A Crooked Kind of Perfect

by Linda Urban
A Crooked Kind of Perfect  
published September 1st 2007 by Harcourt Children's Books
binding Hardcover
isbn 0152060073   (isbn13: 9780152060077)
pages 224
description 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...more
date added
07-19-07



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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 315)



Elizabeth
Elizabeth rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
08/21/07

Read in August, 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 ...more
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Laura
Laura rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/18/08

bookshelves: childrensliterature, identity-formation-bildungsroman, realistic-fiction, relationship-fiction
recommends it for: perfectionists, music lovers, humor lovers, good book lovers
“Nobody wears socks anymore,” I tell her.
“Not even in Michigan? In March? When there’s still snow on the ground?”
“Nobody.”
“You wear socks,” Mom says.
“Exactly,” I say.

Zoe Elias wears socks, but she’s also unique in other ways. She’s possesses big dreams, but she lacks a best friend. She wants a piano, but she owns an organ. Her mother is a workaholic controller, and her father is a full-time student of Living Room University (he has earned twenty-six framed d...more
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Debbie
Debbie rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
10/15/07

bookshelves: 4th-6th_grade, realistic_fiction
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for: girls; piano players
I found this book both sweet and funny. As a childhood piano player, I found myself really identifying with the protagonist.

From School Library Journal
Grade 4–6—An impressive and poignant debut novel. Eleven-year-old Zoe dreams of giving piano recitals at Carnegie Hall. When her father purchases a Perfectone D-60, though, she must settle for the sounds of the organ rather than the distinguished sounds of a baby grand. Her organ teacher, Mabelline Person, notices the child's small tale...more
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Laura
Laura added it
04/09/08

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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BabyHippoFace
BabyHippoFace rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
01/04/08

bookshelves: kids--fiction
Read in February, 2008
recommends it for: 4th-6th graders, both boys and girls
Don't be fooled by the cutesy toe-socks cover. This is not the type of "girl book" that's so popular right now.

I really enjoyed this book. Quick read, very likeable characters. Zoe, realistic little dreamer. I think I felt every thing she felt right along with her.

Wheeler is... awesome. I would like to know Wheeler. Mr. Cool on the outside, but so willing to engage in activities at Zoe's house that other boys would deem uncool because it fills an empty space inside. What a neat...more
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Jennifer
Jennifer rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
05/03/08

bookshelves: trt-reviews
Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com

A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT by Linda Urban is a funny, refreshing read. Zoe's voice is so authentic it grabbed me right away. The reader will easily relate to Zoe's disappointment in getting almost what she wished for.

Zoe dreams of being a concert pianist, performing in Carnegie Hall, wearing elbow length gloves and a tiara. But when Zoe asks for a piano, she gets a Perfectone D-60 organ. Mix in an I-found-someone-better best friend, a mom w...more
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Kurtis
Kurtis rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
12/17/07

bookshelves: childrens-books
Read in December, 2007
recommends it for: Kids with Aspirations
Linda Urban's fast-paced storytelling and offbeat characters reminded me of Ellen Raskin, while the story itself reminded me of Little Miss Sunshine. In fact, Hollywood -- quick, make this into a movie while Abigail Breslin is just the right age to play its heroine! It's a very good debut novel. I just think it's too bad the cover makes it look like a kind of junior junior chick lit that boys will avoid, when it has great boy characters and should appeal to all kids.

The story is about a youn...more
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  1 comments

Crystal
Crystal rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/15/08

bookshelves: coversthatmakeyouwanttoreadthem, kidsfiction
Read in April, 2008
recommended to Crystal by: Monique
recommends it for: This would be a great step up from the Ramona Books
The main character in this book completely reminded me of what my mom must have been like as a little girl. My mom played accordion on the insistence of her parents (she even won a few trophies!) This 12 year old girl wants to play the piano more than anything in the world but her dad buys her an electric organ. Instead of playing at a recital in a white flowing ballgown like she has always dreamed of she goes and competes at The Performa-rama, where entrants get to pick songs from The Performa ...more
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Laura
Laura rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/06/08

bookshelves: chapter-books, lis-565, realistic-fiction
Read in April, 2008
A funny, good-hearted story about Zoe, who wants to be a concert pianist but gets stuck playing the organ. Zoe’s narrative voice is natural and engaging, and both boys and girls will enjoy her story about finding friendship and self-confidence.

CIP: Ten-year-old Zoe Elias, who longs to play the piano but must resign herself to learning the organ, instead, finds that her musicianship has a positive impact on her workaholic mother, her jittery father, and her school social life.

Hornbook:...more
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Brandy
Brandy rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
12/27/07

bookshelves: 2007reads, childrens
Read in December, 2007
I haven't heard a lot of buzz yet about Newbery contenders, but I'd say this is one of them. It's another quiet story with all the action being character development, without a lot of outside plot to muck it up. It's ostensibly a middle-grade novel, with a protagonist who is 10 years old (going on 11), but the book's appeal will be more for older teens or adults--readers who remember being that age, rather than readers who are that age.

