From The Desk of Zoe Washington

Juvenile nonfiction 

     "I picked up the envelope and rubbed my thumb across the seal, but all of a sudden, my fingers stopped working and I froze in place.  I wanted to read it, but I was also terrified of what it might say.  He'd committed a horrible crime."

     Shortly after turning twelve, Zoe, protagonist of Janae Marks' From The Desk of Zoe Washington, sees an audition announcement for the show Kids Bake Challenge!  She's finally old enough.

     "If I won I'd be just like Ruby Willow!  It would be a dream come true.  I never saw many Black pastry chefs on the shows I watched, or in the cookbook section of the library, but I was still determined to be one when I grew up. "

     After Zoe's mother and stepfather look at the show's website they aren't sure she's ready yet.  They propose a test.  They've set up an internship at her favorite bakery.  If she gets a good review when her summer vacation ends they'll fill out the papers.

     There's one secret Zoe is hiding from her parents.  On her birthday she received a letter from her biological father, Marcus, who is in prison for murder.  She knows that her mom wants her to have nothing to do with him.  But in the letter he sounds so nice and normal, not at all like a felon.  Maybe it wouldn't hurt to write back just once and ask him some of the questions on her mind, like why he committed a crime when he was about to become a father.  

     Only one letter becomes a series.  He seems to really care about her.  Then he claims to be innocent of the crime he was convicted of.

     Could he possibly be innocent?  Do people who don't commit crimes end up in prison?  Is there any way she can help get evidence to help exonerate him if he's telling the truth?  

     And what will her mother do if she discovers her secret?

On a purrrsonal note the snow continued through the day and well into the night.  Eugene had only a few hours to eat supper and sleep before he had to go out and plow again.  He got back in time to give me a ride to school.  (Jules)

They said we'd get 2" to 4" of snow.  If that's 2-4 out my window I'm an iguana.  I'd hate to see what the folks who had 4" to 8" predicted actually got.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene and the other blizzard battlers.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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