“From the Desk of Zoe Washington” written by Janae Marks, is about a 12 year old girl, Zoe Washington. On her 12th birthday, she receives a letter from her biological father, Marcus. She finds out that her father is “wrongly convicted,” of 1st degree murder, and he has been in jail for 13 years. Zoe also wants to be a pastry chef when she grows up, and she wants to audition for the Kids Baking Challenge! because she just turned 12. She works at Ari’s Cakes, and if Ari gives Zoe a 5 star rating, Zoe gets to audition for the show. At the same time, she is desperate to get her father out of jail. She researches, writes letters back and forth, and her friend, Trevor, helps her on her mission. Zoe finds out his alibi witness, Susan Thomas. She and Trevor go to Davis Square, lying about watching a movie there by themselves. They find Susan Thomas at last, but they face harsh consequences. Zoe cannot audition for the show anymore due to her dishonesty. She doesn’t care because at last, Marcus will be free from prison. The most important theme that stood out to me is that hard work pays off, and dreams come true. When Zoe finds out that Marcus is innocent, but needs proof, she works hard to find evidence, such as finding his alibi witness and researching the Innocence Project she read about in the “Wrongly Convicted” book. Her dreams came true, which is releasing Marcus from prison. It’s her dream because she thinks about it all day, and she dreams about it herself. Zoe also tries to make a new recipe. At first, she failed, but as she kept working hard, the results got better and better every time. Zoe worked so hard throughout the story, both baking and her mission to free Marcus, and those dreams came true because of her efforts. Zoe Washington, is a character who perseveres, determined, and hopeful. Perseverance is when you do not give up as easily, and you ask people for questions to help you. Zoe persevered when trying to find Marcus’s alibi witness, throughout the process of researching, communicating, and finding more information about the situation. Determination is linked with perseverance too. Determination is when you are willing to do anything. Even if Zoe’s grandma said to not set out and find his alibi, she was still willing to find the witness. She is determined to set out to search for his alibi witness because she is willingly to find her. Hope is when you set your mind to the positive side. When she still realizes she is still grounded because of her lying, she still knows that Marcus will be freed soon. When getting grounded, it would make my mind lean towards the negative side, even if I know that someone who I love will be freed, but that’s not the case with Zoe. She kept her hopes high, and she knows that it was worth it freeing Marcus. Her perseverance, determination, and hope gets her very far in life, especially when trying to work hard to succeed. I have inferences for this book. One inference is that Zoe’s cereal cupcake recipe will be accepted in Ari’s Cakes and would be a popular pastry. When Zoe made the cereal cupcake recipe with her parents, her mom and dad loved it. Her mom took a photo of it and sent it to Ari’s Cakes. If her parents and herself devoured it, then other people would love it, too. Just from the name, it sounds good as well. Another inference is that Marcus would be very, very, very close to Zoe. Zoe lives with her stepfather, Paul, after Marcus was arrested. Zoe spends all summer trying to free Marcus, so he would be appreciative of Zoe’s work. This book is full of mystery and excitement, and you could never know what’s next page after page. Every page is written in a way for readers to understand what they are doing. “From the Desk of Zoe Washington” is enjoyable because getting wrongly convicted is a big thing, but someone is there to help you is unlikely, knowing you’ve been in jail for 13 years. Essay of "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
“Merci Suarez Changes Gears” by Meg Medina is a book about a girl named Merci Suarez. She lives in Las Casitas (a three story house) with Mami, Papi, Lolo, Abuela, and Tia Ines. In sixth grade, she gets accepted into a program called Sunshine Buddies in Seaward Pines. Her buddy is a boy named Michael Clark, and Merci doesn’t want to be buddies with him because Edna Santos and some of her other friends like to talk about Michael. This makes Merci feel uncomfortable. When Lolo tried to cross the street, Roli tried to keep Lolo safe, but Roli and Merci got into a car accident. Then, Merci discovers that Lolo has Alzheimer’s Disease - a long time secret that the family kept without Merci knowing. On Christmas Day, she makes a book with memories for Lolo and Lolo buys Merci a new bike. The theme of this book is that you can still find good out of hard situations. When Merci received a boy as a Sunshine Buddy, most of Edna’s friends started to tease Merci because she got a boy as a buddy. Merci did not like it, and she found it very hard to face. She came up with excuses to have another job to do. She then tried to stay positive about it. Merci helped Michael to make a mask for a school project, and that was a good thing to do. Then, Merci realized that it wasn’t so bad being buddies with Michael. Another was when Merci found out that Lolo has Alzheimer’s Disease. It was a devastating and terrible thing for a loved one to have, and Merci felt like it would be over. The family also kept it a secret for a long time, and there was no way for Merci to cure it. When Christmas Day came, Merci tried to find the least she could do for her grandfather. She created a book with pictures in it so Lolo can remember these memories. Merci tried to feel good and stay positive in stressful situations, and she made it a bit better. Inferences can be made in this book. One thing that I can infer is that Merci would be good friends with Michael because she helped him on the science project. Wouldn’t you feel much closer to someone who helped you do a project? Michael was appreciative of her work. Also, if Edna doesn’t care about Michael anymore, then Merci wouldn’t feel so trapped anymore, having the ability to hang out with Michael. Another inference that I can make is that Merci would spend more time with Lolo. Lolo has Alzheimer’s, and Merci wouldn’t want to be forgotten by Lolo. Merci would ensure that he still remembers her. Lolo also may not have a lot of time left because he is older and he may not last because his brain would be shrinking everyday. I’d think that Merci would feel like she needs to spend more time with Lolo to enjoy the time with him. Merci Suarez is a character in this book whose personality stands out. She is sensitive, generous, and serious at times when she feels upset. Merci is sensitive, meaning that she easily reacts to something. When Michael kept stealing Merci’s fruit snacks at lunch, Merci struck Michael in the face with a baseball bat in P.E. She responded quickly to the situation, and she didn’t really think about what she was supposed to do. Merci also quickly reacted when the plaster was stuck to Edna’s eyebrows. She tried to separate the plaster and Edna’s eyebrows by cutting her eyebrows. In the situation, she had to solve it quickly, but it wasn’t the right thing to do. Merci is generous, and it means that you are helpful, giving, and extra (in a good way.) She helped Michael in making his mask for the project. Merci wasn’t required to, and she could have declined, but she decided to help. She was generous enough to help Michael. Another example was when Merci gave a meaningful present to Lolo, specifically made to help Lolo feel better even with Alzheimer’s. It was extra because it had memories of the family. Merci could have given Lolo a different gift not made to help Lolo feel better, but she knew she needed to help out. When Merci is serious, she tends to do things that were taken too far or she is not kidding. For example, when the twins were acting up by doing the wrong thing, Merci did not like it. When Lolo tried to investigate the situation, she called them brats, and that wasn’t really nice to call them. This gives a serious attitude towards the twins, making them frustrated. This book has so many things going on, and it makes it more interesting and better. It has an abundance of details, making it easy to understand. For people who like to read books with more than two plots, this book is definitely for you. “Merci Suarez Changes Gears” by Meg Medina is an enjoyable book to read for its plots, like dealing with a loved one who has Alzheimer’s or trying to befriend someone you didn’t feel comfortable with. Essay of "Merci Suarez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
