A Crooked Kind of Perfect: How It Was Supposed to Be–Here's the Story

by Linda Urban
Zoe dreams of being a piano player — but when her father buys an old organ instead of a piano, she must learn to adapt.

This list covers "How It Was Supposed to Be"–"Here's the Story."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
30 words 59 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dignified
    formal or stately in bearing or appearance
    The piano is a beautiful instrument.
    Elegant.
    Dignified.
    People wear ball gowns and tuxedos to hear the piano.
  2. sophisticated
    having worldly knowledge and refinement
    A piano is glamorous. Sophisticated. Worldly.
  3. worldly
    very sophisticated and experienced
    A piano is glamorous. Sophisticated. Worldly.
  4. prodigy
    an unusually gifted or intelligent person
    He was a prodigy, which means that even when he was a little kid he could play like a grown-up.
  5. domestic
    of or relating to the home
    “Take it up with Domestic Affairs,” she said. That’s my mom’s way of saying, “Talk to your dad.”
  6. fiscal
    involving financial matters
    When Mrs. Trimble introduced my mom and Mom started talking about being a controller and fiscal responsibility and keeping your ducks in a row, most of the kids looked really bored.
  7. podium
    a platform raised above the surrounding level
    She talked to each kid and gave them money and then went back up to the podium and kept on talking about how a controller has to know where every penny is and not get distracted by emotion or politics or home life or what’s on the radio.
  8. exclusively
    without any others being included or involved
    “In any organization there are distractions. Personalities. Drama. It is a controller’s job to ignore these distractions and focus exclusively on the money,” said my mom.
  9. revolutionary
    markedly new or introducing radical change
    It was from the Eastside Senior Center, and in it was an ad for More with Les, a revolutionary method for learning the piano.
  10. motivational
    of or serving to provide incentive or stimulus to action
    Six weeks of lessons with Lester Rennet, Award-Winning Music Teacher and Trained Motivational Speaker!
  11. perforated
    having a number or series of holes
    What I found was a piece of perforated cardboard folded over on itself a couple of times.
  12. conservative
    avoiding excess
    We have 432 rolls of toilet paper in our basement. Four hundred and thirty-two. This is enough to last until I’m out of high school, my mom says, provided we are conservative in our usage.
  13. mesmerized
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    But Dad was mesmerized by the boompa-chucka-boomp.
  14. behemoth
    someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful
    Two weeks later, instead of an elegant piano slick as black ice, two hairy guys dropped off a wood-grained behemoth.
  15. ergonomic
    designed to maximize workers' comfort and efficiency
    Two (2!) keyboards, ergonomically stacked to put high and low octaves in easy reach!
  16. maestro
    an artist of consummate skill
    My piano teacher was supposed to be a sweet, rumpled old man. I would call him Maestro and he would call me his perfect, precious star.
  17. spontaneity
    the quality of coming from feelings without constraint
    He would discourage me from practicing too much and spoiling the spontaneity of my play.
  18. veneer
    coating consisting of a thin layer of wood
    “A-iiiiiiiiiiiiiii!” screeches Mabelline Person, grabbing the ginger ale from my hands before I can set it on the Perfectone D-60’s luxuriously realistic walnut veneer. “You must have more respect for your instrument. Or your instrument will have no respect for you,” she says.
  19. proficient
    having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude
    When properly practiced, the More with Les method can produce a proficient player in a matter of—
  20. innate
    inborn or existing naturally
    Even if I am only playing “Monkey Waltz,” I know my innate talent will shine, showing her that I, unlike the other dull and uninspired children she is forced to teach, am a star, a chosen one, a perfect prodigy worthy of a shiny black baby grand piano.
  21. inspired
    of surpassing excellence
    Even if I am only playing “Monkey Waltz,” I know my innate talent will shine, showing her that I, unlike the other dull and uninspired children she is forced to teach, am a star, a chosen one, a perfect prodigy worthy of a shiny black baby grand piano.
  22. applicable
    having relevance
    He says that the beauty of Golden Gloves is that most of the lessons are as applicable to the boardroom as they are to the boxing ring. Except for the ones about punching people.
  23. ovation
    enthusiastic recognition
    I was going to tell her about ball gowns that would never be worn, ovations that would never be heard, fan mail that would never be read.
  24. glamorous
    having an air of allure, romance and excitement
    "Carnegie Hall is not a person. It is a place,” I told her. “In New York City. It’s the most glamorous, most important, most famous concert hall in the world.”
  25. forge
    make out of components, often in an improvising manner
    I was going to bare my soul to my dear best friend Emma Dent and, through tragedy, we would forge an unbreakable sisterly bond.
  26. altimeter
    an instrument that measures the height above ground
    “Maybe I need to fly solo for a while, honey.” Dad puts the oregano back on the altimeter spot.
  27. metronome
    clicking pendulum indicating the tempo of a piece of music
    She says that for three whole months I’m not to use anything but metronome, which just goes tock tock tock and is boring, and so even though I’ve only been playing for one month and one week, I keep testing out my lessons with different rhythm styles so I don’t fall asleep at the keyboard.
  28. ballad
    a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
    Already I can play “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle” and “The Scooby-Doo Theme.”
  29. accordion
    a portable box-shaped free-reed instrument
    I flip a couple of switches, swapping Tuba for Accordion and changing the rhythm to March.
  30. linoleum
    a floor covering made from linseed oil, cork, and resin
    The lid rolls into the hallway and clatters on the linoleum.
Created on Thu Aug 26 16:35:39 EDT 2021 (updated Thu Sep 09 12:52:41 EDT 2021)

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