A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

Urban, Linda (2007). A Crooked Kind of Perfect. New York: Harcourt, 213 pages.

Ten year old Zoe has big dreams of becoming a world renowned pianist and playing at Carnegie Hall. But when her dad goes to the music store and comes home with a Perfectone Organ instead of a baby grand, she is terribly disappointed. Still, Zoe tries her best to prepare for the Perfectone Organ competition, but not without a few glitches along the way.

Fast-paced and funny, this book captures the true essences of what it is to be ten. From Zoe's struggle to fit in with her classmates to coming to terms with her quirky family - its all there. The book is structured in short journal like entries making it a very quick read and capturing Zoe's personality well. Some entries are straight narrative while others are lists or simply one sentence. At first, I thought this form was weak but came to terms with it along the way. This book is filled with pre-teen awkwardness that just brought a smile to my face.