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A Crooked Kind of Perfect
Ten-year-old Zoe Elias has perfect piano dreams. She can practically feel the keys under her flying fingers; she can hear the audience's applause. All she needs is a baby grand so she can start her lessons, and then she'll be well on her way to Carnegie Hall.
But when Dad ventures to the music store and ends up with a wheezy organ instead of a piano, Zoe's dreams hit a sour note. Learning the organ versions of old TV theme songs just isn't the same as mastering Beethoven on the piano. And the organ isn't the only part of Zoe's life in Michigan that's off-kilter, what with Mom constantly at work, Dad afraid to leave the house, and that odd boy, Wheeler Diggs, following her home from school every day.
Yet when Zoe enters the annual Perform-O-Rama organ competition, she finds that life is full of surprises--and that perfection may be even better when it's just a little off center.
But when Dad ventures to the music store and ends up with a wheezy organ instead of a piano, Zoe's dreams hit a sour note. Learning the organ versions of old TV theme songs just isn't the same as mastering Beethoven on the piano. And the organ isn't the only part of Zoe's life in Michigan that's off-kilter, what with Mom constantly at work, Dad afraid to leave the house, and that odd boy, Wheeler Diggs, following her home from school every day.
Yet when Zoe enters the annual Perform-O-Rama organ competition, she finds that life is full of surprises--and that perfection may be even better when it's just a little off center.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
152 people are currently reading
5912 people want to read
About the author
Linda Urban
18 books200 followersThis was from the About Me section at Linda Urban's website.
I was born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in a suburban house that looked like all the others on my street. Sometimes I liked that sameness. It made me feel normal, when I worried I wasn’t.
Other times, though, I wanted to be different — to shine, to have people see me as special. I tried ballet dancing and singing and playing musical instruments, but I wasn’t very good at any of those things. But writing stories was fun! And often people liked what I wrote.
At Oakbrook Elementary, I wrote lots of poems and stories. One story, SUPERBOX, was about a crime-fighting shoe box. That story won me a prize. Even better? I got to read it out loud to my classmates, who laughed at the funny parts and cheered when Superbox fought off the evil potato chip can that was his mortal enemy. Nothing made me feel more special than hearing an audience cheer for a character I had written.
So, I kept writing. All through elementary school and junior high I wrote short stories and plays and poems.
But then I learned something.
Not everyone will like every story you write. And sometimes, that will make you feel very bad.
I remember once, I wrote a story about how I felt on Christmas Eve. I described my excitement, that tingling sensation I got anticipating the presents I knew would be under the tree the next morning. A boy in my class thought one of the words I used was “weird” and that I was weird as a result. He laughed at my story and his laughter stung.
I began to write more nonfiction, mostly articles for my high school yearbook and newspaper. These pieces took thought and hard work, but unlike my stories, I felt like I didn’t have to put my secret heart into them. I could hide behind the words and no one would make fun of me or the things I wrote about.
I also started to worry that maybe I was not as good a writer as I had imagined myself to be. I started comparing my writing to that in the books I read. No way was I as good as that! (More about that sort of thing here.)
By college, I had turned my writing toward advertising and marketing, using my creativity to sell the creative work of others.
Which wasn’t such a bad thing.
Why not, you ask?
It landed me at Vroman’s Bookstore, a large independent in Southern California, where I served as marketing director for about ten years.
What a great job! I was surrounded every day by books and authors and artists and readers. One of my responsibilities was to organize author events. I met thousands of writers and learned that most of them have their own fears. Even the most successful worry that readers won’t like their books. Even the most talented sometimes think they aren’t as good at writing as they ought to be.
Hearing this gave me courage.
While I was at Vroman’s, I also ran a summer writer’s workshop series. Every Saturday a writer, illustrator, or editor would come talk to aspiring writers about writing. Secretly, I took notes. Their talks gave me tools for writing better stories.
Finally, when my daughter turned two and I turned 37, I got the guts to try writing fiction again. Having a child brought me back to reading the kinds of books that I most loved, books for kids. As much as I enjoy reading grown-up books, it is kids’ books that grab my heart and make me think and spin my imagination.
Reading those books gave me inspiration.
I was born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in a suburban house that looked like all the others on my street. Sometimes I liked that sameness. It made me feel normal, when I worried I wasn’t.
Other times, though, I wanted to be different — to shine, to have people see me as special. I tried ballet dancing and singing and playing musical instruments, but I wasn’t very good at any of those things. But writing stories was fun! And often people liked what I wrote.
At Oakbrook Elementary, I wrote lots of poems and stories. One story, SUPERBOX, was about a crime-fighting shoe box. That story won me a prize. Even better? I got to read it out loud to my classmates, who laughed at the funny parts and cheered when Superbox fought off the evil potato chip can that was his mortal enemy. Nothing made me feel more special than hearing an audience cheer for a character I had written.
