Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Voted by members for Middle Grade additional read

From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks



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.

I just read this one and thought it was really good. It was a little more serious than I was expecting for a middle grade story, but I liked that. It was pretty realistic with kids worrying about lying and getting into trouble. The kids had to work on relationships and figure out how to be a good friend. The adults in the story treated them as they would typical children. The adults also had some emotional and relationship things to work on, so they didn't have it all figured out either. Overall, I thought it suited the age group well.

(view spoiler)[ I don't like how they ended the book blurb with, "The only thing she knows to be true: Everyone lies." It makes it sound like Zoe is a jaded character and she's not. She actually comes across as more innocent than jaded. Her initial belief is that he must be guilty because innocent men don't go to jail. (hide spoiler)]

I just read this too. Kristie, I agree with you 100%. The subject matter was a lot deeper than I expected for a middle school book. But it was really well done, I thought! I really liked the book. It was such a heart warming story.

It’s been a long time since I read middle school fiction, but I don’t remember many that were this well written. Not only was the plot interesting, the main characters were well developed while the background characters (most of the adults) stayed in the background as they should.

I’m really glad this one came to my attention through this group.