So, I know many, many, many of you have already read this book. I'm extremely late to the party, but when someone else reviewed it for Deliciously Clean Reads, it dropped to the bottom of my to-read list. I was so intrigued by it, it's beautiful cover, all the great reviews, and that perfect title, but I had to make a priority out of books that hadn't yet been reviewed at DCR.
But today, the cover called out to me again. And I picked it up. And I didn't put it back down until I had read the entire thing.
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban (
lurban)
Such a cute, refreshing slice of tween life. And boy can I relate to Zoe's love of piano/hatred of organ.
The book opens like this...
"HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE
I was supposed to play the piano.
The piano is a beautiful instrument.
Elegant.
Dignified.
People wear ball gowns and tuxedos to hear the piano....
HOW IT IS
I play the organ.
A wood-grained, vinyl-seated, wheeze-bag organ.
The Perfectone D-60."
Thus begins the story of Zoe Elias, normal almost 11-year old. A Crooked Kind of Perfect (I love the title and cover of this book, too, by the way...) is a quick coming-of-age book with humor, sarcasm, friends, family, music, and yes, even a touch of romance from an unexpected source.
It's well-written and fresh. Perfect for its audience. In a crooked kind of way.
Today I have an interview with fabulous author, Jessica Day George, at Deliciously Clean Reads. You can see the interview here. You won't regret it. She's hilarious. I am also giving away a signed copy of her new book, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow.
The story begins with this great opening: “It was my aunt who decided to give me to the dragon. Not that she was evil, or didn’t care for me. It’s just that we were very poor, and she was, as we said in those parts, dumber than two turnips in a rain barrel.”
Creel’s aunt hopes Creel will come away from the dragon with a rich husband. Creel hopes to come away with gold from the dragon’s hoard. What she actually comes away with is something nobody expected…a pair of enchanted slippers.
When she escapes from the dragon’s lair, she can’t return home, so she makes the long journey to the King’s Seat in search of a job as a dressmaker. Of course, things don’t often turn out the way we expect. Many obstacles arise, but in the midst of her struggles, she finds love, courage, friendship, and the strength to pursue her dreams.
As you can probably tell, I highly recommend this novel. It is an original fairy tale full of dragons, princes, adventures, and laughs. Nothing pleases me more than a good fairy tale.
I'm just popping in to direct you over to Deliciously Clean Reads (or to the lj feed...
cleanreads) where we are talking about
lurban's incredible book, A Crooked Kind of Perfect today.
I've had the most wonderful day with books today.
I had a storytelling gig tonight with a group of kindergarteners and some of their older siblings at a local elementary school. I wanted to recreate an activity I used to do this time of year with my own students so I went over to the school early to set up a campfire, a tent, etc.
As I signed in, one of my wonderful former students (and dedicated reader) came in (she is now in college) to see a parental unit who works there. She gave me the most wonderful hug and I got to meet her boyfriend. Boyfriend? Funny how kids stop growing in your mind in 5th grade or when ever you see them for the last time. Gosh, if I had known I was going to see her, I would have brought her a stack of books.
I also had a visit there with another friend whose son (another of "my" kids) finally became an avid reader in 6th grade thanks to Percy Jackson. His mother mentioned that he was on the waiting list for Titan's Curse at his junior high (on a WAITING LIST??? No no no no...)
After I picked up my entling from school and we stopped by the public library where it seemed like Camille's-old-elementary-students-now-in junior-high day. It seemed like every time I turned a corner there was another pocket of old students who seemed wildly enthusiastic to see me (you never know for sure.) I ended up walking and talking the shelves of the YA section with one of them. He kept pulling the books off the shelf as I described them and asking me, "What else is good?" He took a pile over to be checked out. He always was an adventurous and courageous reader.
I got back to the school early this evening to make sure every thing was working and saw yet another teacher friend who is now teaching at this new campus (I think half my old school is there now) and in the course of our conversation realized I had just the picture book she needed for a subject she is introducing this week. Since I am subbing at a jr. high very near her tomorrow, I will drop it off on my way.
The storytelling was very fun and Dragon was in his most cheeky, most annoying element. The coolest moment was when I pulled a small spider puppet onto my fingers to start an Anansi story and one little boy started to sing "The Eensy-Weensy-Spider" and the whole group joined in. Those precious young voices, it brought tears to my eyes.
My 6th grade friend was also there and he now has a Titan's Curse to read. Bah on waiting lists.
When I got home I saw this post at Chicken Spaghetti about Susan's son and Calvin & Hobbes.
I love it when I hear that someone has finally made a reading connection.
Reading is so personal and I take my friends' reading personally. That amazing "right book, right reader, right time" thing is what has always interested me the most about being a librarian. It is always an honor to be a small part of the magic.
Camille, your magic now extends into cyberspace. Your recommendation of Calvin & Hobbes was AWESOME, and I never would have thought of it on my own. A million thanks.
This was just lovely - thanks for letting us share your day!
It came as a nice contrast to a piece on the school librarian of the year I heard on BBC Radio 4's Front Row last night. I said already in a comment on Big A, little a that the poor woman might have been petrified by being on the radio (I could relate!) but she showed not an ounce of enthusiasm for the kids she worked with or the books she was supposedly sharing with them. Very depressing! And then it segued into the 'Boys' bookshelves' idea Kelly mentioned and was equally depressing in a different way. Thanks for the ray of sunshine!