Customer Reviews

The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this book in the 4th grade simply because the main character and I shared the same name. I couldn't fully appreciate the book back then, but I do now. _Facts_and_Fictions_ has become one of my favorite books because it has so many wonderful aspects. MacLachlan has such a unique way of writing about all of Minna's relationships--with her mother, her brother, her crush, and her cello. I've also dog-eared and highlighted many pages in my worn copy of the book; every sentence MacLachlan wrote was carefully constructed. No matter what your age, I think you will enjoy this book. I highly recommend it!

I first read this book in 6th grade and I loved it then because it was sort of the image of who I wanted to be. I have read it so many times since then and I still love it. I am a violist and I hope to become professional after college, so this book means a lot to me. I also have a stand partner is Symphony who reminds me a lot of Lucas (only he talks a lot less). The only thing I didn't like about this book is that when you learn vibrato, you can't do it all of a sudden; you have to practice about a year before you get it.

Patricia MacLachlan has such a wonderous way of writing and an economy with words. Despite the fact that I am not "musical" in any way I could understand and learn quite a bit about the world of concerts and stringed instruments. The author's flowing style of writing made it easier to synthesize. The characters are great. You can feel that teenage angst all over again, however painful it may be! I wanted to read this whole story. As a fifth grade teacher, we read a portion of this tale in the Scholastic series. The students really seem to respond to Minna's troubles, so it inspired me to go out and purchase the book to read the entire story. I could not put the book down once I sat down to read the whole story! It is a most enjoyable book for students of pre-teen age to read and relate to! As an adult, I enjoyed it as well.

I really liked The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt. Patricia MacLachlan, I thought, did a great job creating the characters! Their personalities, the good and bad points about them and the characters all had something about them that was unique. I thought that the book had a good plot to it as well. I would highly recomend this book for any age.

_Minna_ is not your typical children's book. It has all of the elements that make up a good novel for its age group--a good plot and characters and emotions children can identify with--but it is much more. This is one of those books I term an "in-between book"; it is excellent for children who have graduated beyond reading simply for plot, but are not yet ready for adult books. This book is an excellent blending of good plot and character/thematical development.
I don't limit my reccommendation to just children, however; I think it is an excellent story for anyone of any age to read and enjoy.

I think this book was good because I could understand the text
and it was something that I could definitly relate to. I cannot
say that it was my favorite book, but after the first 40 pages
it definitely begins to take your interest. Though I do not think I would read it again, it was fine the first time. Her friends and her family are funny to hear about and Lucas seems like a great friend. Minna finds out things about herself that she did not know.

Minna Pratt lives in a very interesting world, where each day she lives it to the fullest. She is an improving cello player who has lessons every day and should be practicing every day - though she doesn't. She is in search of her vibrato, as she prays to God and Mozart and anyone else she thinks who might be able to help her get it. The book is filled with interesting characters, like her brother McGrew who has a very entertaining personality, and then there's Lucas, the handsome boy who seems her age, joining their lessons to practice his viola. Lucas and Minna soon become goods friends that looks to develop into something else, while a competition is coming up in which they will be performing with their other classmates in a quartet to prove their abilities, as well as $100 cash prize for each of them. Minna grows more nervous as the book progresses, over her feelings for Lucas, how everyone else views her, the upcoming competition, and whether she will ever find her vibrato.

Patricia Maclachlan has created a lasting book with a full host of complex, believable characters, written in an almost stream of consciousness style - akin to Virginia Woolf's The Waves--where there is not a firm beginning, middle, and end, but a series of flitterings in and out of the mind of Minna Pratt on what she is thinking, how she is feeling, and whatever else is going on. The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt is a very different children's book that all should read for its uniqueness.

Originally written on March 3rd 2010 ©Alex C. Telander.

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With writing like "They would make wise and witty conversation in complete sentences with big words, adverbial phrases, and commas. Maybe even semicolons. Not conversations like her parents had at dinner, full of dashes and hyphens," Patrician MacLachlan hooked me right in.

My nine-year-old daughter read it first. She loved it. I was next. I couldn't help but drag it around and read little parts to my seven-year-old daughter and my twelve-year-old son.

Even my son laughed out loud when Minna remembers catching her parents kissing under a tree in the yard.

Minna is a highly relatable adolescent who begins to leave her self-centered focus and notice the world and people around her as indivuals. As she does this, she natually comes to know herself better as well.

This book is a MUST OWN in every home library!

I think this book was good because I could understand the text and it was something that I could definitly relate to. I cannot say that it was my favorite book, but after the first 40 pages it definitly begins to have a plot-line. Though I do not think I would be able to read it again, it was fine the first few times. Her friends and her family are funny to hear about and Lucas seems like a great friend. Minna finds out things about herself that she did not know she had.

This book is about an 11-year old girl who discovers the real things and the dreams in her life. With trying to get a vibrato on her cello, helping a friend hide frogs, and trying to get her mom to understand her, this book was enjoyable.