Zoe Washington is your typical 12-year-old (okay, maybe a little extra serious and a little extra stubborn) whose big goal for the summer is getting into a national TV baking competition and ignoring her previous best friend/next door neighbor. Before she can say "buttercream and sprinkles," a letter arrives that will change the course of her summer — and maybe her and her family's lives.

The letter is from her biological father, Marcus, who has been in prison for murder since before Zoe was born. Zoe is shocked to find that he seems... nice. And that she kinda wants to know more about him. The shock deepens when Zoe begins writing back and can't resist asking about the crime he committed, discovering that Marcus pled not guilty and continues to claim he's innocent and had an alibi. But do innocent people really end up in prison? Should she keep writing to someone who may be lying and may be capable of a violent crime? Is there anything she can do to help settle her mind — and maybe clear his name and get him released?

This is a fairly straightforward middle grade story that moves along quickly and is written in a simple style but is packed with realistic modern-day issues: peer pressure, friendship and forgiveness, living in a biracial family, having an incarcerated parent, the rate of wrong convictions, the Innocence Project, strained family relationships, risk taking and rule breaking in pursuit of truth and justice, and creating awesome new cupcake flavors.

Content notes: lying to and keeping secrets from a parent