So, I kept writing. All through elementary school and junior high I wrote short stories and plays and poems.
But then I learned something.
Not everyone will like every story you write. And sometimes, that will make you feel very bad.
I remember once, I wrote a story about how I felt on Christmas Eve. I described my excitement, that tingling sensation I got anticipating the presents I knew would be under the tree the next morning. A boy in my class thought one of the words I used was “weird” and that I was weird as a result. He laughed at my story and his laughter stung.
I began to write more nonfiction, mostly articles for my high school yearbook and newspaper. These pieces took thought and hard work, but unlike my stories, I felt like I didn’t have to put my secret heart into them. I could hide behind the words and no one would make fun of me or the things I wrote about.
I also started to worry that maybe I was not as good a writer as I had imagined myself to be. I started comparing my writing to that in the books I read. No way was I as good as that! (More about that sort of thing here.)
By college, I had turned my writing toward advertising and marketing, using my creativity to sell the creative work of others.
Which wasn’t such a bad thing.
Why not, you ask?
It landed me at Vroman’s Bookstore, a large independent in Southern California, where I served as marketing director for about ten years.
What a great job! I was surrounded every day by books and authors and artists and readers. One of my responsibilities was to organize author events. I met thousands of writers and learned that most of them have their own fears. Even the most successful worry that readers won’t like their books. Even the most talented sometimes think they aren’t as good at writing as they ought to be.
Hearing this gave me courage.
While I was at Vroman’s, I also ran a summer writer’s workshop series. Every Saturday a writer, illustrator, or editor would come talk to aspiring writers about writing. Secretly, I took notes. Their talks gave me tools for writing better stories.
Finally, when my daughter turned two and I turned 37, I got the guts to try writing fiction again. Having a child brought me back to reading the kinds of books that I most loved, books for kids. As much as I enjoy reading grown-up books, it is kids’ books that grab my heart and make me think and spin my imagination.
Reading those books gave me inspiration.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,228 reviews
August 22, 2007
Humor is just so hard in children's books. You either crash too hard on the adult side of the equation (see: The Manny Files) or you end up going too far the other direction and end up ridiculously scatological (see: Out of Patience). The balance has to be perfect and, if you want your book to be memorable, also work in some real emotion, heart, and (God help us all) learning. Because this mix is so difficult, you rarely end up with a book quite as pleasant as Linda Urban's "A Crooked Kind of Perfect". First of all, it wins the 2007 Most Appropriate Title Award. Second, it has a firm grasp on hitting just the right tone. In a relatively blah year of realistic girl fiction, Urban's book is a cut above the rest.
Zoe has dreams you know. Dreams of owning a gorgeous piano, all shiny and black. Of performing before vast adoring audiences. Of being a prodigy and admired by people like her classically inclined mother. So what does she get instead? An organ. A Perfectone D-60 if you want to be precise. And it's not as if her school life is much of an improvement either. Her former best friend Emma Dent has informed her that Joella Tinstella is now her best friend right now, and to top it all off that bully Wheeler Diggs has somehow managed to ingratiate himself into her family. So when Zoe enters the Perform-O-Rama competition for organs she doesn't expect much. Fortunately for her, she finds that people can surprise you when you least expect them to. Sometimes for the bad, but also sometimes for the good.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain that we haven't come up with a name for children's novels with short short chapters. You know the kind I mean. They look like verse novels at first, but a quick perusal shows that the author hasn't broken up the action into strategically separated tiny sentences. I think the author chose this method because she prefers to keep things sharp and sweet. Her storyline works best when she can leap from thought to memory to current event. Some parents like to pooh-pooh those children's books that eschew length for sure-footed pacing. I'll admit right here and now that due to its format "A Crooked Kind of Perfect" really does make for an enjoyably quick book. You might want to consider handing it to those kids who like to read but are turned off by long wordy novels.
If the book has a problem it probably concerns the lack of dramatic tension. For example, one day Wheeler's mildly pissed about something and yet the next time Zoe sees him she says, "I thought you might not come back here ever." It's a rather extreme sentence considering the two of them never ever really fight. There is some tension regarding Zoe's parents and their presence in her life, so that may make up for the lack of problems elsewhere in the book. Yet as a former resident of Southwestern Michigan, I'd have enjoyed a little more clarification as to the location of this book. The competition is in somewhere called Birch Valley? Aw, make it Kalamazoo. You could totally have a competition there.
Tiny nibbles of complaints aside, it's a swell read. Characters are crystal clear and their motivations make perfect sense. Urban wields the infinitely difficult first person narrative with aplomb. And, all that aside, it's about a kid who plays the organ. That's just a good high-concept idea right there. One of the more pleasant first-time novelist surprises of the year.
