Customer Reviews

A Crooked Kind of Perfect

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4 star:		(10)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

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 given all the different Perfectone D-60 songbooks, she sees they all have names like "Hits of the Sixties" and "Hits of the Nineties". Naturally she wonders why there aren't any "Hits of the Eighties". She is informed that there weren't any. Fine. That's more than just one reason. In fact, I had to actively not mention some of the other moments in this book that are amusing in and of themselves and, when taken as a whole, add up to one heckuva funny middle grade novel. You should be proud of me.

Urban makes some interesting choices in this book. Zoe's father is never out-and-out diagnosed as OCD or anything along those lines. You know he's seriously uncomfortable around people he doesn't know. That he fears leaving the house. That he can't deal with a lot of things that other parents could. There's a moment, of course, when it mentions that Zoe and her family are watching, "the detective on TV get all weirded out about being in a crowded elevator." Those of you familiar with Monk might see how it applies to Zoe's family. Few kids will, though. I'm fond of books that don't go about slapping labels on every neurosis and character quirk you find. Zoe's dad is just her dad. He has problems with people and crowds and shopping and traveling out of the house, but he's also a really good father. The book makes that much perfectly clear.

FYI: You know you're old when you run across the main character in a children's book complaining that the songs she can play on her organ existed before she was born. Songs like "Seasons in the Sun" (fine), "Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp-Bomp-Bomp)" (fine), and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (SOB!).

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.

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 clearly has some sort of clinical mental condition, by which can't handle driving, or being in a room with a lot of people, or seeing bright lights. He doesn't work - he stays home and does unusual home-based courses like "Make Friends and Profit While Scrapbooking". Zoe's activities are restricted because he can't drive her places. She worries about him sometimes, but she accepts his limitations, without being ashamed of him, or angry with him, because he is who he is. And he has his strengths as a father, too, of course.

This is an excellent book to give to a kids in the third to sixth grades. It's a relatively easy read, but with a lot of hidden depth that I think the kids on the middle school end (and higher) will be more able to appreciate. For example, there is a painful scene in which Zoe attends a party where she brings the wrong gift and wears the wrong clothes. This will resonate with any reader who has ever had such an experience. (And who hasn't?)

Although A Crooked Kind of Perfect touches on like liking between boys and girls, Zoe's experience is at the very earliest stage of that, in which there's no question of much more than a jumpy feeling in your stomach. And although the narrator of the story is a girl, I think that boys will enjoy this book, too. A boy named Wheeler is a major character (though we can't directly know what he's thinking), and issues with quirky parents transcend gender. Plus there are several scenes involving burping, which are sure crowd-pleasers.

I think that this is a book that will receive some serious consideration from the Newbery committee. It's beautifully written, but also quirky and funny and full of heart. I think that kids will enjoy the story, and will laugh out loud at the funny parts (Zoe goofing around with her Dad, and the ironic contrast between her dreams and her reality). I also think that kids who are right at that transitional age between childhood and adolescence will be able to see themselves in Zoe and Wheeler, and will find this validating. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on October 27, 2007.

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.

I think this book is really really really really really good because it has the balance of funniness, wonderfulness, and perfection. It is now one of my two favorite books!

The main character is Zoe, and she is a funny, smart girl. If I ever met a real-life Zoe, like the one in A Crooked Kind of Perfect, I would be very very delighted and would like her to be my friend. Zoe wants a piano and wants to be a prodigy just like Horowitz. But instead of a piano, she gets an organ! She is very frustrated about this, but she feels like she has no choice but to play it. Her father is very jittery and is very afraid to leave the house, but inside the house he is very jolly and happy, and I liked him a lot.

I also really liked Miss Persaaaaahn (not Miss Person--read the book to find out what I mean) and her sayings. They were very, very funny, and I giggled when I read them. Here is an example: "Tchaikovsky's checkbook!"

