The Facts And Fictions Of Minna Pratt (1988) - Plot & Excerpts
"There is often...no room for perfection in an imperfect world." —Imelda, The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt, P. 86 If Patricia MacLachlan's name weren't printed on the cover of this book, I can't say that I'd have been likely to be able to identify her as the author just from the writing. I'm used to a slightly more rhythmic sensation to the words she chooses, the gentle waves of her lovely descriptions creating a quiet harmony even when they're describing just mundane, everyday things, or simple outdoors scenes that we could pass a hundred times without ever looking at with deeper insight. The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt has more of an urban feel to it, but Patricia MacLachlan's writing is no less nice for the different type of surroundings. As always, she manages to tell a story with utmost economy of words, putting a fair amount of plot into a relatively short junior novel. Minna Pratt comes from an eccentric family, a situation certainly not unfamiliar to the main characters in Patricia MacLachlan's stories. Her parents and younger brother, McGrew, all have artsy temperaments, and while Minna has her own fair share of endowment in that area, she approaches life from a much more serious and analytical point of view. Though Minna has been taking cello lessons for years, she's never really hit her groove with it, being surpassed by some of the other students as their "light" turns on and they really get what they're trying to do with their individual instruments. As she waits for her own moment of inspiration to arrive, a new student joins the class, a boy named Lucas who has played the viola for as long as Minna has been involved with the cello. The debut pupil quickly befriends Minna and provides her with a new take on her quirky family, as well as on her own much less spontaneous personality. Lucas actually wishes that he might have a family a little bit more like Minna's, and as they learn from each other about better understanding the families they were born into, Lucas also serves as the bridge between Minna and her cello epiphany that she's been awaiting for so long. I can't say that I'm totally sure what this book is meant to teach. The story is nice, though, and there are some memorable characters (especially McGrew, in my opinion) to add a smile or two along the way. I would give one and a half stars to The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt.
This was one of my favorite books to re-read as a kid. The characters are so wonderfully quirky! I was thinking about it the other day, so i ordered a few copies for the classroom. I've never read anything else by MacLachlan, but I still wonder if she based the character of the novelist-mother on herself. The scene that stands out most in my memory is the one where Minna is standing in her front yard, surrounded by people kissing: her parents started, and then her brother and his friend Emily Parmalee started to wonder how the breathing works in a long kiss. They experimented, and it didn't work well. The book is filled with little curiosities and observations like that.
What do You think about The Facts And Fictions Of Minna Pratt (1988)?
The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt is about a young girl who is searching for her vibrato. During the whole book she goes through many struggles such as, her fingers can't reach the third string on her Cello, her parents dont pay as much attention to her as thier suppose too, and falling in love with the Violinist, Lucas. But at the end everything turns out to be perfec. Her parents went to the competion, she got her vibrato and her crush is now like her best friend. I can relate to Minna be
—Geizy
This was a perfectly lovely children's book about an 11 year old girl who longs for vibrato in her cello playing, has a crush on a boy, and doesn't feel understood by her parents. Minna felt very real to me, although the side characters were not very developed and I felt like her parents were gratuitously wacky. Overall, it was a very nice book. I appreciated that it didn't feel it needed to go into histrionics of poverty, death, or any other kind of trauma to be relevant.This is definitely a book I would get for an elementary school girl.
—Ariel
I was thinking about this book today -- I really like this book because of the families in it. In the book, the girl is pre- or early adolescent and very embarrassed by her family, who loves her, and whom she loves. I remember being able to identify with the mom, who is creative and not neat and watches soap operas, and her mom and dad still kiss in public. So the girl, Minna, is trying to develop her cello skills and at her music lessons she meets a boy who is richer and whose family is more distant. And the story is about their friendship and their musical friends, including a man playing violin on the corner, and the bus driver, and Minna's brother. And I thought about how Minna and the boy friend (Lucas?) learn to relate to their own families and to each other. I really really like this book - it makes me feel good and happy and young and learning how to be grown-up at the same time. I would buy this book again, now.
—Davida "Davi"
