조 워싱턴은 무엇을 써야 할 지 잘 모르겠다. 열 두 번째 생일에 편지가 도착하기 전까지는 만난 적도 없었던 아버지에게 무슨 말을 해야 할까? 게다가 끔찍한 범죄로 감옥에 있었던 아버지에게. 아버지는 그 범죄를 저지른 적이 없다고 한다.

아버지인 마커스는 정말 결백할까? 조는 진실을 밝히기로 결심한다. 비록 편지와 모든 조사는 가족에게 비밀로 해야 하지만. 다른 사람들은 조가 베이커리 인턴십을 잘 해내는 것과 푸드 네트워크의 어린이 제빵대회에 오디션을 볼 실력이 있다는 걸 부모님께 증명해야 한다는 걸 걱정한다고 생각한다. 하지만 마음 한 쪽에는 과자가, 다른 한 쪽에는 마커스의 확신이 마음을 무겁게 짓누르고 있는 상황이지만, 이건 조가 아직 균형을 잡지 못하는 하나의 레시피일 뿐이다. 조가 알고 있는 유일한 사실은 누구나 거짓말을 한다는 것.

#1 Kids Indie Next List * Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year * Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of the Year * SLJ Best Book of the Year * Kirkus Best Book of the Year * Junior Library Guild Selection * Edgar Award Nominee * Four Starred Reviews

From debut author Janae Marks comes a captivating story full of heart, as one courageous girl questions assumptions, searches for the truth, and does what she believes is right—even in the face of great opposition. 

Zoe Washington isn’t sure what to write. What does a girl say to the father she’s never met, hadn’t heard from until his letter arrived on her twelfth birthday, and who’s been in prison for a terrible crime?

A crime he says he never committed.

Could Marcus really be innocent? Zoe is determined to uncover the truth. Even if it means hiding his letters and her investigation from the rest of her family. Everyone else thinks Zoe’s worrying about doing a good job at her bakery internship and proving to her parents that she’s worthy of auditioning for Food Network’s Kids Bake Challenge.

But with bakery confections on one part of her mind, and Marcus’s conviction weighing heavily on the other, this is one recipe Zoe doesn’t know how to balance. The only thing she knows to be true: Everyone lies.

"When Marcus tells Zoe he is innocent, and her grandmother agrees, Zoe begins to learn about inequality in the criminal justice system, and she sets out to find the alibi witness who can prove his innocence." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")