From the Desk of Zoe Washington
Everything her mother ever said about Zoe’s father was negative when she asked. Zoe knew where her father was but she didn’t know what he did, to end up in prison. Now, on her 12th birthday as Zoe grabs the mail from their mailbox, she finds an envelope addressed to her with a return address from the Massachusetts State Penitentiary. That envelope could only contain one thing, something from her father.
This book had an excellent flow to it and the story was fun to read. I thought the author did a great job showing us the different emotions that Zoe experiences throughout the book and I liked how grandma tried to do the balancing act with the different characters. I understood exactly why/how grandmother felt the way she did, as she maneuvered around the individuals in her life. Zoe’s friend Trevor, was good for her. I was surprised how quickly he forgave her and how willing he went along with her suggestions. I don’t think Zoe gave enough credit to Trevor.
There were a few instances in the book that didn’t make sense to me. These were based on the characters and our current time period. I don’t want to spoil the book by mentioning them but Zoe is only twelve-years old and some of the things that she was doing just didn’t seem feasible for a person of that age. But, if you let your imagination take you away, anything is possible.
In the book, Zoe begins to secretly write her father in prison, asking him a variety of questions. Her father claims that he’ll be honest with her in his return letters but Zoe is torn between believing what her mother has said and the man, who she has never known.
Her grandmother accidentally discovers Zoe’s secret and grandmother strikes up a deal with Zoe and now, who knows where this will all end. I understand grandmother position in this mess but I also feel that there’s going to be fireworks, if and when Zoe’s mother finds out (and she will eventually find out, she has to, you just know she will).
If that’s not enough, Zoe told her parents that she would do a summer internship at her aunt’s bakery. She needs to prove to them that she’s ready to enter a kid’s cooking competition on the Food Network. Did someone say cooking competition? Zoe believed that this would be a great opportunity for her, yet when she arrives, it’s not what she expected.
It’s an eventful summer for Zoe with her internship and secretly corresponding with her father in prison. It jumps into high speed when she learns some interesting information about her father and decides to explore it further it. A conflict with her best friend Trevor, will need to be resolved quickly as she can’t do this alone.