Zoe has dreams you know. Dreams of owning a gorgeous piano, all shiny and black. Of performing before vast adoring audiences. Of being a prodigy and admired by people like her classically inclined mother. So what does she get instead? An organ. A Perfectone D-60 if you want to be precise. And it's not as if her school life is much of an improvement either. Her former best friend Emma Dent has informed her that Joella Tinstella is now her best friend right now, and to top it all off that bully Wheeler Diggs has somehow managed to ingratiate himself into her family. So when Zoe enters the Perform-O-Rama competition for organs she doesn't expect much. Fortunately for her, she finds that people can surprise you when you least expect them to. Sometimes for the bad, but also sometimes for the good.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain that we haven't come up with a name for children's novels with short short chapters. You know the kind I mean. They look like verse novels at first, but a quick perusal shows that the author hasn't broken up the action into strategically separated tiny sentences. I think the author chose this method because she prefers to keep things sharp and sweet. Her storyline works best when she can leap from thought to memory to current event. Some parents like to pooh-pooh those children's books that eschew length for sure-footed pacing. I'll admit right here and now that due to its format "A Crooked Kind of Perfect" really does make for an enjoyably quick book. You might want to consider handing it to those kids who like to read but are turned off by long wordy novels.
If the book has a problem it probably concerns the lack of dramatic tension. For example, one day Wheeler's mildly pissed about something and yet the next time Zoe sees him she says, "I thought you might not come back here ever." It's a rather extreme sentence considering the two of them never ever really fight. There is some tension regarding Zoe's parents and their presence in her life, so that may make up for the lack of problems elsewhere in the book. Yet as a former resident of Southwestern Michigan, I'd have enjoyed a little more clarification as to the location of this book. The competition is in somewhere called Birch Valley? Aw, make it Kalamazoo. You could totally have a competition there.
Tiny nibbles of complaints aside, it's a swell read. Characters are crystal clear and their motivations make perfect sense. Urban wields the infinitely difficult first person narrative with aplomb. And, all that aside, it's about a kid who plays the organ. That's just a good high-concept idea right there. One of the more pleasant first-time novelist surprises of the year.
October 8, 2019
This was just plain perfect!
In this little gem of a book, Zoe yearns to play the piano. She is sure that the minute her teacher hears her, she will be declared a prodigy and find herself on stage at Carnegie Hall. But Zoe has problems: her mom is a workaholic, her dad is an agoraphobic, her best friend doesn't want to be friends any more, and the school bully is hanging around her house baking cookies with her dad. To cap it off, when her dad ventures out to buy her a piano, he panics and instead buys her an electric organ, complete with lessons.
What's a girl to do?
Eat a lot of cookies, for one thing (they sounded so good)!
Take the organ lessons and do her best at them.
And compete in the organ company's annual competition, for another!
Read Aloud 2019: My kids LOVED this. I knew they would! It was so fun to read with them, they got so into it!
In this little gem of a book, Zoe yearns to play the piano. She is sure that the minute her teacher hears her, she will be declared a prodigy and find herself on stage at Carnegie Hall. But Zoe has problems: her mom is a workaholic, her dad is an agoraphobic, her best friend doesn't want to be friends any more, and the school bully is hanging around her house baking cookies with her dad. To cap it off, when her dad ventures out to buy her a piano, he panics and instead buys her an electric organ, complete with lessons.
What's a girl to do?
Eat a lot of cookies, for one thing (they sounded so good)!
Take the organ lessons and do her best at them.
And compete in the organ company's annual competition, for another!
Read Aloud 2019: My kids LOVED this. I knew they would! It was so fun to read with them, they got so into it!
June 21, 2009
I adored this book. Hilarious, sad, suspenseful, and definitely quirky-odd-good.
Loved Zoe's resilience. She gets dumped by her best friend and is invited (by former friend's mom, who doesn't know of the dumpage, in the way that moms of 11-year-olds always know nothing) to former friend's party, where she is dressed wrong and brings the wrong gift. Ack! Who hasn't been there?? The portrayal of hyper-sophisticated, dismissive, clique-y, Bratz-wearing (called Brat here, mistakenly but amusingly called Snot by another character) is dead-on. I love that Zoe is true to her own geeky passions in the face of all kinds of challenges and rejection. One parent is clearly mentally ill; the other is a workaholic (but doesn't she have to be, since she's married to someone who can barely leave the house? The book's kind to their flaws, but still draws them sharply). Zoe wants to be the next Vladimir Horowitz, but gets saddled with the Perfectone-60 cheeseball organ instead of a grand piano, and has to learn 70s TV theme songs and Neil Diamond numbers instead of Bach. Loved the portrayal of the Perfect-O-Rama competitive organ scene, where one Perfect-O-Rama Mama snarks that at a kid's playing of "Gettin' Jiggy Wit' It" as insufficiently jiggy. On the organ, people!!
