A Crooked Kind of Perfect

A Crooked Kind of Perfect is a middle grade novel written by Linda Urban and originally published in 2007. This story centers around 11-year-old Zoe, who wants more than anything to play the piano but is given an organ instead. Alongside Navigating Challenging Family Dynamics, Zoe learns the power of Friendship as a Pillar for Personal Growth and undergoes a personal journey toward Making the Most of Imperfection. A Crooked Kind of Perfect received 20 state award nominations.

This guide is based on the 2007 Scholastic edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

Zoe Elias is 10 years old, and her dream is to become a star pianist so she can play at Carnegie Hall. She imagines herself an elegant musician surrounded by adoring fans. Zoe believes that, like her hero Vladimir Horowitz, she is a prodigy and just needs the piano to prove it. When Zoe asks her parents for a piano, her dad buys an electric organ called the Perfectone D-60 instead.

Zoe’s mom works as a state finance controller and isn’t home often; her dad is always home because he becomes severely anxious and overwhelmed when he leaves the house. He also tends to get swindled and make impulsive purchases. Zoe’s dad spends his days learning skills from a subscription called Living Room University, and Zoe sometimes learns with him. Zoe’s dad signs her up for organ lessons, but it turns out to be paper keyboard lessons instead. Zoe starts taking at-home lessons from a lady from the Perfectone company named Mabelline Person, who is nothing like the sophisticated piano teacher that Zoe imagined. Mabelline has Zoe play “Monkey Waltz” on the organ and realizes Zoe has a long way to go. Zoe’s dad helps her start to see the fun of playing an organ and dances around while she plays to various worldly beats.

At school, Zoe experiences disappointment, as her only friend, Emma, has chosen to replace Zoe with another girl in their class. When Zoe is invited to Emma’s surprise party by her mother, she decides to buy two pairs of toe socks and give one to Emma to remind her of when they first met. At the party, Emma opens Zoe’s present and seems to hate it, then she opens one final gift from her mother: a grand piano. Zoe tries to talk to her mom about it on the way home, but Zoe’s mom is too immersed in the music on the radio.

Mabelline overhears Zoe playing the organ with her dad one day and is impressed by Zoe’s creativity and passion. She tells Zoe to start practicing with the pedals and signs her up for an upcoming organ competition. Zoe practices and chooses a Neil Diamond song called “Forever in Blue Jeans” as her performance piece. In music class one day, Zoe plays the keyboard while the whole class sings and dances along, and a boy named Wheeler compliments her playing. Wheeler is a tough kid, and everyone but a few boys seem scared of him. He invites Zoe to sit with him at lunch one day, and Zoe has fun burping and fooling around with the boys. Zoe’s dad learns to bake a huge variety of cookies, and Zoe takes some to school to share with her new friends. Wheeler follows Zoe home to get more and instantly befriends her dad.

Soon, Zoe’s dad is teaching Wheeler to bake, and he starts coming over every day. Zoe starts to feel overshadowed by Wheeler, but her dad continues to invite him over. A boy named Colton develops a crush on Zoe at school, but she’s more interested in Wheeler. When Mabelline tells Zoe she still needs to practice a lot before the competition, Zoe starts to feel like giving up and doesn’t play for a few days. She hears a boy talking about practicing four hours a day on the cello and realizes she needs to practice if she wants to sound that good. Zoe begins practicing as much as possible, and in the last lesson before the competition, she plays her piece perfectly.

When Zoe’s 11th birthday arrives, Wheeler and Zoe’s dad spend the day making a cake for her with a piano on top. Zoe receives a card from Colton, but it’s more goofy than sentimental. Zoe’s mom calls, revealing the bad news that she won’t be home to take Zoe to the competition, nor will she be home in time for birthday cake. Zoe’s father tries to tell her she doesn’t need to compete, but Zoe gets angry at him and wants to demonstrate her talent to the world. Zoe is ultimately frustrated with her father’s unwillingness to leave home or to use any of the skills he learns in his Living Room University classes. Voicing her desire to compete leads her father to commit to taking her to the competition, even though it will cause him stress to do so. He memorizes the directions, goes over every possible scenario with Wheeler, and packs a massive suitcase. The night before the competition, Zoe dreams about her mother judging her performance and wakes up remembering that Vladimir Horowitz believed heart, not perfection, was the most important part of playing music.

Zoe’s dad manages to get her to the competition, but he becomes overwhelmed by the crowds and rushes off to the hotel room, leaving Zoe with Mabelline. Mabelline gets Zoe registered and drops her in a hotel room with a girl her age named Mona and Mona’s mother, who are experienced in organ competitions. Mona tells Zoe to play through her mistakes, which is advice that Zoe takes to heart. The moment of the first performance arrives, and Zoe enters a room to find three organs, including the one she has and two larger ones. Zoe’s dad never makes it to the performance, but Zoe plays anyway. She makes a few mistakes but doesn’t stop, and she is proud of herself for getting through it. When Mona plays next, Zoe is moved by the soul and passion that she puts into her playing, and Wheeler later tells Zoe that she has that same passion, too.

After the performances, Zoe finds her dad in the hotel room, and he explains that he missed the show because he was cleaning and organizing. Zoe’s dad makes it to the second performance the following day, as does her mother. Zoe plays well and with as much heart as she ever has, and her parents congratulate her afterwards. After having lunch with Mona and her mother, Zoe wins fourth place in the competition and takes home a marble trophy. Mona wins first place.

On the way home, Zoe listens to her mom talk with pride about her performance, and Wheeler is waiting for her when they arrive at the house. Zoe celebrates her birthday and her achievement with cake and family, and her parents surprise her with Emma’s second-hand grand piano. When the piano arrives, Zoe sits down to play it as Wheeler and her parents sit around her, waiting to hear her song.