Everyone knows right from wrong, right? Of course they know it, but I’m sure everyone reading this has had a time when they did wrong, even though they knew they shouldn’t have. Also, everyone knows that in high school, there are the preps, jocks, geeks, and we all just want to fit in, no matter what it takes. Kevin Mopsley, from the book Busted, by Antony John, is going through all of this, and is just a typical high school kid.

Kevin and his best friend Abby are band geeks, and they know it. The difference is that Abby doesn’t care, but Kevin does. Kevin wants to fit in with the “cool” kids really badly, so when he is given the opportunity to compile the “Book of Busts” as part of the senior graduation rituals, he goes for it. The “Book of Busts” is literally a book of the bra size of every girl in the senior year. Kevin knows this is wrong, and that if his true friends find out that he’s in charge of “The Book of Busts” that they will hate him forever, but that doesn’t stop him from doing it purely for a good reputation. Now here’s the upset. Kevin’s mom has just come to teach a course on women rights, and Kevin realizes that if his mom discovers what he’s doing, he could get in major trouble.

Antony John uses great characterization in this book. He drags readers in by using Kevin as a character teenagers can relate to. All Kevin wants is to fit in and have people like him, and I’m sure all teenagers have felt that sometime or another in their lives. Kevin’s parents are also divorced, which is another event in which kids can say, “Yeah, I’ve been there.” I am also positive that some of you reading this have that friend that you have a huge crush on, and so does Kevin. You can see the pattern here. This characterization pulls readers in, and keeps them turning the pages to see how Kevin handles a situation compared to how they would handle it.

The plot development of this book is also wonderful! Jones keeps adding twists to keep people glued to the book. A great example is when Kevin’s mom decides to teach a course on women rights, just as Kevin is spending all of his free time disrespecting women by compiling the “Book of Busts.” Another example is when Kevin’s mom tells Kevin to talk to his dad, and Kevin’s dad is not who you would expect him to be. I don’t want to give anything else away, so you’ll just have to read the book to see how many plot twists there truly are.

Theme is the last thing that really stood out to me in this book. The theme to this book is to just be yourself, and everything will go smoothly. When Kevin tries to fit in with the “cool kids,” things don’t always go as he planned. He disagrees with a lot of what he does with them, and is upset with himself a lot of the time. Also, Kevin goes on dates with girls he knows he doesn’t like, but will give him a good reputation, and they always go horribly. However, whenever Kevin is playing in his quartet, or being honest with his best friend Abby, things go great, because with them, his true friends, Kevin can act natural and have a good time.

I don’t want to give the ending away, but Busted is a great book for teenage girls, full of twists and turns, characters kids can relate to, a great plot, and an awesome theme. This book will keep teens flipping through the book for hours on end, up until the very last page.