From the Desk of Zoe Washington

#1 Kids Indie Next List* Parents MagazineBest 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 Childrens 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 righteven in the face of great opposition.

Zoe Washington isnt sure what to write. What does a girl say to the father shes never met, hadnt heard from until his letter arrived on her twelfth birthday, and whos 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 Zoes worrying about doing a good job at her bakery internship and proving to her parents that shes worthy of auditioning for Food Networks Kids Bake Challenge.

But with bakery confections on one part of her mind, and Marcuss conviction weighing heavily on the other, this is one recipe Zoe doesnt 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!