Seize Peas And Carrots Presented By Tanita S. Davis Digital Copy

important, but maybe characters are a bit 'typical' and maybe some events are a bit convenient, But there's lots of stuff here that isn't cliched or predictable, too, And I love that it's not really Juvenile lit, as the girls are teens, but it's not YA, because they're not boycrazy or caught up in melodramatic rebellions against the world, so it's good for those inbetween readers that don't really have many books just right for them.


I have to admit that I just didn't quite feel it, I did read the whole thing, never thought about DNFing it, but still, I just wanted to smack the girls and tell them to get a grip, act as smart as they clearly are.
But hey, that's mean, I had to remind myself: they are just kids, and there are a lot of challenges going on that make it difficult for them to think things through clearly.
So, I dunno. I think there's a lot to love about this book, but I can't quite give it four, personally, This was a cute middle grade read, It takes some rather weighted subjectsthe foster care system, racism, broken familiesand treats them with respect while not being overly preachy in any regard, Its another book that I think I would have appreciated more as a younger readerits wellsuited to the tween audience, And its rare that I say that because most of the time it sounds pandering “this book wasnt good enough for adult me, but maybe kids will like it because theyre less critical”, but in this case it feels truethis is an intelligent book that I can see kids in the sixth/seventh grade bracket enjoying.


One of the ways I felt this was a fitting tween read was because it sounded ageaccurate in a way that a lot of fiction doesnt these days.
It doesnt play things up to be overly intense or gritty in a way that doesnt feel like a real fifteenyearolds life, but it also doesnt make the characters sound naïve in the way of first graders.
Im slightly on the fence about the accuracy of the protagonists agesmost of the time they sounded fifteen I am so sick of reading about witty, worldly fifteenyearolds when most of them are anything but, and yet there were a few moments when the overall tone and style of speech felt a tad more juvenile, like maybe the girls belonged as eighth or ninthgraders rather than sophomores.
Its a minute detail, but one that matters because the shift in the way kids think in those years is pretty significant and does a lot for a novels believability, especially when youre catering to tween and teen readers.


Age stuff aside, there are a few other ways this novel feels unbalanced, Theres a sudden rushed final act, like the author ran out of pages and had to wrap it up quickly, The book also spent the perfect amount of time building up the enmity between Dess and Hope, but their switch to friendship happens overnight in a way that felt grossly unfair to everything that came before.
I love tween enemiestofriends stories, but there has to be a believable build and turning point: I feel like Peas and Carrots just missed the turning point.


Anyway, this is a competent novel that is pretty much squeakyclean but doesnt feel like its playing down to its tween audience, and I think that age group will really enjoy it.
Its not The MotherDaughter Book Club or anything like that, but its still a sweet story about family, friendship, and belonging,

stars. With both parents in prison, Dess has bounced around from living with her grandmother, to a foster home, to a group home, and through it all she has learned to be tough and to only rely on herself.
Dess, who is white, gets placed with the African American Carter family because they have been fostering her younger halfbrother Austin and its a chance for them to be reunited.
Hope Carter is the same age as Dess, and the two do not exactly hit it off, Though the Carters have a beautiful home and are kind and welcoming to Dess, she just doesnt feel comfortable with them, Hope does not understand Desss tough girl attitude and the massive chip on her shoulder, but her parents are determined to have her help Dess get adjusted to her new home and school.
Will these two very different girls find any common ground

This book has an interesting premise, and I give the author credit for delving into the world of foster care and foster children, in particular those whose parents are incarcerated.
This is a reality for so many teens and children, and I dont see a lot of YA lit that deals with it, In wanting to shine a positive light on foster care, I think the author may have gone a step too far and made the Carters just a little too good to be true.
Im sure there are many great foster families out there, but these characters just did not ring true for me, The same applies to Dess, The tough girl persona grated on me as was probably the intent, but for a girl who had been in the system for more than a few years, Dess is basically a good girl at heart.
This is where the novel struggled a bit to find its tone, On the one hand, we know that Dess is living in fear of her father “The Felon” and the members of his motorcycle gang, Her mother was an addict who was abused by her “The Felon,” but always went back to him anyway, Someone who grew up under such rough circumstances would be likely to have developed some bad habits of her own, but this is not the case with Dess.
When she gets into a fight with Hope, she calls her a “big, fat, ugly, stupid princess, ” Not exactly gritty. Optional purchase where there is an audience for novels that deal with serious issues that dont get too intense,

