From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
Release: January 14th 2020
Format: Kindle
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Amazon
Synopsis:
Zoe Washington isn’t sure what to write. What does a girl say to the father she’s never met, hadn’t heard from until his letter arrived on her twelfth birthday, and who’s been in prison for a terrible crime?
A crime he says he never committed.
Could Marcus really be innocent? Zoe is determined to uncover the truth. Even if it means hiding his letters and her investigation from the rest of her family. Everyone else thinks Zoe’s worrying about doing a good job at her bakery internship and proving to her parents that she’s worthy of auditioning for Food Network’s Kids Bake Challenge.
But with bakery confections on one part of her mind, and Marcus’s conviction weighing heavily on the other, this is one recipe Zoe doesn’t know how to balance. The only thing she knows to be true: Everyone lies.
Zoe Washington Review:
I absolutely loved reading this book! It was fun, intriguing, emotional, and one of those books that a reader of any age would enjoy. The author has wonderfully made the character tackle so many issues for a middle grade novel. Zoe is awesome as the protagonist and comes across as a creative, sensitive, yet strong person. She always wants to reach out and help others no matter how difficult the situation is. I loved Trevor’s character as well because he tries to help Zoe even when she was angry with him. Both of them share a wonderful friendship that is fun and inspiring. In fact, I liked all the character, including Marcus, Zoe’s mom and Dad and her Grandma as well. I loved the bond that Zoe shared with her Grandma.
The author, Janae Marks, has done a fabulous job for a debut middle grade novel and I was engrossed throughout. She writes in a simple yet engaging manner, and manages to cover a wide range of topics like racism and what happens if someone is wrongfully accused. These are very serious topics which I think she handled very well in this charming tale of family ties. I didn’t even know something like the Innocence Project existed till I read this book.
The only downside I found was on how quickly Zoe and Trevor were able to track down Susan Thomas. It felt a bit unbelievable that they were able to find her quite easily. But, I guess the author had to keep in pace with the story and not stretch with the details. Speaking of which, I really loved the adventure that Zoe and Trevor have when they sneak into the city and ride the train to meet her without telling their parents.
I also loved the whole cooking angle with the ‘Bake Challenge’ in the first half of the book, but I felt that it suddenly stopped in the middle when the story shifted focus to Marcus primarily. It would have been interesting to see what had happened if Zoe did enter the challenge.
Lastly, I really liked the how the author plugged in song references like Boys II Men and Stevie Wonder, and smiled on how Zoe got the nickname Little Tomato.
Overall, I loved reading “From the Desk of Zoe Washington” and cannot wait to read similar works from the author in the future.
Purchase this book from: [Amazon]
