Review of A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

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Book: A Crooked Kind of Perfect
Author: Linda Urban
Published by: Harcourt, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-15-206007-7

Ten year old Zoe has a big dream – to play the piano at Carnegie Hall on a baby grand while wearing a tiara. Her reality is playing the hits of the seventies on the Perfectone D-60. Add in a dad who has trouble leaving the house, a mom who is always working, and a classmate who spends more time at her house than his own and her life is more kooky than perfect.

Disappointed in receiving an organ instead of a piano, but determined to make the best of it, Zoe quickly shows promise and is encouraged to enter the annual Perfectone competition. While she is working hard towards her goal, she is also learning that some friendships aren’t all they should be (who needs the latest fashion anyway?) and some spring up where you least expect them.

This is a lovely and funny story that is well written – even the chapter headings are quirky and add to the appeal of the story. Girls will enjoy the fun and will relate to the workings of tween-age friendships. Zoe is an appealing and likeable girl who would make a lovely friend for your own child – sensitive and caring, strong enough to know having the fancy gear doesn’t make you a nice person and doing the best she can to make her dream come true. By the end of the story, you are behind her all the way to her happily ever after and her realisation that while her family may not be perfect, they are perfect for her.