From the Desk of Zoe Washington **Janae Marks** --- 100% of affiliate revenue supports chronicallybookish #1 Kids Indie Next List _Parents Magazine_ Best Book of the Year _Chicago Public Library_ Best of the Best Book of the Year _SLJ_ Best Book of the Year _Kirkus_ Best Book of the Year _Junior Library Guild_ Selection _Edgar Award_ Nominee _Four Starred Reviews_ _Bank Street_ Best Children’s Book of the Year _An Indie Bestseller_ From debut author Janae Marks comes a captivating story full of heart, as one courageous girl questions assumptions, searches for the truth, and 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 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. > “When Marcus tells Zoe he is innocent, and her grandmother agrees, Zoe begins to learn about inequality in the criminal justice system, and she sets out to find the alibi witness who can prove his innocence.” ( _Publishers Weekly_, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List") Plus don't miss Janae Marks's _A Soft Place to Land_! --- --- Posts about this title from chronicallybookish [chronicallybookish\ \ Kaley\ \ • May 19 2025](https://chronicallybookish.binderybooks.com/) --- [How Similar Is Our Taste in Books?](https://chronicallybookish.binderybooks.com/item/Yc8p5CUEGozWzwYfff53/) How Similar Is Our Taste in Books? +10 points if you’ve read it +5 points if it’s on your TBR 500 possible points (including Finding Gene Kelly 😉) This is DEFINITELY a non-exhaustive list—there were so many I had to cut out because I didn’t want it to be 500 slides long. But I feel like this is a decent grasp of my tastes? I’ve absolutely been loving this trend and I had to participate, even if I’m a little bit late to the game (as usual lol) --- 49 books