The Faraway Truth

Zoe knows little about Marcus, her biological father. However, when she picks up a letter from him on her twelfth birthday, her curiosity is provoked. To Zoe, Marcus is the bad man, who lied, let her mother down and went to prison for murder. She has never known him. Yet, something in Marcus’s letter inspires Zoe to want to find out about him. Why does he call her Little Tomato, for example?

Thereafter, with the support of her grandmother, and then her estranged best friend, Zoe builds a background knowledge of Marcus through a written correspondence. It dominates her summer, where she’s supposed to be working toward entering a junior baking competition, a lifelong dream. What happens if they might speak, or even, meet?

Why has her mother refused to answer her questions? Thereafter, why does Marcus claim that there was an alibi for his whereabouts on the night of the murder, someone who was never even called as a witness! Can Zoe make a difference? It’s a long ago crime, and supposed to be committed by a father she’s never known. Furthermore Zoe is hiding her efforts about uncovering The Faraway Truth from her mother.

What a brilliant title! We recommend The Faraway Truth because it is gritty, real, meaningful and thoroughly satisfying. Zoe is such a realistic character, so brilliantly built, with resilience, grit, honesty and tenacity.