My mouth watered when I read the list of cookies that Zoe's friend Wheeler and her Dad made. I would like to try every one of them! One of the cookie recipes that they made are called Bada Bings, and you can find that recipe on Linda Urban's website. They look good!

I just love this book because it gave me a feeling of understanding, knowing that I sometimes feel like Zoe did during the Perform-O-Rama (that's a performance that Zoe does during the book).

A Crooked Kind of Perfect is the kind of book you can give to a friend, saying, "Read this book. Lend it to someone. You will both be satisfied with your choice."

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

I loved A Crooked Kind of Perfect. Its quirky but realistic characters, unusual plot, and use of language were wonderful. There are parts that are laugh-out-loud funny. The timing is exquisite. If laughter is good medicine, this book was a tonic for me.

However... I am an adult. I understand the references to Green Acres and know all the words to the theme song, find the humor in Zoe being called Goober and Zsa Zsa, and know the tune to Forever in Blue Jeans. Alas, my 11 year old daughter does not, and so some of the references that made the book such a rich experience for me escaped her. She just didn't get why I thought it so funny and engaging.

So it's 4 stars instead of 5... but still a great book as far as I'm concerned!

Ten-year-old Zoe dreams of performing at Carnegie Hall one day. She thinks pianos are glamorous, sophisticated, and worldly. She'd love to have a grand piano and be taught how to play impressive, difficult pieces by a grandfatherly maestro.

Instead, she gets a Perfectone D-60 organ and six months of free lessons from a woman named Mabelline Person. Instead of Fur Elise, Moonlight Sonata, or even Frere Jacques, she is given television theme songs from the sixties and seventies. Not exactly glamorous.

Zoe is an only child. Her mother is a straightforward, working professional, a controller for the state who spends a great deal of time a work. Her father enjoys earning degrees from Living Room University, learning how to scrapbook, coach boxing, and pilot a plane - all from the comfort of his own home, using objects he has around the house. After school, before or after her own lessons, Zoe helps her father with his. Sometimes, she delights in his antics, but other times, his errors - like getting her a wheezy organ! - make her cringe. Her goofy classmate named Walker befriends her father and the two bake in the background while Miss Person sets up a metronome and a Hits from the Sixties songbook for an exasperated Zoe.

Zoe's getting frustrated. She's not a prodigy. She's not a concert pianist. But she's also not a quitter. Slowly but surely, she learns how to play the organ and surprises herself with how much she likes it. When she goes on to compete at Perform-o-Rama, winning over her parents is far more important to her than winning a trophy.

With quirky characters and quick chapters, Linda Urban's debut is as close to Perfect as you can get. The humorous writing will satisfy both reluctant and avid readers. From her head to her toe socks, Zoe is a lovable little girl, and her voice rings true. If this book were a song, it would be music to my ears. One of the best books of 2007, in my opinion. Highly recommended.

A Crooked Kind of Perfect is an unabridged audiobook presentation of Tai Alexandra Ricci's debut novel for all ages, about a young girl with grand musical dreams. Zoe years to play on a baby grand piano, but what she gets is a wood-grained, vinyl-seated, wheezing organ "The Perfectone D-60" with a lesson book "The Hits of the Seventies". But when Zoe braves the Perform-O-Rama competition, she discovers that the path to what she's really looking for might be just a little different than anything she imagined. A delightful listening adventure ideal for library collections, car trips or just plain fun. 3 CDs, 3 hours 17 minutes.

In this book A Crooked Kind of Perfect written by Linda Urban, a girl named Zoe Elias wants to play the piano. At first she tries to get a piano and have piano lessons. Then after, instead of getting a piano and lessons, Zoe gets a Perfectone D-60 which is a type of organ and lessons with a very weird teacher. While she has that on her mind, Zoe also makes a new friend and what next? Well that is what you will have to find out. This book has so much emotional feeling written in every line which makes the reader want to read it over and over. In the beginning the chapters are mostly just explaining about the characters but then in the middle, and the end, there is a lot of action and a plot that twists and turns.