Secrets, Lies, and Algebra

Do The Math #1

by Wendy Lichtman

Using concepts from algebra and relating them to life, Tess navigates the waters of friendship, popularity, and family.

Math lover Tess has always used mathematical concepts to help her understand things in her life. She is surprised to find out how much math—and life—can change in eighth grade.

She also has to learn about injustice and ethics when a family friend mysteriously dies, and when she witnesses a cheating episode at her school and realizes that keeping silent about it, even to get in the good graces of the cutest boy in school, only leads to more trouble.

Are theorems and axioms about life fail-safe? Is there an absolute answer to everything, just as there are absolute numbers?

In the end, Tess decides that her life, like the infinity sign, is always changing, but that as long as she sticks to some key principles for herself, she can handle life’s uncertainties.

Genres: Young Adult, Mathematics, Realistic Fiction, Mystery, Middle Grade, Fiction, School

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 26, 2007

About the author

Wendy Lichtman writes personal essays for the Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Good Housekeeping, among other national publications. She holds a degree in mathematics and has tutored public-school students in algebra for the past several years. When she decided to write about a teen realizing that some questions have more than one right answer, algebra, with its unknowns and variables, seemed a perfect metaphor. Wendy Lichtman lives in Berkeley, California. (from the publisher's website)"

Reviews

[Philip Blake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wendy Lichtman’s Do the Math: Secrets, Lies, and Algebra depicts an 8th grade student named Tess. Tess has always relied on her mother, math, and her two best friends, but as she enters the eighth grade, she begins to question their trust. Tess views the world through math and constantly relates everyday situations to mathematical concepts, however, as she works through her algebra class, she finds that solutions can change and sometimes they do not exist. School has become complicated as well. Tess catches her 8th grade crush cheating on a history test. Life at home is even more dramatic as her mother silently suspects that the death of a coworker’s wife might be more than suicide. Tess is burdened with keeping these suspicions a secret but as that burden grows too great she wonders if her best friends are as trustworthy as she once thought.
As a future teacher, I am reviewing this book and analyzing its practical use within a mathematics classroom. Do the Math: Secrets, Lies, and Algebra examines a wide range of mathematical concepts as Tess relates her dramatic life to math. Her comparisons range from illustrating inequalities as the relation of popularity between two students to the association of life as a line or line segment, ending or continuing after death. Though some of these comparisons seem natural and flow with the plot of the story, others seem forced and out of place.
In chapter two, the students of Ms. Saltzman’s 8th grade algebra class were asked to plot graphs representing something meaningful to themselves. As Tess translates Nina’s death, the coworker’s wife mentioned earlier, into a graph, she forms two scenarios that represent Nina’s breathing rate as a function of time. One model illustrates a slow death with a gradual curve while the other illustrates a fast death with a sharp drop in the slope. This comparison flows with the text and seems like a natural way of incorporating math with the plot of the story.
Other chapters contain clever methods in incorporating mathematical concepts into the story as well. Within her notebook, Tess symbolizes her friend Miranda as |m|, an absolute value. She explains that Miranda turns negative ideas or situations positive and continues to explain absolute value in mathematical examples. She later explains Venn diagrams as she compares similarities and differences between herself and her two best friends. These comparisons, along with a handful of others, relate the plot of the story to math smoothly. However, as the book progresses, the mathematical connections begin to feel out of place.
As Tess discusses situations with her family, friends, and teachers, she connects the conversations to math. Many times, this method of incorporating math with the plot feels forced. After her father tells her she has a negative attitude, Tess explains that there is nothing wrong with being negative. She explains the number line through the placement of buildings and their relation east or west to a particular starting point. Buildings west are given negative values, while buildings east are given positive values. Tess loses herself in an explanation that is irrelevant to her father’s claim and finishes by stating that she simply has a west attitude.
Tess’s history teacher, Mr. Wright, is depicted as a math novice. He consistently makes incorrect remarks related to math. In chapter 14, Mr. Wright joyfully walks into his classroom after four students have received perfect grades on a test and writes the numbers 192, 77, 4, and 100 on the board. He claims that these numbers are prime numbers. This was likely his unusual way of referring to these numbers as important, however, Tess picks this apart in her mind stating that this was the “stupidest” math connection Mr. Wright has made and that none of these numbers are prime. Mr. Wright makes a few other statements throughout the book that Tess picks apart.
In conclusion, Do the Math: Secrets, Lies, and Algebra makes some great mathematical connections as well as some forced connections. The story loses its drive in the second half of the book as mathematical concepts feel out of place, examples become scarce, and the story begins to lack entertainment. Overall, Tess’s suspicion about the murder is uneventful and she simply talks about the suspicion throughout much of the book. Incorporating this book in a classroom is possible and may succeed in its purpose. However, based on the lack of climax and the unnatural way many of the mathematical concepts are introduced, I feel that some students will begin to question connections the author makes and lose interest as the story progresses. Based on this reflection, I would not likely use this book within my own classroom.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a quick, fun read---and an interesting twist on middle-school realistic fiction. The protagonist is an eighth-grade math geek who applies math principles to friendships, school issues, ethical problems, family relationships. Generally, it rang true---quirky, but not over-the-top cute. I can't decide what I think about the suicide?/murder? plot. It does seem pretty dark for a book about middle schoolers, but then that's the age when kids tend to encounter real grown-up issues and have to figure out what to think about them.

