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A review by booksinthemountains
From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I've been wanting to read this one for awhile. I am firmly of the belief that good middle grade fiction can be as good as an adult novel and I like to curate lists for when my niece and nephew get older or if I have my own children. So this one has been on my mind awhile, so I finally got a hold from my library.
Here's our set-up: Zoe Washington just turned 12 and besides for fighting with her best friend Trevor, it is a great day. Then she finds a letter in the mail from her birth father, Marcus, who is in jail for a murder. Zoe with the guidance of her grandmother begins to write to her and learns more about the criminal justice and that our justice system is far from fair to the Black community.
As a New Englander (or newbie at least), I liked that racism was specifically called out in Boston because our little liberal haven is not perfect and it's a good reminder. As far as the book I loved it and I would hand it to my children. I found the story compelling and the characters lovable. I think some of the issues people will have with the book is that it all occurs behind the parents back (Zoe's mom does not want her talking to Marcus), but I think that the mom is stubborn (more about jealousy it seems) in a way that you can't blame Zoe really. I read a lot of people is that Zoe is overly naive, but she's 12. I felt sometimes she read under 12 but I liked that she was naive and learned in the book, most 25 year olds don't understand our racist legal system let alone 12 years olds.
I would recommend reading this if you like middle grade, if you're not a big middle grade reader you might feel this is a bit immature but I think it accomplished it's goal and I really liked it.
Here's our set-up: Zoe Washington just turned 12 and besides for fighting with her best friend Trevor, it is a great day. Then she finds a letter in the mail from her birth father, Marcus, who is in jail for a murder. Zoe with the guidance of her grandmother begins to write to her and learns more about the criminal justice and that our justice system is far from fair to the Black community.
As a New Englander (or newbie at least), I liked that racism was specifically called out in Boston because our little liberal haven is not perfect and it's a good reminder. As far as the book I loved it and I would hand it to my children. I found the story compelling and the characters lovable. I think some of the issues people will have with the book is that it all occurs behind the parents back (Zoe's mom does not want her talking to Marcus), but I think that the mom is stubborn (more about jealousy it seems) in a way that you can't blame Zoe really. I read a lot of people is that Zoe is overly naive, but she's 12. I felt sometimes she read under 12 but I liked that she was naive and learned in the book, most 25 year olds don't understand our racist legal system let alone 12 years olds.
I would recommend reading this if you like middle grade, if you're not a big middle grade reader you might feel this is a bit immature but I think it accomplished it's goal and I really liked it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism
Wrongful Incarceration