From the Desk of Zoe W: Week 3
Chapter Summary, Perseverance, Cupcake Recipe, Discussion Q's
This week we’ll be covering chapters 19-28
Hello reader and welcome back!
First off I feel like I need to apologize for ending this section on such a cliffhanger. A cliffhanger is a writing tool where the writer ends a chapter on a very suspenseful moment. I promise I didn’t mean to to this! I had to divide the book over 4 weeks and it naturally played out this way. If you happened to read past chapter 28 no one would blame you :)
Summary
This section is really interesting because we are seeing all the ways Zoe’s relationship with Marcus is disrupting the other areas of her life. Take chapter 19 for example. Zoe gets in a fight with her parents over talking to Marcus, which causes her mind to wander and for Zoe to make a mistake at her internship. Communicating with her birth father has also caused her to lie and withhold from her family. But while it has strained her relationship with her mother and father, it has strengthen her relationship with her grandmother and repaired her relationship with Trevor.
I really admire the ways relationships are broken and rebuilt. It is very true to life I think and this author does a great job to show us how natural it is for our relationships to change as we get older. Beyond that, we have a few major plot point.
Zoe comes up with a new cupcake flavor.
She decides to find Marcus’ alibi witness
With Trevor’s help she makes a plan to find that witness.
Perseverance
Throughout this book we are understanding the character of Zoe Washington through one major trait and that is perseverance. Here is a quick definition:
“Persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.”
Ok, so what does that mean? It means that when something is difficult you don’t immediately give up, and even when it’s going to be difficult for a little while you still don’t give up. Can you think of an example where Zoe has persevered? I can think of a few examples. But I can also think of examples in this story of people who didn’t persevere. For instance Marcus’ lawyer didn’t persist in finding the witness. Even Marcus gave up on his own case.
It is so hard to do something hard. And why reading about a character like Zoe is so inspiring. Despite a lot of obstacles, despite grown ups not taking her seriously she kept working toward a belief or desire or dream she had. It is so beautiful to read about, so thank you for letting me bring that to your attention.
Cupcake Recipe
One of the fun parts of these chapters is the creation of these cupcakes so I thought it would be nice to include the recipe. As a mother myself I can’t 100% condone the consumption of 3 STICKS OF BUTTER and a whole lotta sugar, but maybe you can invent a more healthy version... Sorry if I just took all the fun out of it!
Personally I am not a fruit loops fan. But if you want to make some peanut butter puffins cereal cupcakes, then I’m coming right over!
This recipe is taken from the author’s website so its legit. Happy Baking!!
Discussion Questions:
How does Zoe’s relationship with her grandmother change over these chapters?
Why did Zoe choose to attach Marcus’ high school picture in the emails to Susan Thomas and not a more recent one?
What are some examples of Zoe persevering?
Is there an example from your own life where you persisted with something that was hard at first?
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