[Grizzly Bear · Rating 1 out of 5]

NO.

Tess, the main character of this book is seriously an unlikable character. She associates many things with math and takes it serious enough to the point of where she tends to correct her parents, her teacher, and anyone who makes a mathematical mistake.

Secrets, Lies, and Algebra

Tess.
Possible murder.
Math.

Don't be fooled by the decent length, math elements, or book cover. This book may seem like it's suitable for a younger person, but it isn't. Death/Suicide/Murder is something that kids(Ages 4-8. Possibly older.) would NOT want to spend their time thinking about. Secrets, Lies, and Algebra mainly revolves around Tess (No last name?...)and the death of another character named Nina.

The book is not enjoyable and is rather...boring.

Overall,I wouldn't read this again. Ever.

[Blythe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought that this book was very dull and superficial. Tess is obsessed with Richard, and then she talks about how she only looks good and is an "8" if her hair is okay and her outfit looks nice. I find that senseless, and we shouldn't have to read this kind of literature. I found all of the characters to be uninteresting; just like the book. Overall, I did not like Secrets, Lies, and Algebra by Wendy Litchman at all.

[Noelle Younger]

Secrets, Lies, and Algebra by Wendy Lichtman is a book about this middle school girl named Tess and she loves math. She loves how in a math equation there is always only one right answer and it never changes. She wishes her world could be like that. Her world seems to change and she can’t figure out why. She feels as if the world will never stop turning long enough for her to figure things out for herself.
This book is worth the time to read because it is so relatable. Sometimes you feel as if your world is spinning out of control and you don’t know what to do about it. Sometimes you find comfort in the littlest things in life, for Tess its math. You can really connect with this book in so many ways. She is a middle school girl and is trying to cope with the troubles of this time in her life, just as many people deal with their biggest problems at the same age as she. There is a great voice for this book, it makes a clear image of what the author is trying to say. This voice makes the book a lot more interesting and easier to read, and you can really imagine what is happening.
Life may be hard at one point but you will always find something to help you get through it. In this book Tess loves math, because every problem has only one answer and it never changes. That is the way she deals with all of the things that are happening in her life that may not be easy for her. This book is highly recommended, it really helps you realize that there is hope and that you can get through whatever you feel is never going to go away

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This book was quite... "mid" as the kids are saying these days. It has an excellent idea of integrating math into the protagonist's perspective, and I'll admit that those were rather creative.

However, the characters felt rather one-dimensional, and the plot was pretty low-stakes (to be fair, so are most middle school problems), considering murder was on the table.

I'm sure there are students who will enjoy it, but it's nothing too amazing here.

[zoe]

Secrets, Lies, and Algebra is about a girl in the 8th grade that is going through many different situations and conflicts in her life. She learns different ways to solve these problems, especially through math.
The question that came up a lot and that I can easily answer is, “what helps you empathize with your character(s)?” I am able to empathize with Tess because, being a female middle school student, I deal with many similar conflicts. I can connect with her feelings about these situations.
I have conflicts related to school grades, family, and reputation, as does Tess. Tess and I both love math and are very good at it. But unlike Tess, who solves a lot of her life problems with math, I am not logical enough to do that. Reading this book and looking at how Tess uses math, I learned how much math can do for our lives, and how many more ways math can be view and used. I also learned the different ways Tess solves her problems, and hope I they can help me with my conflicts, as they did for Tess.
I think Tess compares her life problems to math problems, because solving math problems are easy for her to solve and understand. Comparing her life problems to math problems helps her understand the meanings of her life conflicts. Also when she puts her problems into math problems, she feels the problem is easier to solve and comprehend.

