From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

 

Last night, I finished reading From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks. This mystery is about a middle school girl, Zoe, who receives a letter from her birth dad, Marcus Johnson, on her twelfth birthday. Although Marcus has been in prison for a terrible crime her entire life, she decides to write back to him against her mother's wishes. While they are writing back and forth over the summer, Zoe begins an internship at a bakery, Ari's Cakes, to prove to her parents that she is ready to audition for a kid baking competition on the Food Network called Kids Bake Challenge!. In his third letter, Marcus claims that he is innocent and that he has an alibi witness. Zoe is left reeling after reading this letter, and when she goes to the library with her grandmother, she does some research into the criminal justice system to find out if it's possible for an innocent person to end up in prison. When she finds out that it is indeed possible, she and her friend, Trevor, research Marcus's case and look for the alibi witness upon learning her name from Marcus's next letter. Keeping the letters and her investigation a secret from her parents, Zoe is determined to uncover the truth and help get Marcus out of prison.

I was very excited to read this mystery after hearing about it last year, and it did not disappoint. Although I didn't think it was right that Zoe was keeping so many secrets from her parents, I loved her determination to follow her dreams and learn the truth about her birth dad's innocence. I definitely thought it was cool that Zoe enjoyed baking and the cupcake recipe she came up with during the story sounded delicious. This book may certainly give readers the urge for something sweet. I also really enjoyed the relationship that Zoe built with Marcus through their letters, and eventually, phone calls. Zoe ends up learning that they have a lot in common and I thought creating a playlist with the songs Marcus recommended in his letters was a great idea. I also liked how Zoe eventually decided to forgive Trevor after he said something about her that he didn't mean back in the spring while talking to his friends on the basketball team. He and her grandmother were the only two people who knew that she was communicating with Marcus and helped Zoe with her investigation. The story is quite suspenseful and there was a point towards the end where I didn't know if Zoe succeeded in finding the alibi witness or if it would all be for nothing. From the Desk of Zoe Washington is rooted firmly in the realities of the U.S. criminal justice system in a way that young people will understand, and it's a wonderful choice for anyone who wants to read a book about family and the search for truth.