On Air With Zoe Washington (Zoe Washington, #2) by Janae Marks opens with Zoe Washington going to work with her birth father, who has recently been released from jail for a crime he was wrongfully convicted of committing. As they have lunch together, Zoe finds out her father has a dream of opening up his own restaurant and hiring exonerees. When she starts researching how to open a restaurant, Zoe realizes it is much more difficult than she thought it would be and takes to the airwaves by creating a podcast.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Edition, or Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC), of On Air With Zoe Washington (Zoe Washington, #2). I was thrilled to be chosen to read this book in exchange for my honest review. The expected publication date of this book is February 14, 2023. When I asked to review this book and was waiting on approval, I didn't realize that it was the second book in a series. It can definitely be read as a stand alone book, but I personally would recommend reading the books in order as it will help the reader understand the background of the characters.

I am glad to see that there are more books representing people of color as it's important for everyone to be represented. Another thing I'm glad to see is that it talks about people who were incarcerated that were innocent and the important work of the Innocence Project. Additionally, I was pleased that On Air With Zoe Washington deals with a family dynamic that is more prominent in today's society where a child is raised by a biological parent and a step parent.

Is there anything negative I can say about this book? Nope! It's a fantastic book. I thoroughly enjoyed On Air With Zoe Washington (Zoe Washington, #2) by Janae Marks and give it five out of five stars.

Two years ago, Zoe Washington (with the help of others) proved that her biological father was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated. Now after being released from prison and working to start over, Zoe witnesses first-hand how difficult it can be for someone who was incarcerated, even wrongfully incarcerated, to truly start over. Zoe and her biological father Marcus have a dream of opening a restaurant where Marcus can sell the food he makes, and Zoe can bake and sell desserts. However, when they run into problems such as not being able to secure funding to make this dream a reality, Zoe digs into why this is happening and decides to start a podcast interviewing and sharing exonerees’ experiences after being released from prison. Zoe knows how powerful her voice is when it is, and now she is using it to share these exonerees’ experiences and to hopefully fundraise for her and Marcus' culinary endeavor!

Personal opinion:
I really enjoyed this book and I thought that it shined a light on a really important topic! I also think that Marks did a great job sharing this story in a way that is accessible for middle level readers! Those who enjoyed From the Desk of Zoe Washington with undoubtably enjoy this sequel!

Zoe Washington is back! It's the summer after 8th grade (two years after the first book) and Zoe's dad is out of prison after being exonerated and is now part of her daily life. They work together at a bakery as they get to know each other better. When Zoe realizes how hard it is going to be for her dad to start a restaurant because he has no credit history, she devises a plan to help him achieve his dream. The book is filled with baking, navigating friendships, food, and family. Marks does a good job in this book of illustrating that all formerly incarcerated people deserve help when leaving the prison system - not just those wrongfully convicted. Fans of the first book will love this one but it could also be read as a stand-alone book.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Janae Marks and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Zoe is back! Twoish years ago, Zoe cleared Marcus' name for a crime he didn't commit, so not birth father is getting out of jail. Life should be good for Zoe, but when Marcus wants to open his own restaurant and struggles with getting back into society, Zoe is determined to find a solution. What does she do? She starts a podcast to help drum up some business for Marcus. Will people be interested or will interest disappear?

Wow! What a great read. I love Zoe's determination and her dreams. I think Zoe is a real relatable character for kids out there. She's proof that you can do anything you put your mind to.
I think this would be a great read for any child that currently has or had a loved one in jail.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this follow-up to From the Desk of Zoe Washington. Zoe is a great protagonist with big dreams and people around her who help to keep her grounded while also supporting her dreams in a realistic way. This book is meant to take place a couple years after the action of From the Desk, and I liked how the events in the story matured along with Zoe's age. For example, she is concerned when two of her friends begin "liking" each other, and what that means for their friendship. Additionally, the new characters that are introduced fit seamlessly into the established storyline and really helped to develop the personalities of the familiar characters. Once again, Janae Marks is able to present difficult topics in a way that is real and accessible to her middle grade readers, complete with the fears and hesitations that come with them. Highly recommend.