For me the only mild flaw was that the cool boy is too perfect. If I were in fourth grade, this would SO not be a flaw.
Total five stars. Can't wait for my six-year-old to be old enough for it. Don't we want all our kids to cope with imperfection and follow the beat of their own, um, rhumba setting on the Perfectone?
Loved Zoe's resilience. She gets dumped by her best friend and is invited (by former friend's mom, who doesn't know of the dumpage, in the way that moms of 11-year-olds always know nothing) to former friend's party, where she is dressed wrong and brings the wrong gift. Ack! Who hasn't been there?? The portrayal of hyper-sophisticated, dismissive, clique-y, Bratz-wearing (called Brat here, mistakenly but amusingly called Snot by another character) is dead-on. I love that Zoe is true to her own geeky passions in the face of all kinds of challenges and rejection. One parent is clearly mentally ill; the other is a workaholic (but doesn't she have to be, since she's married to someone who can barely leave the house? The book's kind to their flaws, but still draws them sharply). Zoe wants to be the next Vladimir Horowitz, but gets saddled with the Perfectone-60 cheeseball organ instead of a grand piano, and has to learn 70s TV theme songs and Neil Diamond numbers instead of Bach. Loved the portrayal of the Perfect-O-Rama competitive organ scene, where one Perfect-O-Rama Mama snarks that at a kid's playing of "Gettin' Jiggy Wit' It" as insufficiently jiggy. On the organ, people!!
For me the only mild flaw was that the cool boy is too perfect. If I were in fourth grade, this would SO not be a flaw.
Total five stars. Can't wait for my six-year-old to be old enough for it. Don't we want all our kids to cope with imperfection and follow the beat of their own, um, rhumba setting on the Perfectone?
January 4, 2016
This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
MY THOUGHTS
I originally picked up this book because of the cover. It may be obvious by my profile picture, but I LOVE striped socks. I honestly had no idea what this book was about. Just the fact that it's middle grade.
Turns out, this book is about Zoe. A ten (almost eleven) year old who wants to play the piano and dreams of playing at Carnegie Hall. But her Dad accidentally picks up a old organ instead.
What I liked about this book was how authentic it was. This book was from a ten-year-old perspective and the voice was so much like a ten-year-old. Zoe is so focused on problems that only a ten-year-old would worry about. Like how nobody wears socks anymore (People definitely wear socks, Zoe. I can atest to that). And the overall life of a ten-year-old. Old friends leaving in a blink of an eye, making new friends, and her family.
The characters were great! I really liked Zoe's Dad! He was very odd, but he was really amazing! Zoe's mom is a workaholic and never seems to have time for Zoe, but she means well. Wheeler is an odd boy at school who turns out to be Zoe's friend and I think that was great, too.
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, this was a really cute read and left me with a good feeling. It's really short, only 200-something pages, with really short chapters. I think this is a great book to get you in a good mood!
MY THOUGHTS
I originally picked up this book because of the cover. It may be obvious by my profile picture, but I LOVE striped socks. I honestly had no idea what this book was about. Just the fact that it's middle grade.
Turns out, this book is about Zoe. A ten (almost eleven) year old who wants to play the piano and dreams of playing at Carnegie Hall. But her Dad accidentally picks up a old organ instead.
What I liked about this book was how authentic it was. This book was from a ten-year-old perspective and the voice was so much like a ten-year-old. Zoe is so focused on problems that only a ten-year-old would worry about. Like how nobody wears socks anymore (People definitely wear socks, Zoe. I can atest to that). And the overall life of a ten-year-old. Old friends leaving in a blink of an eye, making new friends, and her family.
The characters were great! I really liked Zoe's Dad! He was very odd, but he was really amazing! Zoe's mom is a workaholic and never seems to have time for Zoe, but she means well. Wheeler is an odd boy at school who turns out to be Zoe's friend and I think that was great, too.
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, this was a really cute read and left me with a good feeling. It's really short, only 200-something pages, with really short chapters. I think this is a great book to get you in a good mood!
April 21, 2018
RTC ❤️
January 31, 2012
Sometimes authors write 5 star books, and sometimes authors are 5 star writers. Linda Urban is a 5 star writer.
August 21, 2007
This is a fantastic book for upper elementary and middle school kids who aren't ready to make that leap into high school issues and angst. It's a sweet, honest, funny story about a girl with grand piano dreams and a wheezy organ reality. This book makes music. It left me smiling, and humming along.
February 28, 2018
I think this book was good but I like these kinds of books so that's probably why I give them good reviews. This book is about a girl named Zoe who sooooooo desperately wants to get a piano and be a professional. But instead she gets a wheezy organ. Her friend kind of breaks up there friendship so she ends up with the boys.
