SYNOPSIS

Zoe is an aspiring pastry chef.

She is also, as of late, lonely – her two friends from school are away for the summer, while her neighbor and childhood best friend, Trevor, offended her without realizing.

Unexpectedly, on her birthday, Zoe receives a letter from her father in prison (who is never spoken of at home).

Zoe begins a secret letter exchange with him, researches his crime, learns of mistakes in the justice system, and resolves to help exonerate him.

She also starts a summer internship at a cupcake shop in the hopes of entering a children’s televised bake-off competition with her own recipe.

Zoe’s mom finds out about the surreptitious friendship with Zoe’s father and after the anger dies down, the family assist Zoe in getting her father’s case reviewed.

His wrongful conviction is overturned, while Zoe repairs her friendship with her neighbor / best friend.

PERFECT AGE 11 – 14

THEMES

• Keeping secrets – parents from children, children from parents, friends from each other
• How the U.S. justice system works – do mistakes happen? How costly can they be?
• Pursuing one’s dreams and ambitions

We love

• Zoe is a diverse character living in an “atypical” family
• Very challenging topics – like capital offense and police profiling – are not skirted around and are handled appropriately for the age group
• Story set in our very own Boston and Brookline! 🙂
• Zoe is ingenious both in her recipe creations, and in fact-finding around her father’s case – she personally contacts possible witnesses (including visiting a Harvard professor in her Cambridge office)

WATCH OUT FOR (Language, Big / Sensitive Topics, Outdated Concepts):

• A wrongful conviction with a life sentence is overturned, and only thanks to the (secret) work of a teenager
• Reference to cases of police racial profiling
• The Innocence Project – what does it do? Why does it exist? Whom does it help?

CONVERSATION STARTERS

• How did Trevor hurt Zoe? What was his explanation and how could they both have handled this situation differently?
• Do you agree with what the way grandma kept Zoe’s secret from her mom? Why or why not?
• Who would you go to if you had big questions or something troubled  you?
• Let’s learn more together about the Innocence Project.