I'd say the main plot of this 18 Pine St. novel turns out about the way you'd expect. Also, like other books in this first major multicultural YA series from the '90s, there are nuggets of Black history mixed in—nuggets that hint at how there's more to that history than many might have heard about.

Now, I'll admit I was a little disappointed that a surprising, serious friendship matter and its resulting events in the previous book could have been a thing of a nonexistent past, judging by the total absence of any mention of it in this story or any related difference in the characters. An example of episodic writing, it seems.

Also, the rushed wrap-up after the trouble caused by a guest-starring vixen in this book left me feeling iffy about one of the regular guy characters. I'm not sure if he truly grows before he's let off the hook. Indeed, much about the last few chapters is rushed and a little scattered. And the story ends with a wacky, unnecessary mishap, as if the writer just needed some way to fill in the last pages.

Even so, one scene of a family night full of adolescent troubles got me to laugh out loud, and I enjoyed the read overall. I'll be preparing myself for the next book, which looks like it'll tackle the most serious event in the series so far. ( )