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Do the Math: Secrets, Lies, and Algebra |  | Author: Wendy Lichtman
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $2.99
as of 11/24/2009 01:03 CST details
You Save: $4.00 (57%)
New (32) Used (13) from $1.99
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 59124
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 208
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 0061229571
EAN: 9780061229572
ASIN: 0061229571
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Tess loves math because it's the one subject she can trustâthere's always just one right answer, and it never changes. But then she starts algebra and is introduced to those pesky and mysterious variables, which seem to be everywhere in eighth grade. When even your friends and parents can be variables, how in the world do you find out the right answers to the really important questions, like what to do about a boy you like or whom to tell when someone's done something really bad? Will Tess's life ever stop changing long enough for her to figure it all out?
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
 Reading AND Math are cool in Middle School September 6, 2009
Valerie L. Mickish (Lawrenceville, GA)
As the School-wide Language Arts Chair of a large middle school, I am always looking for books that will hook our kids. Secrets, Lies, and Algebra offers an interesting look into the 8th grade year of all students who are trying to find themselves in a world of mazes of friendships and family relationships. Most of the plot was believable in the middle school world. I particularly liked the "math" reasoning at the basis of the central plot. For those students who LOVE math and worry about reading a novel, this book offers a way to look at the universe in mathematical terms. Although I felt that the last few chapters left some gaps that were intended to be filled in by a sequel, the novel moved well, stuck to its format of offering each problem as an algebraic equation, and resolved the mysteries of the book cleanly and appropriately. I will certainly offer this title as an example of "reading across the curriculum" to all of the math teachers in my building. In short, the reader + the book = an interesting story line.
A fun read April 11, 2009
Voracious Reader
I bought this for my daughter. Okay - I had to force it on her. She began laughing by the end of the first chapter and said she learned more about Algebra from the book than from her own school. Ms. Lichtman has done the unthinkable - used algebra to describe the angst of eighth grade and all the ensuing politics involved.
I read it and it is laugh-out-loud funny. The illustrations bring the points home.
A must have for anyone looking for a quick, fun read (and a great way to sneak in some math that is otherwise uncomprehensible in some academic environments!)
Bravo. This book is a winner!
 Average with a neat incorporation of math words April 5, 2009
Austin Somlo (Vincentown, NJ)
Secrets, Lies, and Algebra is a unique book, at least to me, for telling an ordinary story while using math words for conceptual value. I thought the book was going well for me until about three-fourths of the way and then it suddenly ran out of gas. In the last quarter of the book, it was simply running on fumes. The story is not too bad, presenting three different situations going on at the same time: the cheating scandal, the murder mystery, and the test of friendships. As for the main character Tess, I didn't like her that much due to her negative comments about others, especially the history teacher. The cheating scandal was on the verge of being interesting, and I wondered how the author would have solved the problem. Instead, it turned out to be an open ended question with no satisfactory conclusion. I wasn't pleased about that. Then, here comes the murder mystery, possessing the feel of Nancy Drew sleuthing ways. Instead, the unofficial police report placed an end to that. So, pretty much in the end, the book left me stranded without an adventure. I liked how the author used the math words in each chapter and took the book in a different way, but I didn't like her need to illustrate the graph of a person going from alive to dead. Overall, Secrets, Lies, and Algebra, I would say, is an average book that could have been fun. I see that there is a sequel to the book, but no thanks.
Amazing Math Book!!! September 29, 2008
B. Russell (Arkansas)
This is an excellent book! Every middle school and any math teacher should have this book in their classroom!!!! It is a wonderful blend of math and the life of teenagers! The author does a fabulous job of incorporating math concepts into the plot. There are lots of diagrams and detailed descriptions of math concepts such as tangents and Venn diagrams. It is a MUST READ for any middle school student or teacher!
Enchanting Review: Do The Math: Secrets, Lies and Algebra September 23, 2008
Enchanting Reviews
DO THE MATH: SECRETS, LIES, AND ALGEBRA
WENDY LICHTMAN
Contemporary Young Adult
Rating: 3 Enchantments
Tess is an 8th grader who uses math to help her solve her problems. She has to great best friends who she gets along with pretty good and she has a hard time talking to boys-especially cute boys. Like other pre-teens she thinks her parents are weird.
One day Richard came into the copy room to make copies of a stolen history test and Tess let him. Apparently he passed them out to some of the other students. That's the least of Tess' problems. Her mother's friend just committed suicide and Tess is convinced that her husband killed her. So Tess does the only thing she can think of. She tells her best friends her suspicions and follows the suspect.
Do the Math was such a cute mystery book. Tess was a believable character and had an original way of looking at the world. She used math to help her solve ordinary problems. I had fun reading this book and it had an original concept. I haven't read any books that incorporate math problems in the story. The beginning of the book was too slow and the investigation didn't really start until about halfway through the book. Tess also dealt with normal pre-teen problems and well as the crime she believes happened. Overall this was a really good book for pre-teens but older people will still enjoy it.
Wendy Lichtman writes essays for Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, New York Times, and San Francisco Chronicle. She currently resides in Berkeley, California. You can visit her online at www.wendylichtman.com
Carolina
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
September 2008
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
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