Author: Linda Urban (her first!)
Lexile Score: none yet, my guess = 600
Genre: realistic fiction
Maturity level: 3rd grade (some talk of boys having crushes on the girls, all very innocent)
Pages: 211 Chapters: not numbered - many short chapters, often only a single page, some even a single word! Average Chapter Length: beats me, maybe 1-2 pages
Theme: perseverance, friendship, music, disapointment
Project ideas: piano lessons? learn an instrument?
First Line: I was supposed to play the piano.
Main Character: Zoe Elias
Review in 25 words or less: Fun, light read - classic theme of parents-jut-not-understanding.
Grade: A
I think this would make a wonderful book club book. Zoe has the unique situation of having her dad buy her an organ when she actually wants a piano. Urban's diary-like writing style really hooks the reader into feeling empathy for Zoe.
I'm sure most students would be familiar with pianos, but I wonder how many would need to see an organ or at least a picture of one to get an idea of how it works. Much of the story and plot are dependant on at least an acquaintance with the organ, so there would need to be some background knowledge. Zoe plays several classic TV hits from the 70s and I also wondered if young readers would follow what was happening, but I suppose those parts are just funny on different levels of understanding.
Zoe interacts with boys at school and one of them "likes" her. I don't think it is at all inappropriate for 3rd grade or older students. Other complicated issues present are divorce and agoraphobia. It should make for some interesting discussion!