April 5, 2019
This was a quick, easy read. The main character, Zoe Elias, is adorable. She's only in 5th grade but she has it in her heart that she wants to be a child prodigy pianist. Problem is, she has no piano. So when she asks her parents to buy her one, her father goes out and gets her something to learn on but it's not a piano. Instead, her father gets her a Perfectone D-60. She's not all that happy with it, but it's something.
She ends up taking lessons but her lessons include a folded up keyboard so that when she practices and "plays," no sound is coming out. A bit odd if you ask me. She learns from Lester Rennet of "More for Les" program. Zoe is going to do a competition (only 7 weeks away) that her teacher puts her in. When she learns from a boy that he practices a minimum of 4 hours a day, she decides she needs to do that too. But she wants to do a "recital" with a piano, not the type of playing contest she's going to participate in.
Other characters are Mabelline Person, someone who helps her with her keyboarding and "tests" Zoe's skills. Sadly, she's not a prodigy. Wheeler Diggs is a boy who is a thorn in her side, but she likes him for some odd reason kind of like a boyfriend. Her father is opposite her mother. Her dad is a University of the Living Room student who's earned a lot of degrees; her mother is a controller and sees over money. Her dad is more carefree, while her mother is stiff.
It's cute but it definitely is too young of a book for me to love because the plot is just okay. There's not enough really fun or emotional things going on that truly endear me to the characters, but I do think the audience it is written for will like it.
She ends up taking lessons but her lessons include a folded up keyboard so that when she practices and "plays," no sound is coming out. A bit odd if you ask me. She learns from Lester Rennet of "More for Les" program. Zoe is going to do a competition (only 7 weeks away) that her teacher puts her in. When she learns from a boy that he practices a minimum of 4 hours a day, she decides she needs to do that too. But she wants to do a "recital" with a piano, not the type of playing contest she's going to participate in.
Other characters are Mabelline Person, someone who helps her with her keyboarding and "tests" Zoe's skills. Sadly, she's not a prodigy. Wheeler Diggs is a boy who is a thorn in her side, but she likes him for some odd reason kind of like a boyfriend. Her father is opposite her mother. Her dad is a University of the Living Room student who's earned a lot of degrees; her mother is a controller and sees over money. Her dad is more carefree, while her mother is stiff.
It's cute but it definitely is too young of a book for me to love because the plot is just okay. There's not enough really fun or emotional things going on that truly endear me to the characters, but I do think the audience it is written for will like it.
November 4, 2015
***SPOILER ALERT*** Have you ever wished for something and got the completely opposite of what you actually wanted? According to what I have read the genre is realistic fiction. Its realistic fiction because most of this story can actually happen. I like this book because its funny, and also sad.
This book is about a young girl named Zoe. A ten year old going on to eleven years who dreams of playing the piano and wishes playing at Carnegie Hall. But her dad mistakenly picks up an old organ instead.Zoe's dreams are ruined,her new tutor makes her play old television theme songs and wishes to play Mozart. Not only her dreams are ruined but her dad is afraid to leave her home alone while her mom is always at work.Also Zoe becomes very close with the class bully (wheeler) and spends almost all the time at Zoe's. Zoe joins an organ competition and Zoe's dad over comes his fears and takes her to the competition. Zoe ends up doing an awesome job, meeting a new friend and her mom actually makes it in time to watch her perform.
The point of view is first person. First person because the narrator used words such as "I", "me" and other words that talk about themselves. The point of view affects the story because it lets me know how the character feels towards others or herself.It also kinda makes me feel like I am in the story and I can also relate to some of the things the character is facing. For in example in the story it said that Zoe's dad fears on leaving her alone while her mom is working and I can relate to that.The title relates to the story because it helps the reader kinda understand how Zoe's life did not turn out how she wanted it to be but at the end she realizes that everything has flipped around and is actually going the right direction. The authors tone is frustrated in the beginning and relieved at the end. I say frustrated because things were not going as wished and at the end everything is way better.The major symbol in this story is to never lose hope and keep your head up because at the end some things she hoped for actually happened.
In my opinion I was surprised when Zoe became friends with a bully because of how easily they got along. I liked how the author started the the story going bad and unplanned at at the end it got better. My favorite part is when Zoe's mom showed up because that is what Zoe was worried about,that she would not show up.I thought the ending of the book was good because Zoe ended up getting a piano. "A crooked kind of perfect" is a good title for the book because it kinda explains Zoe's life because nothing went as planned and at the end they did because her dad faced his fear, her mom showed up for her performance and she also got a piano.
