From the Desk of Zoe Washington

 With many of the events of the past year, I've had an increased focus on including books that are about and written by people of color (POC) in my classroom. Because of this, I've had the chance to read many amazing and delightful books and share them with my student. 

One of these books is From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks. This novel is just perfect for my 7th graders because it talks about a variety of themes--the importance of friendship, working hard at things you're passionate about, and even the search for justice. With characters that are relatable and just the right age for my kids, I've recommended it to many of them!

Zoe Washington has just turned twelve. On her birthday she is already dealing with the fact that she is no longer speaking to her best friend. To make things even more interesting, she discovers that her dad has sent her a letter for her birthday. Zoe has never met her birth dad before because he has been in jail for her whole life. And she's never received a letter from him before. 

Zoe spends most of the summer working towards her goal of being on a kid's baking show, interning for a local bakery, and writing letters back and forth with her dad (behind her mom's back!). When she finds out that her dad might be innocent of the crime that put him in jail, she decides to take the investigation into her own hands.

As I said previously, I think that this book touches on a wide variety of topics that are relatable for young teens. Zoe has to figure out how important her best friend is to her and how she can resolve conflict. She is also working hard at baking--something that she loves to do. It's fun to hear about the different recipes she tries and how she gets better at things. It definitely made me want to do some baking!

The novel also focuses on some more difficult topics like her dad being in jail and the fact that he might be innocent. The Innocence Project estimates that 20,000 people in the US prison population have been wrongfully imprisoned. In the book, Zoe gets to learn about a lot of these statistics and how to help the people that this affects. I learned a lot from it too!

I really enjoyed the plot. We are able to see Zoe learn and grown and develop her relationship with her dad over the course of the book. It was also a very satisfying ending with no loose ends!

I would recommend this book for those who enjoy upper-middle grade books, books about baking, long-lost fathers, and mending friendships. You can purchase a copy of the book here!