This latest stop on my trip through the 18 Pine St. series from the '90s certainly gave me YA nostalgia feels.

The gang hanging out at the mall! (I don't know if teenagers still do that or what.) The gang making a giant snowball (snow boulder) at school for, well, high-schooler reasons! The gang stressing a little about how to tell one of their members that her new, bright idea for her hair wasn't so bright! A couple of teens hogging their families' phones at home—the shared home phones. Yeah, you know. Actual telephones!

Heeheehee...

The read certainly isn't all fun and games, though. Although I jumped from Book Three to Book Ten, it wasn't a jarring move for me because both books revolve around the same main issue: red flags in dating relationships and the trouble those flags can portend. Trouble that starts plunging pretty deep toward the end of this story. While one character's sudden 180-degree turnabout is unbelievably convenient for the plot, the ending isn't a perfect one. More of a bittersweet space where a high-schooler has learned something important, with more to figure out later on.

A few of the characters also share some hard and some hopeful thoughts on love, marriage, divorce, and family. On another note, there are instances when certain characters curse in this book. Nothing bleep-worthy is spelled out on the page; they just use unspecified swears under their breath here and there, which didn't happen in the previous books I read from the series. At least not enough times for me to notice and remember.

Nevertheless, this has been my favorite 18 Pine St. book so far, particularly on account of the last chapter. I plan to go backwards and continue the series with Book Four. ( )