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Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape
New York Times bestselling author and mathemetician Danica McKellar tackles all the angles—and curves—of geometry
In her three previous bestselling books Math Doesn't Suck, Kiss My Math, and Hot Algebra Exposed! , actress and math genius Danica McKellar shattered the “math nerd” stereotype by showing girls how to ace their math classes and feel cool while doing it.
Sizzling with Danica's trademark sass and style, her fourth book, Girls Get Curves , shows her readers how to feel confident, get in the driver's seat, and master the core concepts of high school geometry, including congruent triangles, quadrilaterals, circles, proofs, theorems, and more!
Combining reader favorites like personality quizzes, fun doodles, real-life testimonials from successful women, and stories about her own experiences with illuminating step-by-step math lessons, Girls Get Curves will make girls feel like Danica is their own personal tutor.
As hundreds of thousands of girls already know, Danica's irreverent, lighthearted approach opens the door to math success and higher scores, while also boosting their self-esteem in all areas of life. Girls Get Curves makes geometry understandable, relevant, and maybe even a little (gasp!) fun for girls.
In her three previous bestselling books Math Doesn't Suck, Kiss My Math, and Hot Algebra Exposed! , actress and math genius Danica McKellar shattered the “math nerd” stereotype by showing girls how to ace their math classes and feel cool while doing it.
Sizzling with Danica's trademark sass and style, her fourth book, Girls Get Curves , shows her readers how to feel confident, get in the driver's seat, and master the core concepts of high school geometry, including congruent triangles, quadrilaterals, circles, proofs, theorems, and more!
Combining reader favorites like personality quizzes, fun doodles, real-life testimonials from successful women, and stories about her own experiences with illuminating step-by-step math lessons, Girls Get Curves will make girls feel like Danica is their own personal tutor.
As hundreds of thousands of girls already know, Danica's irreverent, lighthearted approach opens the door to math success and higher scores, while also boosting their self-esteem in all areas of life. Girls Get Curves makes geometry understandable, relevant, and maybe even a little (gasp!) fun for girls.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published August 2, 2012
10 people are currently reading
353 people want to read
About the author
Danica McKellar
21 books173 followersAmerican actress and mathematician.
She is best known for her role as Winnie Cooper in the television show The Wonder Years.
Now she is known as author of the nationally bestselling book, Math Doesn't Suck, which encourages and empowers middle-school girls with mathematics know-how.
Math Doesn't Suck was so popular McKellar wrote more novels about math, including Kiss My Math and Hot X. She also wrote a sequel to Math Doesn't Suck for years 6 through 9.
McKellar shows many people that just because you are an actor, that doesn't mean you are stupid. Although she is best known through The Wonder Years, that doesn't mean she isn't a wonderful writer and great mathematician.
She is best known for her role as Winnie Cooper in the television show The Wonder Years.
Now she is known as author of the nationally bestselling book, Math Doesn't Suck, which encourages and empowers middle-school girls with mathematics know-how.
Math Doesn't Suck was so popular McKellar wrote more novels about math, including Kiss My Math and Hot X. She also wrote a sequel to Math Doesn't Suck for years 6 through 9.
McKellar shows many people that just because you are an actor, that doesn't mean you are stupid. Although she is best known through The Wonder Years, that doesn't mean she isn't a wonderful writer and great mathematician.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 8, 2015
*Warning...I got a little ranty towards the end....
This was an extreme challenge for me to read as Geometry is my least favorite of the math subjects. Part of my reason for reading this was to find new and interesting ways to wrap my head around the concepts.
I did get some new ways to help with proofs. Using "if...thens" to create the links needed will help greatly when trying to teach proofs. I also came out with a better understanding of indirect proofs.
My struggle appeared probably a third of the way through this book. I know that this book is written for girls and that it is supposed to help with self esteem. However, as a 31 year old woman the examples, the illustrations, and doodles seemed to be a little shallow and overly girlie. What about the example for the tomboy, the young woman who isn't into boys, or a doodle of a girl who isn't stick thin with hips and boobs? I don't need a crown and wand to set apart the theorems. In previous books this never bothered me (as I didn't notice it) but now that my daughter, who's 3, is developing likes and dislikes, I want her to know that she doesn't have to live in a prissy, pink, glittery box (although I think she would love that kind of box, she'd probably want to bring in a bucket of dirt).
My last comment is Danica's goal is to show girls and the world that "math is sexy" and I'm not honestly sure that we need to make everything "sexy". Can't math and your competence at math be an expected quality like punctuality, cooperation, and general cleanliness?
This was an extreme challenge for me to read as Geometry is my least favorite of the math subjects. Part of my reason for reading this was to find new and interesting ways to wrap my head around the concepts.
I did get some new ways to help with proofs. Using "if...thens" to create the links needed will help greatly when trying to teach proofs. I also came out with a better understanding of indirect proofs.
My struggle appeared probably a third of the way through this book. I know that this book is written for girls and that it is supposed to help with self esteem. However, as a 31 year old woman the examples, the illustrations, and doodles seemed to be a little shallow and overly girlie. What about the example for the tomboy, the young woman who isn't into boys, or a doodle of a girl who isn't stick thin with hips and boobs? I don't need a crown and wand to set apart the theorems. In previous books this never bothered me (as I didn't notice it) but now that my daughter, who's 3, is developing likes and dislikes, I want her to know that she doesn't have to live in a prissy, pink, glittery box (although I think she would love that kind of box, she'd probably want to bring in a bucket of dirt).
My last comment is Danica's goal is to show girls and the world that "math is sexy" and I'm not honestly sure that we need to make everything "sexy". Can't math and your competence at math be an expected quality like punctuality, cooperation, and general cleanliness?