[Julia G · Rating 5 out of 5]

By: Wendy Lichtman
183 pages
Realistic Fiction

This book is a bout a girl named Tess in the eighth grade. She is an only child who lives with her mom and dad. At school, all she worries about is math. She gets more stressed out about it than anything else. Mr. Richard, another teacher always comes in her classroom to copy some papers when Tess's teacher is in the room. He never really tells Tess why he doesn't use his copy machine and why he wont tell her what he is printing. Secrets? Lies? Thats all Tess can think about. On top of that, Tess had come home from school one day and her mom was talking on the phone to her dad in a very worried manner, but the odd thing was, was that Tess's mom is never home before her. Tess heard her mom say? " But why in the car, why would she be dead in the car?" Read this book to find out who she is talking about and what Mr. Richard was doing.

I really liked this book. What I liked about it was the suspense in it. I liked how there was two things we had to try to figure out. Also, I liked the characters and the back round to the story. I was not expecting to have a death in the story and having to figure out who did it, why they did it and was it really them? I liked how there was a other problem in the story about Mr. Richards as well. I think everyone should read this book because all of what gos on!!!

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good but there were to many math parts. I like math but sometimes I don't know what some of those are. Other then that it was a good book. The book is about an eighth grader called Tess and she is stuck telling her teacher that the most popular guy in school. In the end she does and now the boy is calling her names and being mean to her.

[Jessicalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book because it shows how a girl uses math problems to solve solutions in real life. I don't hate anything about this book. I really recommend this book a lot so I hope you guys could read this book because it actually could help you with your situations yes that's all so read this book<3=).

[Marylei · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about Tess in the 8th grade that is going through man different situations and conflicts in her life. She is an only child who lives with her parents. Tess is obsessed with Thomas. All she worries about is Math. She learns different ways to solve these problems, especially math. It was a good book but it has to many math parts.

[Kimkevin]

Look at my profile picture and the title of this book

[Leila Amos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book because it is almost like an advice book even though you don't know it in the beginning.

[Elena]

Secrets,Lies, and Algebra(spoiler alert)

This book is titled Secrets, Lies, and Algebra is is written by Wendy Lichtman. This book is realistic fiction, I chose this book to be realistic fiction because this book could be real but could also be real in someone's life. This book involved having middle school crushes and if you should decide to do the right thing or wrong thinking, even though you like someone.

In this book the main character is Tess and girl who is in 8th grade, she likes a boy named Richard. Tess comes home from school one day and sees her mom in the kitchen out the window from outside crying, she can hear her mom worried and Tess is confused because she doesn't know who her mom is talking too. Tess comes in and asked her mom what is wrong, her mom refuses to tell Tess what happened. Her dad comes home from work and hugs her mom, they eventually broke the news to Tess and explained that Nina was dead, Nina is Tess’s moms friends wife, the friend of Tess's mom is Rob. His wife has unexpectedly died and no one knows why not even Rob who is Nina's husband knows. Tess is heartbroken, but anxious to find out why an dhow Nina passed. She suspects that Rob killed Nina and doesn't know what to do. Tess and her friend Sammy sneak out one night to investigate the murder/crime scene, but they have to keep it a secret. She also has another problem to worry about, She is at school and her teach Mrs Wright asks her to get the Social Studies test that they have to take out to the copy room, as she walks into the copy room she notices her crush Richard coping the answer key, she doesn't know what to do. Everyone In the class takes test, they get their test results Richard and his 2 friends all get 100's on the test. She slowly tries to get evidence to prove that Richard and his friends cheated. Tess and Richard later get in a fight, Tess later explodes and tells Mr Wright that Richard and his friends cheated, They later get suspended from school for cheating. Later Tess finds out that Rob had nothing to do with Nina's death, Nina killed herself. Tess and her friends all go the the winter dance to appreciate all that they have done. The cases are now closed.