Zoe Washington is BACK and better than ever! This is the perfect compliment to the first book. My ten-year-old devoured the story and we can’t wait for what Janae Marks might do next! If you are looking for a heart-warming story that is age-appropriate and fosters empathy, courage and compassion, this is the story for you or your young reader!

I adored From the Desk of Zoe Washington and was excited to see her story continued. In the first novel, Zoe finds our her biological father, Marcus, is wrongly imprisoned and through her efforts he is exonerated.

In On Air with Zoe Washington, Zoe and Marcus are spending time together, catching up on all the years they missed. They even work together at Ari's cakes and dream of opening a restaurant together, someday. But Zoe wants that someday to be soon.

In working with Marcus to get a loan Zoe becomes aware of how difficult life can be for exonerees once they are released. She comes to realize the challenges for those who were guilty, but have served their sentence can be insurmountable. And being Zoe, she becomes determined to do something about it.

Zoe is a dynamo! She launches a Kickstarter to get funds to start a food truck business with Marcus, debuts a podcast to bring awareness to the challenges faced by former inmates and plans a live event for the community. All this and she faces regular family and friend issues.

The author tackles what could be a difficult, complex topic for middle grade age kids with sensitivity and compassion. We learn along with Zoe.

I thoroughly enjoyed the continuation of Zoe's story and hope we can follow her for more adventures.

Many thanks to the author, NetGalley and Katherine Tegan Books for the advance digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a lovely sequel to the first Zoe Washington book where Zoe finds a way to exonerate her father who has been in prison for a crime he did not commit. In this book, they are working together to create a restaurant/food truck and help others who are entering society again after life in prison. It was a lovely book, easy to follow and read, and made me think about something I didn't know about. Zoe is going into high school so it is for a little older audience. It isn't quite a YA but it is for older middle grades.

This sequel to From the Desk of Zoe Washington takes place a couple of years after the first one. Zoe is working at the bakery and getting to know her father after he was released from prison. Zoe's father would love to open up a restaurant, and Zoe is impatient to help make this happen. I enjoyed this book, but not as much as the first one. Zoe is older and dealing with new issues in her life such as working a job, dealing with her friends budding romance, and starting a podcast to help her father all of which will appeal to an older audience. I think it would be a great story for middle school and above, but it is starting to lose it's appeal for elementary age readers. Thanks to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Katherine Tegen Books for the Advanced Reader Copy!

As a huge fan of "From the Desk of Zoe Washington," I screamed with joy when I found out Janae Marks was writing a sequel. I mean, I was already satisfied with the ending of the first book, but "On Air with Zoe Washington" is a very welcomed expansion of the first book's plot. It felt new and fresh, but it stayed true to all the original characters' motivations and characterizations. Watching Zoe and Marcus' relationship blossom was so heartwarming. It was lovely to see all the characters, both new and old, grow and change as the story progresses. As is the case with all of Marks' books, the characters feel so real and fully rounded. Marks also did an amazing job writing about topics such as life after incarceration, shifting friend dynamics, insecurities, and perseverance for younger audiences to grasp and understand. I'm not going to lie-- I teared up at the end because I was just so proud of Zoe and everything she has accomplished! I can wholeheartedly see my students falling in love with this book as I did. I can't wait to introduce them to this sequel! I will be eagerly ordering this book for my classroom once it comes out! Regardless if she decides to continue the series or not (even though I feel extremely satisfied with this ending), I am excited to see what Marks writes next!

African American Zoe, now fourteen, is moving from strength to strength. She won both her dream job
at Ari’s Cakes and her father’s freedom from prison in From the Desk of Zoe Washington (Katherine
Tegen Books, 2020). Now, with a podcast, Zoe’s trying to raise awareness about the difficulty
parolees have restarting their lives, while simultaneously advancing her own goal of opening a restaurant with her father, Marcus. Together the father-daughter team plan on serving up amazing barbecue and employing other parolees.
While the voice can seem overly expository, and Zoe’s tasks are daunting, her determination and ability
to break down and think through seemingly insurmountable challenges is both compelling and inspiring.
Happily the wish-fulfillment never becomes absurd, and Zoe’s ability to recalibrate in the face of
setbacks is impressive. Marks includes more typical fourteen-year-old concerns, such as how to navigate
the feelings about a romantic relationship between best friends. Fans of the first book will be happy
there is still plenty of time for baking, as Zoe works on coming up with a signature dessert and puts
together mouth-watering meals. Review based on an ARC. Thanks to NetGalley and Katherine Teegan Books for a review copy in return for an unbiased review.