Grades:
Characterization: Mediocre
Literary Value: Mediocre The premise is interesting, and the twist which, unlike the Goodreads description of this book, is not revealed in the Peas and Carrots's own blurb of a white foster teenager joining a black family is unexpected and really adds another layer to the story.
Overall, though, the book just doesn't work, The ending is rushed, the events of the climax are unnecessary, Dess and Hope don't talk like normal sophomores, and they switch from mortal enemies to friends in what seems like one night.
The whole thingtitle definitely includedis too cutesy, too "happily ever after, " And don't even get me started on how neither girl on the cover looks anything like their description in the book, This dual narrative, told through first and third person POV, follows Hope a black girl from a nice, middle class family and Dessa a white girl who has been in and out of the foster care/home system for much of her life.
When Dessa's taken in by Hope's family, she's a lot of things: angry, confused, resentful, and, deep down, ready to be accepted into a place where she fits.
She's placed in Hope's family's home because her biological halfbrother Austin was placed with them, and she wants nothing more than to be with family again.


This is a story, though, about what family means, rather than what it looks like, Davis does an excellent job of exploring racial issues, of deepseated biases regarding money and, perhaps the part that wasn't a focus but really did sing, body politics.


A complicated, nuanced, and enjoyable read, Would pair really interestingly with SEE NO COLOR by Shannon Gibney, for sure, Decent YA book about a topic that is a little different than the current trending YA topics foster care, The two teen characters, Dessa and Hope, were welldrawn, I thought they provided a realistic picture of what it was like to be both a foster child and a teen living with foster siblings, Real without being too gruesome or graphic,

The adults in the book were pretty flat, but they are not really who the book was about, Uncle Henry and Mr. Carter, especially, seemed a little too good to be true, The mother was moredimensional, The beginning of the story touches on Hope's, the biological daughter, feeling of being ignored or having too high expectations from her parents, I wish this was followed up on and addressed later in the book, It is an important point,

My main gripe with the book is the cover, I know authors have little or no say in the cover art, but it does rub me the wrong way when it seems that the artist hasn't even read the book.
Hope, the African American character, is supposed to be chubby, unfashionable and wear sweats most of the time, This is a pretty big part of the story, as Dessa, the foster child, remarks on it often and it causes a lot of tension between the two girls.
So why is she pictured as a skinny fashionable teen on the cover I was pleasantly surprised by this story of a white teenager in foster care, sent to live with an educated, welltodo African American family.
The foster family has a daughter the same age as the central character and, as expected, the two teens are off to a rocky start, Obviously the two become friends, the hardened foster child warms up the her new family, and the book ends on a hight note, However, the story between the beginning and the end is credible, interesting, and worthy of a read, Full review at sitelinkSomewhat Reserved, my blog!

The funny thing is, I've actually read this book some years ago but finally found this old review.


Apart from my notes, I obviously don't remember a ton about this book, . . except from hating Odessa, of course,

One thing that I found interesting was how Dess'

POV was in first person, while Hope's was in third person,

At around the beginning of the book, Hope starts sophomore year with a huge yellow stain on her yellow skirt, I could only imagine how embarrassing that could be!

Hope was also overwhelmed with how popular Dess was at the first day of school, especially since she's so grumpy and unfriendly at home.
Closer to.stars, but rounded up.

Honestly, this was just a compilation of tropes, and it would work better as a middle grade rather than YA novel with Dess and Hope in middle school rather than high school: the morality was simplified, the outcomes predictable, the characters archetypical.
Seriously though, Dess is your typical hardened delinquentish foster kid who only cares about her birth family Hope is more relatable, but still a pretty typical tryhard good girl their conflict boils down pretty easily to superificial petty dislike based on projections of their own resentments and insecurities though Hope gets points for trying to be nice.
Im not sure why Desss chapters were told in first person and Hopes in third it seems to imply that Dess is the “real” main character, but thats not what alternatingPOV usually conveys.


Its pretty much the definition of a feelgood novel, about different types of family, tasteful diversity with mild incidents of racism to highlight the wholesome status quo, though its directly addressed at most once.
So I guess its heartwarming, but not in the way that leaves an impression, .