In conclusion, I rate this book 4/5 stars because I liked it and it was funny and made me want to keep reading.I would recommend this to my friend because I always see her reading Linda Urban's books or she talks about them which can get annoying but I would like to hear what she liked or disliked about this book. Now you know that you should never loose faith and always have hope because things will come your way.
This book is about a young girl named Zoe. A ten year old going on to eleven years who dreams of playing the piano and wishes playing at Carnegie Hall. But her dad mistakenly picks up an old organ instead.Zoe's dreams are ruined,her new tutor makes her play old television theme songs and wishes to play Mozart. Not only her dreams are ruined but her dad is afraid to leave her home alone while her mom is always at work.Also Zoe becomes very close with the class bully (wheeler) and spends almost all the time at Zoe's. Zoe joins an organ competition and Zoe's dad over comes his fears and takes her to the competition. Zoe ends up doing an awesome job, meeting a new friend and her mom actually makes it in time to watch her perform.
The point of view is first person. First person because the narrator used words such as "I", "me" and other words that talk about themselves. The point of view affects the story because it lets me know how the character feels towards others or herself.It also kinda makes me feel like I am in the story and I can also relate to some of the things the character is facing. For in example in the story it said that Zoe's dad fears on leaving her alone while her mom is working and I can relate to that.The title relates to the story because it helps the reader kinda understand how Zoe's life did not turn out how she wanted it to be but at the end she realizes that everything has flipped around and is actually going the right direction. The authors tone is frustrated in the beginning and relieved at the end. I say frustrated because things were not going as wished and at the end everything is way better.The major symbol in this story is to never lose hope and keep your head up because at the end some things she hoped for actually happened.
In my opinion I was surprised when Zoe became friends with a bully because of how easily they got along. I liked how the author started the the story going bad and unplanned at at the end it got better. My favorite part is when Zoe's mom showed up because that is what Zoe was worried about,that she would not show up.I thought the ending of the book was good because Zoe ended up getting a piano. "A crooked kind of perfect" is a good title for the book because it kinda explains Zoe's life because nothing went as planned and at the end they did because her dad faced his fear, her mom showed up for her performance and she also got a piano.
In conclusion, I rate this book 4/5 stars because I liked it and it was funny and made me want to keep reading.I would recommend this to my friend because I always see her reading Linda Urban's books or she talks about them which can get annoying but I would like to hear what she liked or disliked about this book. Now you know that you should never loose faith and always have hope because things will come your way.
March 30, 2014
You could describe this book as: "It's about a girl who plays the organ but really wants to play the piano." But . . . then you would be missing the vulnerability, the complexity of family, the power of people in your corner and the pure brilliance Linda Urban has with words on a page.
April 6, 2017
IVE BEEN TRYING TO REMEMBER THIS B0OOK FOR YEARS
March 20, 2021
This book was a nice cosy read. Not to much action though.
November 3, 2022
A bit predictable but lots of fun.
October 5, 2024
MY FRIENDS MOM WROTE THIS BOOK
April 2, 2012
Linda Urban has the soul of a poet.
This is her first book, and its title exemplifies what I loved about it and her other novel, Hound Dog True; for me, this book also built upon and clarified that love.
Urban celebrates that crooked kind of perfect that makes up the most beautiful people and moments in our lives.
What about this book? (You may ask.) What happens in it?
Well, this book is about Zoe Elias, a 5th grade girl who wants to play piano. It is about her pursuit of that dream, the obstacles to that pursuit (I'm not an instant prodigy?) and the folks around her who do or do not help her along the way.
It is about overcoming fears - especially fears about imperfection - and appreciating the wonder in front of us.
It is just good. Beautiful. It will feed your soul, especially if you suspect that you, too, might have the soul of a poet.
Revised rating to 5-stars after I told two stories from it in an impassioned way in the car, and then had a conversation about why I am hesitant to give 5-stars to book from 5-star authors. My partner is right, that's silly! If it's a 5-star book, it's a 5-star book. :))
This is her first book, and its title exemplifies what I loved about it and her other novel, Hound Dog True; for me, this book also built upon and clarified that love.
Urban celebrates that crooked kind of perfect that makes up the most beautiful people and moments in our lives.
What about this book? (You may ask.) What happens in it?
Well, this book is about Zoe Elias, a 5th grade girl who wants to play piano. It is about her pursuit of that dream, the obstacles to that pursuit (I'm not an instant prodigy?) and the folks around her who do or do not help her along the way.
It is about overcoming fears - especially fears about imperfection - and appreciating the wonder in front of us.
It is just good. Beautiful. It will feed your soul, especially if you suspect that you, too, might have the soul of a poet.
