From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

HarperCollins (Katherine Tegen), 2020, 291 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Zoe’s big ambition is to win a spot on the Food Network’s Kids Bake Challenge, and to that end she’s working on a killer cupcake recipe to make the judges sit up and take notice. The only thing she knows to be true: Everyone lies. From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks. 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. 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. She has an MFA in writing for children from the New School. She grew up in the New York City suburbs and now lives in Connecticut with her husband and daughter.

Her second novel is A Soft Place to Land. Her debut From the Desk of Zoe Washington is an indie bestseller and was named a Best Book of the Year by Parents Magazine, Book Riot, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Chicago Public Library and the Boston Globe. Even if it means hiding his letters and her investigation from the rest of her family. Janae Marks is the author of the critically acclaimed novel From the Desk of Zoe Washington. Janae Marks is an author of middle grade novels. Could Marcus really be innocent? Zoe is determined to uncover the truth. 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.

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.