Peas and Carrots

Peas and Carrots by Tanita S. Davis, 279 pages

Dess is a foster kid who has just come to stay with Hope and her family.  Hope's family has been taking care of Dess's little brother, Austin, for a while now and everyone has agreed that Dess should be with them also.  Dess and Hope are both sophomores and Hope's mom and the other adults at school seem to think that they should be best friends but the two of them are just like oil and water.  Dess can't stand that Hope seems so wimpy and Hope thinks that Dess is pushy and mean.  But the other kids at school like Dess and Hope keeps trying to be understanding and nice, even when she thinks Dess is being mean.  Is it possible that the two of them could ever be friends?  I really liked this book and I think that it would have a lot of teen appeal.