A Crooked Kind of Perfect

This book is not at all perfect. In fact, it's completely stupid. It's just about a girl complaining about how she doesn't have the best model of a piano. I'm glad Zoe wants to play at Carnegie Hall, but she's such a snob. The cover is perfect though: nobody wears glove socks. I remember glove socks coming up in conversation and everyone was in agreement that they were too weird.

This is a book about taking joy in the special things about yourself and your family, even if they aren't conventionally perfect. Zoe Elias is in fifth grade. She has a workaholic mother (a state Controller) and a father who has difficulty coping with the world outside of his home. Zoe returns to school after the summer and finds that her best friend has abandoned her for someone cooler, and become consumed by lip gloss, CDs, and trendy clothes. What Zoe wants is to grow up to be a famous pianist, and play at Carnegie Hall. She dreams of elegant black concert pianos and hushed silences. Her reality, however, is somewhat different from her expectations (and involves a flamboyant organ). There is much to like about this book. The writing is deceptively simple, with short paragraphs, and plenty of white space. At one point there is a chapter that only has one six-word sentence on the page. This is not a book that would intimidate an eight year old. And yet, Linda Urban manages to pack multiple levels of meaning into every sentence. She is a master of show, don't tell, and of presenting fully realized, three-dimensional characters. Her word selection is so perfect that the book almost feels like a verse novel (though it clearly isn't). Here is an example: The senior center had one piano, and it was not grand. It was an almost-upright. It leaned to one side. I guessed it had been donated by a school because there were initials carved into its legs, and if you lifted the yellow scarf off the top, you could read all about a Mrs. Pushkin who smelled like fish. The bench was bowed from years of supporting senior citizen backsides. (Page 10) I love: "It was an almost-upright". Here is another example that shows the short, poetic paragraphs: "When the balcony people first get to Carnegie Hall, they can't see the stage. All they see is a huge velvet curtain with gold fringe and tassels. The lights dim. The curtain rises. And there is a glossy black grand piano. Nobody says a word. They don't even breathe. They wait. They wait." (Page 150) That refrain of "They wait. They wait." is repeated several times throughout the book. I think it speaks to Zoe's deeper longing concerning being a concert pianist, someone to whom people give undivided attention, and for whom people are willing to wait. Zoe's mother is a very busy woman. One last quote: "Me and Mom shake our heads (when friends leave to go the restroom). We have really strong bladders. It is one thing we have in common." (Page 185). I like this quote because the author is doing so much in a small space. "Me and Mom" gives you a fifth grade voice, doesn't it? It's not "Mom and I", it's "Me and Mom." As it should be. And then "it is one thing we have in common." When I first read this I read it in my head as "it is the one thing we have in common." Zoe and her Mom are very different, but Zoe is pretty matter-of-fact about it. Zoe is also matter-of-fact about her father's shortcomings. Zoe's Dad

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. Plus it's funny. I could give you five hundred examples from this book. I could also give you just one reason and leave it at that. One Reason: There is a chapter about the Fireside Scouts entitled, "I Don't Need No Stinking Badges". Oh, how about two? There's an organ teacher who swears by saying things like, "Handel's Cousin Hannah". One more, one more. When a girl at the organ competition plays "Getting' Jiggy Wit It" you STILL have overly competitive parents saying things like "I'd hardly call that jiggy" and "That girl could never have handled the original composition." Last one, I swear. When Zoe is

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 who works too much, and a dad who is afraid to leave the house, and you have a delightful, flaky pastry the reader will devour. Top it off with Wheeler, the cute boy on her bus who spends more time at Zoe's house than his own, and it's an irresistible treat. Debut author Linda Urban has whipped up a delicious, charming read not to be missed. This reader will be pleased if Ms. Urban follows A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT with another book featuring Zoe and Wheeler. Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger

There should be more books like Linda Urban's A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT. Zoe Elias, a would-be piano prodigy, ends up not with a baby grand piano at Carnegie Hall but with a sighing, cha-cha, oompa organ at the Perform-O-Rama. Zoe's voice is funny and touching and true, as she paints the picture of her ten-year-old life. A coin-counting mother who works all the time. A father who's afraid to leave the house (but makes a mean maple tart). A best friend who ditches her. And that organ.... This book made me laugh out loud on the couch so many times my son put down THE LIGHTNING THIEF to listen for a while. It's a fantastic example of how a great middle grade book can turn the every day trials of a kid into an amazing story, just like Zoe makes music from whatever life dishes out to her. I teach middle school, and sometimes I find that I have more choices for my readers who like edgy YA stories than I do for those kids who read well but aren't quite ready for teenager issues. A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT is a perfect kind of book for those readers, and I'm so happy I'll have it for them when school starts in a few weeks.

Once in awhile, a book comes along that grabs your heart from the beginning and doesn't let go, even long after the last page has been turned. A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT, by Linda Urban, is one of those special, rare books. It's a book about dreams, about family and friends, about music, and about making the most of what you've got. The voice, the characters, the story - I loved it all. When I was done reading, I e-mailed the author and told her I would be heart-broken if this book doesn't win a bunch of awards. It really is that special. I know a couple of girls who will be getting a copy of this book for their birthday in the next couple of months. I can't wait to share Zoe's story with them.