Revised rating to 5-stars after I told two stories from it in an impassioned way in the car, and then had a conversation about why I am hesitant to give 5-stars to book from 5-star authors. My partner is right, that's silly! If it's a 5-star book, it's a 5-star book. :))
April 22, 2008
This is such a charmer of a book, gentle and funny and completely satisfying. I love the understated way the dad's inability to deal with the world is handled (it's agoraphobia, actually), the growing friendship between Zoe and Wheeler Diggs and the way Zoe refuses to give in to the popular girls, even though she'd kind of like to. ("I have gone over to the dork side.")
The organ competition at the end is so perfectly observed: the swoosh-click of the swing door; that feeling you get when you know you've made a mistake and just have to keep playing...
I first read about this on a children's bookseller's blog on Publisher's Weekly—it was a sleeper until they started hand-selling it, and it became one of their top sellers. Little wonder—it's a gem.
The organ competition at the end is so perfectly observed: the swoosh-click of the swing door; that feeling you get when you know you've made a mistake and just have to keep playing...
I first read about this on a children's bookseller's blog on Publisher's Weekly—it was a sleeper until they started hand-selling it, and it became one of their top sellers. Little wonder—it's a gem.
September 28, 2007
This is not necessarily the type of book I would normally pick up, but the author is a former children's bookseller. That right there peaked my interest because as a children's bookseller I knew she had to have hundreds of children's books over the years and could easily tell a good one from a crappy one, which gave her an edge over a lot of authors. Plus, other children's booksellers that I know gave the book rave reviews. And they were right. It's just such a good story - great characters with depth that are believable and a plot that moves forward just enough to keep you interested but not too much or too fast. I hope we see more from this children's bookseller turned author.
March 21, 2017
Ever since Zoe was little, she had always dreamed about being a perfect pianist. What was not to like? Going to a big fancy ballroom with everyone watching you play sit with silence and astonishment, you're fingers gliding across the little black and white keys, making it seem like you're in a whole other world. Zoe believes that when she gets an organ her dream will never come true, especially when her used-to-be best friend gets a grand piano for her birthday and sells it for a DJ set. Will Zoe's dream every come true?
February 26, 2012
It's sweet, endearing, & silly--that's why my 10-year-old daughter loves this book so much and has read it more times than I can count. It's very tender at the end (even I was crying when Zoe realized that the mom was happy about Zoe, not work) and I loved seeing everyone find happiness at the end.
July 25, 2017
I wish I could give this book 6 stars! I wasn't prepared for this level of depth from what looks to be a cute middle grade. But it's so much more than that. With its word play and humor, you could easily overlook the fact that it's dealing with phobias and mental illness in the most brilliant and accessible way possible. MORE STARS!
April 18, 2012
Reread.
Linda Urban has a knack for making us see the wonder in small things. I loved Zoe's story and her humor asshe learns to play the organ and cope with her parents.
Linda Urban has a knack for making us see the wonder in small things. I loved Zoe's story and her humor asshe learns to play the organ and cope with her parents.
March 29, 2019
Just reread this cute book. I think I loved it even more the second time!
April 4, 2019
How can a book with a title like "A Crooked Kind of Perfect" NOT be good? But it wasn't just good--it was lovely. I have not enjoyed reading a book so much since The Westing Game.
I laughed a lot in this story. It is believable enough to be relatable but unbelievable enough to be entertaining and somewhat whimsical. The characters are fantastic. I loved all of them, even Emily Denton just because I think all of us can think of someone from our childhood who reminds us of her with her Brat shoes and flirtiness.
Here are a few more things I enjoyed:
* The names of the stores, the brands, etc. They all sounded completely real. Bust-a-Burger, Living Room University, Molasses Chums and all the other names for those cookies... they must have been fun to make up.
* All of Miss Person's and Zoe's expletives: Wagner's Aunt Alice, Beethoven's lunch lady, Mozart's postman, Chopin's toaster, and (my personal favorite) Sweet brother of Bach.
* Wheeler in his jean jacket. (And wasn't that just adorable how the only time he ever took it off was for Zoe to wear?)
* Symbolism: Socks are cozy. The Perfectone D-60 is cozy. They represent the things that Zoe gets self-conscious about but that she enjoys. What are some things we might get self-conscious about because of how other people look at them, but we enjoy them?
* The ending lines: "I don't care if my piano isn't perfect yet. I just want to play. And I do." So life isn't perfect. So you're not perfect. Keep living anyway. Crookedness, in a way, is its own kind of perfect. The author got this point across in a way that I think kids would be able to understand, but she didn't bang it over your head a thousand times as some authors will do.
