From the Desk of Zoe Washington

An Amazon Best Book of the Month * #1 Kids Indie Next List * A Junior Library Guild Selection * Four Starred Reviews From debut author Janae Marks comes a captivating story full of heart,as one courageous girl questions assumptionssearches for the truthand does what she believes is right–even in the face of great opposition. Zoe Washington isn’t sure what to write. What does a girl say to the father she’s never methadn’t heard from until his letter arrived on her twelfth birthdayand 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 mindand Marcus’s conviction weighing heavily on the otherthis is one recipe Zoe doesn’t know how to balance. The only thing she knows to be true: Everyone lies. When Marcus tells Zoe he is innocentand her grandmother agreesZoe begins to learn about inequality in the criminal justice systemand she sets out to find the alibi witness who can prove his innocence. (Publishers WeeklyAn Anti-Racist Children’s and YA Reading List) –Tanita S. Davisauthor of Mare’s War