Play Book Tag discussion

From the Desk of Zoe Washington - Janae Marks

4 stars

This is a middle grade novel about a girl who receives a letter from her father on her 12th birthday. Zoe's biological father has been in jail, convicted of murder, since before she was born and this letter was her first contact from him. Zoe is very curious about her father, but she worries because he is a murderer so he must be a monster. As they continue their correspondence Zoe realizes that maybe he is innocent and she must find out the truth.

I chose this book because it was nominated for the middle grade category of the Edgar Awards. My 13 year old son is a fan of mysteries so I was hoping it would be a book I could recommend to him. However, after reading it, I don't think I would categorize it as a mystery. It is a good book, on the younger side of middle grade, about important topics but I don't think it would interest my son. I really liked Zoe and I appreciated her drive to find out more about her biological father. Like many middle grade stories, I cringed at some of the things she did to do so (lying to her parents, secretly sneaking away to talk to potential witnesses, etc.). I liked her friendship with her neighbor and appreciated how it evolved throughout the book. Overall, I think it is a great book to introduce ideas to kids, such as not everyone in jail is guilty. It has a strong, intelligent black girl as the lead character but would still appeal to boys in the age group. I would recommend it to kids around 11 or 12 years old who like realistic fiction.