A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT by Linda Urban Accelerated Reader: Level: 3.9. Pts. 4. Take the 10-Question Whole Book Quiz! Section 1 How It Was Supposed to Be, How It Is, Vladimir Horowitz, The Controller, On Paper, 432, The Perfectone D-60, !!!!!, and Maestro (8 Questions) Section 2 Mabelline Person, Float Like a Butterfly, Telling Emma Dent, Here's the Story, You Are Invited, For the Girl Who Has Everything, Emma Dent's Really Big Shoe, Everybody Knows That, 5:45, and 6:00 (10 Questions) Section 3 Are You Ready to Rumba? Hugh, In the Pink, Wheeler Diggs, I Dream of Jeannie, The Perfectone Songbook, Another Way the Organ Is Not Like the Piano, Zsa Zsa Goober, Another Diploma, Fireside Chat, I Don't Need No Stinking Badges, The Wheeler on the Bus, Who Is This Kid?, Gimme a Beat, What's Weird, and What's Really Weird (9 Questions) Section 4 If at First You Don't Succeed, And That's When I Decide, Quitting, Go Figure, Still Quitting, Who Knew?, Key Change, What I Do, Dinner, Lunch, Smitten, How My Lesson Goes, The Next Day, My Boyfriend (8 Questions) Section 5 Where's Wheeler, Dialogue, The Kitchen Is Closed, The Words, What Dad Says, What I Say, And Then, Directions, Planning the Worst, Thump, My Card, Four Dreams and a Phone Call, and Vladimir Horowitz Makes Mistakes (8 Questions) Section 6 The Birch Valley Hotel and Conference Center, Miss Person to the Rescue, Mona, How It Works, What It Is Like at Carnegie Hall, What It Is Like at a Perform-O-Rama, Round One, My Turn, Just Keep Playing, Vladimir Horowitz Says, When Mona Plays, Dad, It's for You, Round Two, and And When I'm Done. (10 Questions) Section 7 After, Mom, More Fun, Money Talks, The Formula for Succss, The Little People, My Trophy, Cell-A-Bration, On the Way Home, Taps, Wishes, How It Is Supposed to Be (10 Questions) BOOK SUMMARY: 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 talent for music and recommends her for the "Perfectone Perform-O-Rama"; she will play Neil Diamond's "Forever in Blue Jeans." Accepting this new twist to her ambitions, Zoe must depend on a quirky support system: her father, who gets anxious when he leaves the house and who earns diplomas from Living Room University; her workaholic mother; and her classmate Wheeler, who follows Zoe home from school daily to spend time with her father, baking. Playing television theme songs from the '60s and '70s rather than Bach doesn't get Zoe down. Instead, aware of the stark difference between her dream and her reality, she forges ahead and, as an underdog, faces the uncertainty of entering the competition. In the end, resilient and resourceful Zoe finds perfection in the most imperfect and unique situations, and she shines. The refreshing writing is full of pearls of wisdom, and readers will relate to this fully developed character. The sensitive story is filled with hope and humor. It has a feel-good quality and a subtle message about how doing one's best and believing in oneself are what really matter.