From the Desk of Zoe Washington (MG)
Ahhhh — that was time well spent on this dreary late-October day. How did I spend it, you ask? Reading. Voraciously. As if the book were a scrumptious cupcake I couldn’t wait to devour. Cupcake? Yes. If you read FROM THE DESK OF ZOE WASHINGTON by Janae Marks, you’ll quickly learn that cupcakes are very important to Zoe. As is baking, and especially getting a chance to be a young baker on the Kid Bake Challenge on the Food Network. But something is even more important than that. When she hears from her biological father, who has been in jail all her life, she finds herself wanting to know more about him. And more. When she comes up against a double wall of her mother’s refusal to talk about Marcus and the suspicion that there’s something wrong about his conviction, she has to act. How she does that is truly the icing on the cake. I highly recommend reading FROM THE DESK OF ZOE WASHINGTON, published in 2020. You might want to have some cupcakes handy. (I am imagining some.) Don’t just take my word for it. Here’s the Kirkus Review, and an interview with Janae Marks on Literary Rambles. If you want to buy this book, I urge you to check with your local independent bookstore, or order online from any independent bookstore — like The Dot Central, connected to The Blue Bunny Books and Toys.