When Zoe finds a letter from her father on her twelfth birthday, it changes everything. She's never met her father, and her mother refuses to talk about him because Marcus is in prison for murder. Zoe has always been curious, though, and this letter seems like a sign. She decides to write back to Marcus in secret because she knows her mother would never allow it!
While she waits for a reply, Zoe is busy with her summer internship at a real bakery. She wants to be on the Kids Bake Challenge, and this internship is the test to see if her parents think she's mature enough to handle it.
She's also busy trying to ignore her former best friend and current next-door neighbor, Trevor. They usually spend the whole summer together, but Zoe can't forgive him for betraying her trust during the school year.
After a few letters, Marcus writes that he is innocent, but Zoe isn't sure if she should believe him. That's when she decides to do a little detective work of her own. It would be great to know her biological father isn't a murderer, but if he's really innocent, he's been in prison for twelve years while the real killer ran free.
With so many things at stake, Zoe's twelfth summer will be the most important one of her life.
I really enjoyed this debut by Janae Marks. It has short chapters and a fast pace which make it great for reluctant readers, and the premise is an attention grabber, too. It only took a couple of sentences to sell it to a student in the library earlier today. This is a middle grade book, so it does gloss over some of the negative effects of being wrongly convicted, but it's also a great conversation starter about the legal system and how easy it is for people to sometimes be wrongly convicted. Highly recommended.
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