From the Desk of Zoe Washington

From the Desk of Zoe Washington (2020) is a contemporary middle grade novel by American author Janae Marks. The novel was a Junior Library Guild selection and named a “Best Book of the Year” by Parents Magazine, Book Riot, Kirkus Reviews, and Booklist. Built on themes of trust, forgiveness, and proving one’s capabilities, the novel also won the 2020 Cybils Award and was one of NPR’s “100 Favorite Books for Young Readers.”

This guide refers to the 2020 edition by Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Plot Summary

Just home from her 12th birthday party, Zoe Washington discovers a letter from her biological father, Marcus Johnson, whom she has never met. Marcus is incarcerated. He was convicted of a murder that took place before Zoe was born. Zoe immediately hides the letter, thinking that her mother might not let her read it. Zoe does not like to think about being related to someone who committed a terrible crime; when she reads the letter, Zoe is surprised that Marcus sounds nice and caring. She does not understand his reference to his other letters to her, as this is the first letter she ever received.

While Zoe debates what to do about the letter, her next-door-neighbor and former best friend Trevor arrives with a birthday gift. Zoe does not want to talk to Trevor; last month, she overheard him saying unkind things about her. After many summers of adventures and years of close friendship, Zoe now feels betrayed, angry, and wary. She is surprised that Trevor got her Ruby Willow’s cookbook. Ruby Willow is a young baker Zoe saw on a Food Network baking competition. Ruby won, receiving cash and a cookbook deal. Zoe wants a career as a pastry chef and would love to achieve similar fame.

Zoe decides to write back to Marcus. She chats about several topics and asks why he called her “Little Tomato” in his letter. She wants to mail her letter from the corner mailbox so her mother will not see it, but Trevor and two teammates are on the porch near the mailbox. To avoid them, Zoe flips through the cookbook and looks online. The Food Network site advertises auditions for a new season of Kids Bake Challenge!, the show Ruby Willow won. That weekend, when she asks to apply for the show, her mother and stepfather Paul (whom Zoe calls Dad) do not give her permission. Instead, they do arrange a weekly internship at Ari’s Cakes (owned by Mom’s friend Ariana) to better evaluate Zoe’s level of seriousness about baking. Zoe is not deterred by the small number of Black pastry chefs in the business. Zoe is excited to prove herself to her parents, but she is disappointed on the first day of the internship because she only folds bakery boxes.

When Marcus writes again, he explains that “Hang On Little Tomato” is a song he likes by Pink Martini; he has always used it as a pet name for her. He empathizes that their correspondence might feel strange but says he will always tell her the truth. Grandma, who supervises Zoe in the summer, catches Zoe writing to Marcus. Rather than telling Mom, who will forbid Zoe’s communication with Marcus, Grandma allows Zoe to send and receive the letters from her (Grandma’s) house.

Zoe asks Marcus if he feels badly about the crime. Marcus tells Zoe that he is innocent. He says his only alibi witness never came to court, and that once his appeal failed, he accepted his fate. He looks forward to parole, when Zoe will be 25 years old. Zoe is frustrated; she wonders if Marcus is lying. She searches online about the trial and victim, Lucy Hernandez. Trevor sees Zoe reading a book at the library about wrongful convictions and the Innocence Project (a group that helps those imprisoned unjustly), then helps her search for info online. Afterwards, Zoe reveals why she is so angry: she overheard him telling friends Lincoln and Sean that he is not really friends with her. Worse, he went along with their insulting comments about her. Trevor apologizes; Zoe wants to accept his apology and move on, but still feels the sting of distrust. She is also surprised to hear that Trevor feels left out when she is with her friends.

Zoe emails Marcus’s lawyer, Anthony Miller, for information about the case. She asks Marcus for the name of alibi witness. Grandma also tells Zoe what she knows about the trial: Marcus’s lawyer seemed to assume that because Marcus was a Black man, he was guilty; Miller never bothered to bring in the alibi witness and told Marcus to plead guilty. Marcus says he went to a tag sale (yard sale) at a woman’s house at the same time as the murder, but without the woman as an alibi witness, Marcus went to prison. Zoe’s mother cut Marcus from her life and raised Zoe without Marcus’s input.

Zoe determines to find out the truth. Marcus says they should talk on the phone. Grandma allows their call to happen at her house. Zoe is so exhilarated to speak with her father for the first time that she forgets to ask about the alibi witness. When Marcus calls again the next day, Zoe asks about the alibi. Marcus cautions against Zoe’s involvement, but she persists until Marcus finally reveals the witness’s name: Susan Thomas. Zoe promises Grandma that she will not go looking for Susan, but she does.

Zoe and Trevor narrow their online search to one woman, a professor at Harvard. Zoe tries emailing and leaving a voicemail, but there is no reply. Zoe promised Grandma that she would tell her parents the truth about communicating with Marcus by the start of school. She thinks her parents will make her stop writing to Marcus, so she must act fast. Zoe plans to take the subway alone to Harvard Square (something her parents would never allow) where she can ask Professor Thomas if she recognizes Marcus from Zoe’s one old photo of him. Trevor goes with her, and they lie about attending a movie with friends. It a harrowing and stressful trip to Harvard as they are short on time; when they finally find Susan, she is nice but cannot recall Marcus. Zoe is crushed.

Zoe and Trevor take a cab back to save time but are late for pick-up. Trevor’s mother is furious to see them getting out of a cab; she tells Grandma, who calls Mom. Just as they arrive home, Zoe gets an email from Professor Thomas saying she recalls Marcus after all and to call her. However, Grandma takes Zoe’s phone as punishment. When Mom arrives, all the truth comes out: Zoe tells Grandma she went to find the alibi witness; Grandma tells Mom she helped Zoe talk to Marcus; Mom tells Zoe she destroyed years’ worth of Marcus’s letters. Zoe and Mom are both furious. Zoe’s parents ground her; she cannot contact Professor Thomas. When school begins, Zoe enjoys seeing her friend Maya; she is careful to include Trevor now.

Later that week, Zoe’s parents surprise her with the news that they visited Professor Thomas. Professor Thomas revealed that she did meet Marcus; she remembered him after she saw a letter from him to Zoe that Zoe dropped on her office floor. The greeting to “Little Tomato” reminded her that she once almost sold a futon to a polite young man who called his soon-to-be-born child “little tomato.” Mom and Dad call a lawyer who puts them in touch with the Innocence Project.

Zoe is happy to reconcile with her mother. They go to the prison where Zoe meets Marcus in person for the first time. An epilogue reveals Marcus, now free from prison, enjoying his birthday at Zoe’s house. She is eager to give him birthday gifts, but Marcus gives Zoe a gift as well: a new stereo and records. As they play Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday,” everyone dances. Zoe reflects in wonder and gratitude on having Marcus in her life.