April 10, 2025
I love the concept of this book and the math is pretty decent. I want there to be a book that girls in middle school or high school would enjoy reading that would actually help them to like math in general and geometry in particular. The sad reality is in the US even today girls may not get that kind of encouragement in the classroom and may even be discouraged in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. So I finally read this all the way through, cover to cover, years after purchasing it, and this is not that book. It is overwhelmingly heteronormative throughout and crosses the line into homophobia in a few places. Why? Why would you write a book for a very targeted audience and then repeatedly and overtly exclude a segment of that audience?
I was not surprised because my daughter had warned me, but I didn't internalize how big a problem it was until I read the book for myself. The book has made itself a complete failure at its one reason for existing.
Is there a book like I am dreaming of that is specifically for girls, speaks directly to girls, and welcomes girls - all girls - into the world of people who are good at and like math? If you know of one please feel free to tell me in the comments.
I was not surprised because my daughter had warned me, but I didn't internalize how big a problem it was until I read the book for myself. The book has made itself a complete failure at its one reason for existing.
Is there a book like I am dreaming of that is specifically for girls, speaks directly to girls, and welcomes girls - all girls - into the world of people who are good at and like math? If you know of one please feel free to tell me in the comments.
June 15, 2013
Actress and mathematician Danica McKellar is best known to me as Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years TV show. Bright and pretty, but very elusive for the Kevin Arnold character.
Danica has written several books intended to get girls and women interested in science and mathematics. In this book, Ms. McKellar takes on Geometry specifically. Loaded with circles and triangles, the book includes many theorems and their proofs, in an easy-to-understand format that served as a refresher on my own high school Geometry class from about 50 years ago!
Best of all, the book contains all the answers to the many questions and quizzes, many of them stated as clever puzzles.
Danica has written several books intended to get girls and women interested in science and mathematics. In this book, Ms. McKellar takes on Geometry specifically. Loaded with circles and triangles, the book includes many theorems and their proofs, in an easy-to-understand format that served as a refresher on my own high school Geometry class from about 50 years ago!
Best of all, the book contains all the answers to the many questions and quizzes, many of them stated as clever puzzles.
June 3, 2016
Very helpful. I was able to relearn geometry in order to help my daughter with her homework. Between this book, Khan Academy and YouTube, I learned what I needed. Danica has a great way of explaining concepts, and of reminding you of underlying concepts that she explained in previous chapters. The format of this book was quite appealing. I don't think my 16 year old had as much patience to learn from Danica as I did, but having her read a small excerpt explanation worked when I could not verbalized a particular concept myself.
October 18, 2015
Love how she makes math simple for girls. Will be another book that I want to own for girls.
June 12, 2017
Not exactly what I was looking for. Heavily directed toward girls and has self esteem tips inside?! Could have and should have covered more about geometry and less about boys!
January 3, 2023
frl read this book for reference while completing my geometry class. v informational and helped
March 4, 2014
Danica McKellar, actor (The Wonder Years) and mathematician, gives geometry a unique feminine spin
in this must-have math reference book. In addition to being a rock solid resource for struggling
geometry students, McKellar’s goal seems to be to help readers see the value of geometry in their
everyday lives. To achieve this, she uses objects and situations from teen girls’ lives—like lipstick,
crushes, and shopping—to illustrate various concepts. Emphasizing the benefits of detuctive reasoning--a skill developed through mastering geometric proofs--she offers step-by-step proofs and simple memory tricks will help readers understand each point. McKellar also includes testimonials from women who have made math their career—not just as math teachers and professors, but as airplane designers, fashion magazine writers, software designers, and other professionals who use math every day.
in this must-have math reference book. In addition to being a rock solid resource for struggling
geometry students, McKellar’s goal seems to be to help readers see the value of geometry in their
everyday lives. To achieve this, she uses objects and situations from teen girls’ lives—like lipstick,
crushes, and shopping—to illustrate various concepts. Emphasizing the benefits of detuctive reasoning--a skill developed through mastering geometric proofs--she offers step-by-step proofs and simple memory tricks will help readers understand each point. McKellar also includes testimonials from women who have made math their career—not just as math teachers and professors, but as airplane designers, fashion magazine writers, software designers, and other professionals who use math every day.
October 7, 2012
If only I had this book available to me when I was actually taking math classes in high school. The topics were addressed at a level that made them comprehensible and paralleled them with ideas that had relevance to the average young lady. I especially liked that there were examples with answers to check your understanding and work.
This book and the others by Danica would be on my list of recommendations for anyone seeking help with comprehending basic mathematics.
This book and the others by Danica would be on my list of recommendations for anyone seeking help with comprehending basic mathematics.
July 26, 2013
Danica is a genius and the means in which she explores and exposes the geometric concepts is very plain and helpful. I love the fun way she introduces the complex notions with fun real-life scenarios that will peak learners interests. Fantastic read that could aid students from high school through college level.
May 15, 2016
I'll be perfectly honest, I'm marking this as read though I admittedly only made it about halfway. I enjoyed geometry in high school, and when I saw this for $1, I thought why not? The author does a great job explaining the concepts, but as a grown women, the silly girlishness got to me eventually. I can see teenage girls who don't love math loving this book though.
Read
April 25, 2016I love this series because it relates many topics teenage girls go through with math subjects that will interest you. This series has helped me with advancing in harder geometric problems and relate to problems I use everyday.
Read
August 13, 2012The Wonder Years girl wrote this, remember Winnie?
Want to read
November 18, 2012As heard on the NPR Books podcast.
August 16, 2012
combining math a girlly stuff is just awesome
Read
June 21, 2017dnf
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews