Indies Introduce

Middle Grade

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  From the Desk of Zoe Washington, Janae Marks
  Katherine Tegen Books, 9780062875853, January 14, 2020 (Middle Grade)
  

  “Zoe Washington looooves baking. Raspberry crumb bars, S’more brownies — she does it all. She thinks her biggest worry this summer will be whether or not she can fold pastry boxes quickly enough at her bakery internship, but then she receives a letter from her father. Her father is in prison, and Zoe hasn’t heard from him in twelve years. Unable to deny her curiosity, she writes back, and as they learn more about each other, she is shocked to learn that, as an African-American man, her dad may have been wrongly convicted. As Zoe races to invent the most super special cupcake flavor ever to impress her bakery boss, she becomes equally swept up in researching her dad’s case. It takes a special skill to combine the sugar sweet world of baking with the stark reality of racial inequalities in our criminal justice system, and debut author Janae Marks serves readers a perfectly balanced story with wide appeal.”

  Bethany Strout, Tattered Cover Bookstore (Denver, CO)
  
  

  “I loved this sweet, entertaining novel that will get readers thinking about truth and justice. Zoe is a loveable character — determined to earn the right to audition for a baking show, fed up with her former best friend/still-next-door-neighbor. Her reaction to a letter from her incarcerated biological dad is curiosity, and it just might get her into a whole lot of trouble! I really identified with Zoe's preteen withdrawals but also her passion for baking. Fun to have a book set in Boston, and important to read a book that addresses the inequalities of our criminal justice system in such an approachable way.”

  Tegan Tigani, Queen Anne Book Company, Seattle, WA
  

   

  “From the Desk of Zoe Washington is absolutely charming.”

  Robyn Broderick, The Reading Bug (San Carlos, CA)