It's the summer before high school, and 14-year-old Zoe is working at Ari's bakery, spending time with Marcus (who also works part-time at the bakery), her grandma, mom, and dad, and her best friends Maya and Trevor. But there's something weird going on between Maya and Trevor...do they like-like each other? Will Zoe be the third wheel forever? And when Marcus shares his dream of opening his own restaurant, Zoe latches onto it and goes after it fiercely, starting a podcast and a Kickstarter, and even planning a live event at the Medford band shell. (It is not a laid-back summer.) Oh, and Zoe has a new friend, Hannah, who sought her out at Ari's after hearing her and Marcus on Boston Public Radio. Hannah's mom is in prison on drug-related charges, and Zoe provides a listening ear and good advice; she also rethinks her prejudices against criminal offenders.

An enjoyable sequel to the first Zoe Washington book, full of mouthwatering descriptions of desserts, as well as information about the difficulties of re-entry to life outside after prison, whether people were guilty or exonerated.

Quotes

"If I've learned anything over the years....It's that the way the world should be and the way it is are two separate things." (Marcus to Zoe, 87)

I needed to do better. I needed to stop judging and remember that previous offenders were like many of us - worthy of another chance. (276) ( )