From the Desk of Zoe Washington vs All That is Sad is Untrue

Everything Sad is Untrue

I absolutely loved this book.  The fact that it is a memoir is all the more compelling.  It took a me a little while to get into the non-linear storytelling, and the way the author moved from Persian mythology to memory, but once I had the structure in my head, I could get lost in the beautiful words and stories.  I wondered if the average teen would struggle with this type of writing, as although the story is being told about a middle years boy, and references to a lot of “poop” stories, the mythology and style of writing is complex.  I had my friend’s son read it who is in grade 9, and an avid reader.  He found it challenging and it didn’t engage him, so for that reason, I would put forward From The Desk of Zoe Washington.  

I struggled with this book because it wasn’t linear. I had a lot of compassion for the character and can’t imagine the difficulty he must have felt adapting to his new life. I thought the author did an excellent job of making me feel the fear and reality of the difficulties that their family endured.

Many of our team ended up abandoning and not finishing the book because of this challenging plot and lack of background knowledge to Persian mythology that lost the plot when trying to connect.  We all believe younger or more reluctant readers would likely abandon it pretty quickly. 

From the Desk of Zoe Washington:

We all enjoyed From the Desk of Zoe Washington, and we think our Div 2 and 3 students could easily fall into Zoe’s story and come away with new insights and understanding. he story moved at a great pace to keep kiddos interested and engaged. The drama and suspense was more than age appropriate and does a really great job of walking younger readers through tough times. Janae Marks was successful introducing some heavy issues in a way that younger readers could understand and we don't need to focus on riots and the grotesque events of late for younger readers to understand the Black Lives Matter movement - or that too many innocent people are incarcerated each year because the system is broken.  Marksdoes a wonderful job of incorporating realistic and kid-friendly drama that will resonate with younger readers. I appreciated how realistic and authentic Marks was in how Zoe was able to address the tension and troubles with Trevor, her mom, Markus, and her grandmother.  I think younger students will be able to relate to these kinds of problems and may even learn a thing or two about working things out with their loved ones.   I thought this book hit on a lot of very relevant issues. I thought Zoe was a strong character who was so determined to find the truth.  I like the happy ending type books so I appreciated how Zoe found vindication for her dad and was able to reconnect with him. As an avid baker, I also enjoyed Zoe’s passion in the kitchen!  

I think Janae Marks did a wonderful job of introducing systemic racism in a way that is appropriate for younger readers. Zoe certainly gets our vote this round!