That said, as an adult, this is a very good s...more
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Emily Beeson
Emily rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
07/02/08

bookshelves: deliciously-clean-read, realistic-ya
Read in July, 2008
recommended to Emily by: the kidlitosphere
recommends it for: tweens
Aww. Such a cute, refreshing slice of tween life. And boy can I relate to Zoe's love of piano/hatred of organ.

The book opens like this...

"HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE
I was supposed to play the piano.
The piano is a beautiful instrument.
Elegant.
Dignified.
People wear ball gowns and tuxedos to hear the piano....


HOW IT IS
I play the organ.
A wood-grained, vinyl-seated, wheeze-bag organ.
The Perfectone D-60."


Thus begins the story of Zoe Elias, normal almost 11...more
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Corrie
Corrie rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
07/05/08

bookshelves: fiction-tasty-fiction, summer-2008, top-chapter-books
Read in July, 2008
recommended to Corrie by: goodreads browsing
recommends it for: Kristy Crabb, Sarah Ragan, Ashlee, Dan Holcomb, Josesito Dunn, everyone second grade on up!
A Crooked Kind of Perfect made my day! It is so many things that YA books are often not today: smart, funny, clean, honest, and respectful of family values.

I love that our heroine, Zoe Elias, is not just a stock character. She's not the giant nerd. She's not the cheerleader. She's an average eleven-year-old with big dreams. This book never tries too hard. It doesn't force the characters to be things that they're not. But they're still quirky, funny, interesting, and real. Zoe doesn't ...more
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Judith
Judith rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
04/22/08

Read in March, 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 g...more
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Ryann
Ryann rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/15/08

bookshelves: listened
Read in February, 2008
recommends it for: fans of Sharon Creech or Deborah Wiles
Beethoven's Buttons! Zoe, 10/11, is a girl who dreams of playing piano at Carnegie Hall, and wants to start with a piano of her own. Unfortunately, her dad brings home the Perfectone D-60 Electronic Organ instead and soon instructor Maybeline Person enters her life with songbooks full of old TV theme shows and suggests she enters the Perform-a-rama in just a few weeks. This <a href=http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cyb... awa...more
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Gwen the Librarian
Gwen the Librarian rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
11/03/07

bookshelves: kidlit
Read in October, 2007
This is my prediction for Newbery. We'll see. Read it, it's great.

More than anything, Zoe wants to play the piano. She daydreams about herself in a flowing gown, sitting at a grand piano, playing on the stage at Carnegie Hall. In reality, Zoe's dad buys her a Perfectone D-60, an electric organ. Not the same thing at all! Other things are not quite right either. When the cool girl at school invites her to a shoe-themed birthday party, Zoe brings socks as a gift. After that, Zoe has to...more
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Lauren
Lauren rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
09/27/07

bookshelves: middlegrade
Read in September, 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...more
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Abby
Abby rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
12/26/07

bookshelves: audio
Read in December, 2007
What a delightful book! I listened to the audiorecording and I really enjoyed it. Zoe Elias dreams of playing the piano at Carnegie Hall. She's certain that just given the chance, she might turn out to be a prodigy. She's picturing playing recitals on a grand piano while elegant people dressed in their finest sit in the audience. Imagine her surprise when, instead of the piano she was so hoping for, her parents get her an organ. An organ that comes with lessons from Maybeline Person and her book...more
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Farida
Farida rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
12/14/07

This is not a review-- just a few notes.

This book was a bit painful to read in parts, just because it so effectively brought up middle-school memories of cruelty disguised as kindness. The part where the main-character's former best friend says, "I have a new best friend, but you can sit with us until you find a new best-friend" was a zinger.

I also appreciated the author's subtle mockery of tween trends through the characters' voices as demonstrated by the Big Shoe birthday pa...more
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Priscilla
Priscilla rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
01/04/08

bookshelves: mock-newbery
Read in December, 2007
I think what I like best about this book is how downright funny it is and how perfectly first time author Linda Urban uses her words, her sentences, her paragraphs and her voice to create characters and situations that teeter just on the brink of believability and nonsense but the humor always puts it back on track. My favorite part? I have to say the scene of the competition with the boom swish of the door closing--How Perfect was that? Urban knows how to translate rhythm into language and if...more
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Jess
Jess rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/26/08

bookshelves: juv
Read in February, 2008
A lovely little book - snappy and funny at times, the occasional 'awww' moment. Short chapters, where the title actually tells you something. I'm almost tempted to read it straight through again. I'm not doing a good job of describing it, or what I liked about it, but it's a good one. Plus, I really liked the sock thing - people who wear socks and people who don't, and Zoe's love of fun socks.

My only quibble with the story was - how on EARTH does the UPS guy have so much time to sit ar...more
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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 4.18 (209 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 4.20 (202 ratings)
number of reviews: 84






other editions

A Crooked Kind of Perfect (Audio CD)
A Crooked Kind of Perfect (Paperback)









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"...I had never heard the cha-cha. It's like two shoes dropping on the floor and then a dog scratching itself." more quotes »