody else. Little does Marisa and Kendall know... it's Marisa TJ is interested in.

My main issue with this book was that it was rather complicated. There were so many plot twists and turns that sometimes I was completely confused. Maybe it was because I was reading quickly and not pausing to pay attention to things but sometimes I was lost. Also, it's the complete and utter obliviousness of characters that really got on me.

CHARACTERS:

Marisa. I can't say I loved her character. She was too forgiving, especially to Kendall. She was too determined to make everything right, even though nothing that she wanted to prove was really any of her business. She goes out and spies on people even though she admits to it feeling wrong. She's easily manipulated by Kendall and she's hung up on her ex-boyfriend, Jordan, for no apparent reason.

Jordan. I completely disliked his character and I honestly think that if we cut him out of the story, it would have worked out fine. He's a player, he uses girls like toys, he's secretive, and on top of all that, Marisa still likes him for some reason. He breaks up with Marisa without telling her why which should already clue her in on him being a not-so-amazing guy. He goes with Kendall over Marisa after meeting her once and exchanging phone numbers and decides not to tell Marisa who it was.

Kendall. Her character was sickening at points because she reminded me of people who manipulate and take control of others. She's bossy, if she doesn't get her way she throws a fit and ruins people's lives, and on top of all that, she's a complete and utter asshole to her friends and her "boyfriend". She's a cheater, and she goes as far as to change people's grades at her school for money and then BLAMES SOMEBODY ELSE. So many problems could have been avoided if Kendall hadn't been there.

Charlie. I loved her character. I feel like she was a great best friend and a decent person. She cared about her friends. She's smart, she stands up for herself and for her friends, and she's determined. The friendship between Charlie and Marisa is something to applaud or make an example of.

TJ. I can't say I hated him because I didn't, but at times I really wanted to knock some sense into him. He is so hung up on KENDALL and he is so desperate to forgive her for things that he doesn't see the things in front of her very face. I also didn't really feel a dynamic relationship with TJ and Marisa or with TJ and Charlie. TJ, however, is the definition of a nice boy and the leather accessory-making made him so much better! That was a unique trait to give him.

The story veered away from the plot at times and I found it hard to follow. However, I would definitely read more of Gina Ciocca's work. I would recommend this book to people looking for an air of mystery with a bit of romance somewhere in there.

Main Character: Marisa
Sidekick(s): TJ, Charlie, Nick, Jason, etc
Villain(s): Kendall, Eli, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was real to life.