Thursday, May 08, 2008

Lichtman's Do the Math: Secrets, Lies and Algebra

While Non-Fiction Food Week, has been fun, if I don't post some other titles, they will back up!

Remember that I am entering the Spring of My Discontent, when I spend a lot of time removing titles from my book orders because I have spent my entire budget for next year.

This book would be interesting if I could buy everything that I liked, but it will have a limited appeal in my library due to the use of math problems within the text, and the fact that there is really not as much of a mystery as I would like.

Tess is a math whiz who has some problems. First, she sees a popular boy photocopy a math test; later, he and his friends all get unprecedented perfect scores. Then, one of her mother's friends is found dead in her garage, a victim of carbon monoxide poisoning. Did her husband, with whom she had problems, have something to do with this?

Tess and her friends work through these problems, and their relationships are the best part of the book. Tess does have to make some tough decisions about what she should be doing. This is an interesting first attempt, but I am going to have to pass.

1 comment:

  1. Have you seen this non-fiction math-y book?

    Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail by Danica McKellar

    It's awesome. I'm definitely getting it. I think it will have a bit o circulation, but also teachers will be able to use it in class with some of the examples, and would be able to do some fun read-aloud excerpts.

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