Thursday, March 30, 2023

On Air with Zoe Washington (Zoe Washington #2) by Janae Marks - ADVISABLE

On Air with Zoe Washington (Zoe Washington #2)
by Janae Marks
, 304 pages. Katherine Tegen (HarperCollins). 2023. $18. 

Content: G. 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Zoe is now 14 - Marcus, her birth dad has been exonerated and is out of prison. But he’s having a hard time getting on his feet. With no job and no credit for more than a decade, he’s getting by with 2 part-time jobs and is living at his mother’s house. Zoe wishes the two of them could start a restaurant together, but no bank will give him a loan, yet. It’s hard to restart your life if you’ve been in prison. So, Zoe reaches out to Boston Public Radio to see if they will do a series on exoneree and how difficult life after prison is for them. When they turn her story idea down, Zoe decides to start a podcast of her own, to raise awareness and hopefully kickstart the restaurant. 

I loved “From the Desk of Zoe Washington,” and “On Air with Zoe Washington” is just as good. Zoe is still tenacious and intentional. There’s some best-friend drama, as Maya and Trevor have discovered they like each other. I love that Zoe is tackling an adult problem and that Janae Marks has made it thought-provoking and completely age appropriate. Although Zoe is 2 years older, I would still recommend for upper elementary as well as middle school. Zoe is Black. 

Lisa Librarian 

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