This story is about a girl named Zoe, her father Marcus, and her mom and stepdad. Two years ago Zoe helped her biological father get out of prison. She and Marcus end up working at a bakery together. They have dreams of opening a restaurant together. Overall this is a good story of family, love, and togetherness. I love the book cover because it does depict the storyline. I recommend it to middle-grade students. I give this book 4 stars.

On Air with Zoe Washington is a wonderful sequel to From the Desk of Zoe Washington. I highly recommend reading this series in order. The characters are loveable and relatable right from the beginning. I will read anything that Janae Marks writes!

On Air with Zoe Washington lives up to the greatest of the character! Zoe Washington is Black Girl Magic. The same persistence and creative Zoe re-emerges in the follow up novel. Zoe fans will not be disappointed.

After Zoe Washington helped her biological father Marcus prove his innocence after incarceration, she continues to build her relationship with Marcus and continues to peruse her baking dream with her first job at Ari’s Cakes with Marcus.

During a lunch break Marcus shares his restaurant dream with Zoe and she is off and running with how to make it happen…like, now.

But, opening a restaurant isn’t easy, especially not for an exonerated prisoner and his teenaged daughter. Can Zoe make the impossible happen again? Can she and Marcus really open a restaurant together any time soon? Or, will their dreams get dashed by too much reality?

As a teacher, I love that author Janae Marks creates such real life characters and situations. Zoe had big dreams for her life. She doesn’t reach them easy-breezy, but works through real obstacles and set-backs with the help of her supportive family and friends. Zoe gives hope to young people and an example to follow as they create and strive for their own personal goals.

I’ll always root for Zoe Washington!

I really loved Janae Marks's first book featuring Zoe (From the Desk of Zoe Washington) and while I didn't love this one AS much, it was a great follow-up to Zoe's story + further explores the failures of our justice system and the lives of those who have been incarcerated.

This was a fun sequel to the first Zoe Washington novel. I loved watching Zoe get to know Marcus better, manage her relationships with both her adoptive and biological fathers, and also start a new business from scratch.

Once again Janae Marks provides wonderful insight into something many people never think about but should. In On Air with Zoe Washington, a sequel to From the Desk of Zoe Washington, Janae Marks provides us with clear examples of what what life is like for people who have recently been let out of prison and for their families. In the first book, Zoe helped prove her dad was innocent and free him from prison. Now, Zoe and her dad, Marcus, have a dream to open a restaurant but they are finding out that things are not so simple for people who have spent time in prison--even if you have been officially exonerated. Will things work out for Zoe and Marcus? I hope you read and find out!
Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

In Zoe's second installment, it was so great to read a story about an older middle grade student. This is definitely a spot that students crave to read about. Zoe's growth from book one to two was apparent, and it is fun to be on a journey with her. The problems she faced with getting funding were compelling and interesting to read about.

What a wonderful, heartwarming, and fun follow-up to the first book! Now that she has cleared her dad's name, Zoe is determined to help him tell his story and realize their dream of opening a restaurant. To do this, she starts a podcast to share her dad's story and his life after imprisonment. Though slower-paced than the first book, this is still an exciting and enjoyable read that middle schoolers will love. A great starting point for discussions about life after imprisonment, the work it takes to realize dreams, and the power of sharing your voice. Would also be a good recommendation for students interested in podcasts or podcasting.

I loved everything about this sequel: the baking, real Boston locations, the changing friendships, and the exploration of what life can be like for people once they're no longer incarcerated. Marks writes authentic and endearing characters that readers will root for.