There is something else I need to include although it has nothing to do with any copy of the book you will read because this part of the story is only in the copy I own. I found "A Crooked Kind of Perfect" on the sale shelf at the library I work at. It was only $1.00. Or maybe it was $0.50. It was in perfect condition. So I bought it. I noticed that on the title page there was a black stamp that read: "Donated in Loving Memory of Katrina Lawrence." I didn't look her up immediately, but then I got curious. I expected Katrina Lawrence to be an elderly lady who loved books while she was alive. Instead, she was a 36-year-old who had six kids. She died due to complications while having her sixth child. The baby lived but she didn't. If it is the same Katrina Lawrence, I am glad to have a book that was donated in memory of her. It's interesting how getting a second-hand book can have two stories inside it. The one typed out that everyone gets to read and the one hidden behind a stamp.
I laughed a lot in this story. It is believable enough to be relatable but unbelievable enough to be entertaining and somewhat whimsical. The characters are fantastic. I loved all of them, even Emily Denton just because I think all of us can think of someone from our childhood who reminds us of her with her Brat shoes and flirtiness.
Here are a few more things I enjoyed:
* The names of the stores, the brands, etc. They all sounded completely real. Bust-a-Burger, Living Room University, Molasses Chums and all the other names for those cookies... they must have been fun to make up.
* All of Miss Person's and Zoe's expletives: Wagner's Aunt Alice, Beethoven's lunch lady, Mozart's postman, Chopin's toaster, and (my personal favorite) Sweet brother of Bach.
* Wheeler in his jean jacket. (And wasn't that just adorable how the only time he ever took it off was for Zoe to wear?)
* Symbolism: Socks are cozy. The Perfectone D-60 is cozy. They represent the things that Zoe gets self-conscious about but that she enjoys. What are some things we might get self-conscious about because of how other people look at them, but we enjoy them?
* The ending lines: "I don't care if my piano isn't perfect yet. I just want to play. And I do." So life isn't perfect. So you're not perfect. Keep living anyway. Crookedness, in a way, is its own kind of perfect. The author got this point across in a way that I think kids would be able to understand, but she didn't bang it over your head a thousand times as some authors will do.
There is something else I need to include although it has nothing to do with any copy of the book you will read because this part of the story is only in the copy I own. I found "A Crooked Kind of Perfect" on the sale shelf at the library I work at. It was only $1.00. Or maybe it was $0.50. It was in perfect condition. So I bought it. I noticed that on the title page there was a black stamp that read: "Donated in Loving Memory of Katrina Lawrence." I didn't look her up immediately, but then I got curious. I expected Katrina Lawrence to be an elderly lady who loved books while she was alive. Instead, she was a 36-year-old who had six kids. She died due to complications while having her sixth child. The baby lived but she didn't. If it is the same Katrina Lawrence, I am glad to have a book that was donated in memory of her. It's interesting how getting a second-hand book can have two stories inside it. The one typed out that everyone gets to read and the one hidden behind a stamp.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2017
This book wasn't my favorite. I didn't like that the plot of the story was kinda boring. I like books that have a little bit more interesting of a plot and make me want to read all the time. I started reading this book last year but I got bored and couldn't finish it. I decided to read it again this year and it wasn't my least favorite book but it also wasn't my favorite. I liked how the author made the conflicts of the story relatable yet different. The author made the conflicts change the whole story and didn't introduce all the conflicts right away. I also liked how the main character was very determined. She never gave up even when it was difficult and she practiced all of the time. Her dad was a funny character and so was her friend which made the story interesting.
September 26, 2018
My 10 yr old son and I read this together for a school competition. It's short and quick. In his words: "This is my favorite one so far. I liked that I could relate to the story and the ending wasn't cheesy."
I think my son could relate to the main character's (Zoe) struggle to learn to play a new instrument (he plays piano). Zoe is cute. I like her authentic voice and what she observes about people and their behavior. I like that it's a story about finding friendship in unexpected places, trying something new and adapting to the ups and downs of life.
My son and I would like to now conduct an experiment to find out if it is indeed impossible to burp upside down.
I think my son could relate to the main character's (Zoe) struggle to learn to play a new instrument (he plays piano). Zoe is cute. I like her authentic voice and what she observes about people and their behavior. I like that it's a story about finding friendship in unexpected places, trying something new and adapting to the ups and downs of life.
My son and I would like to now conduct an experiment to find out if it is indeed impossible to burp upside down.
December 26, 2018
This is another book I read for the BOB competition. It's a sweet story about a ten year old who has dreams of playing the piano, but whose dad buys an organ instead. She makes the most of her organ lessons, while also dealing with her dad's agrophobia, her mom's overworking and thus not being home much, and issues with old friends and new friends. I'm sure my 6th grader is going to really like this one.
March 17, 2017
This is a very cute book!
February 5, 2018
This was a nice little book about Zoe, who wants a piano, dreaming of Carnegie Hall, and gets an organ from her eccentric father. There’s a great friendship with Wheeler, and a quirky organ teacher who recognizes talent in Zoe’s organ playing.
October 22, 2024
I love❤️ Zoe!
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