My favorite part was when Tess found out that Rob didn't kill Nina, because that really caught my attention and I wanted to keep reading to find out how and why she died, also if Rob had anything to do with it. When I found out that Nina killed herself I was frustrated because it didn't tell how she killed herself and I feel like that would be a important part in the book.
This book was well put together and I like how they split the main parts up so that you can focus on the 2 main parts of the investigations. If I would rate this book a 4 because I didn't like when they left out some details that would be very important.
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[Sheila Bracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading a book about writing across the curriculum, I stumbled upon this book about an 8th grade girl who loves math and uses it to help her figure out problems in the real world. One big problem she stumbles upon is whether or not to report a classmate’s having cheated on a test. Another is how to handle her mother’s declaration about a friend possibly having killed his wife and made it look like suicide.
In addition to these moral conundrums, Tess has typical middle school girl problems with parents and friends and clothes and boys. It’s funny to see that way Tess utilizes math–correcting her history teacher and explaining concepts to her parents–in order to support her arguments and make sense of the world. In my years in the classroom, I’ve seen kids do some pretty nifty mental calculations, but I’ve never heard anyone use it to explain relationships.
The book was published in 2007, so the references to cell phones and computers are dated; however, other things hold up well. Middle school teachers will recognize typical student behaviors–drawing on hands and arms to create temporary tattoos and excusing cheating–as well as some typical teacher behaviors–circulating around the room in order to check in with students as they work, and feeling crushed with students fail to meet expectations. Other redeeming characteristics: the book has fewer than 200 pages, it mentions new math concepts in each chapter, and it has no inappropriate content.
In addition to adding this title to my in-class library, I plan to make the math teachers aware of it along with its sequel Do the Math: The Writing on the Wall. Perhaps they will figure out some ingenious ways of using it to enhance their curriculum. And maybe some students will read it and learn something that gives them a better understanding of algebra. 3.5

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bam! Is one that I would use to describe my book because so many things happened all of a sudden. This book was really boring because everything was really dragged out. Everything interesting that happened in this book happen all at once. My favorite character in the book was the main character Tess. I couldn't really relate to her that much, however tess a wiz at algebra. Now I am no wiz at algebra, but I am taking it this year. Tess relates math to pretty much everything she encounters in her life and some of the formulas and symbols she used I knew what they were and how to solve for them. This book was super easy to understand because everything was laid out and repeated more than once, so I was never lost. The plot of this book was kinda believable and kinda not. I don't think it is believable because I don't think all the bad things that happened in the book would really all happen at once. I think the book is believable because all the characters remind me of real people and do things real people would do. I think someone who likes math and needs an easy read would really enjoy this book. However if you like a more complex read,like myself, and don't just like everything to be laid out right in front of you, then this is probably not the book for you.

[Fiona Burgos · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Secret, Lies, and Algebra" by Wendy Lichtman is not a very good book. Tess is an 8th grader who has an odd obsession with math. In the beginning of the story, she hears that her mom's friend's wife committed suicide. Suicide/murder isn't something pleasant, and I find it irregular that suicide/murder would be one of the topics focused in this story. Tess' mom thinks Robert, the mom's friend, might've murdered his wife, and Tess feels the idea should be reported to the police. Tess also was told to not tell anyone, but Tess still 3 people; Sammy, who ended up telling a lot of people, Miranda, who felt that Tess should mind her own business, and Tess' social studies teacher Mr. Wright. This proves Tess is a nosy and annoying person who always has to correct everyone when it comes to math. The rest of the book is Tess trying to find out if Robert did murder his wife, or if he didn't.
As I was reading this book, I started to lose my interest. The book was very boring and I do not recommend .

[Olivia Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wendy Lichtman provides a cute book for young readers who like or dislike math. The book has a simple plot line with very easy-to-understand language. While she does a good job at providing a fun and exciting storyline, the mathematical terms and explanations throughout the book seem to be shoved in anywhere rather than smoothly including them where they are fit. The reason I gave 3 stars is just because the book is very cheesy and easy to predict, even for a late elementary or middle school reader. The characters are shallowly developed, and the word usage does not differ very much.

The book would be a good book for teachers to assign to their 4th-8th grade math students to read for an extra credit assignment or something of the sort, because it does a great job of casually introducing important math topics that students in that age range can look forward to. Other than for that purpose, this book does little else to benefit a student other than the math vocabulary. The book is very easy to understand and is not very thought provoking.

[Monica Caldicott]

Write on board as you say it:
1 math whiz < I popular boy
1 stolen test (x)
3 cheaters (y)
2 best friends (z) who can't keep a secret
Winter dance (d)
 (1x/3y-2z)d = ?

Can Tess find the solutions?

 Tess is having difficulties navigating the troubled waters of eighth grade. Her best friends are spilling her secrets, a cute classmate's cheated on a test and she can't decide whether or not to tell on him, and she believes that a family friend may have murdered his wife. All a girl can depend on is mathematics and, even then, Tess is learning that the answers aren't as simple as she wishes they were.

[Kira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute little thing despite being a murder mystery lol and I am absolutely thrilled to have picked it up on a whim!

Tess was completely MY kinda character and I loved her math geekiness, even all the mathematics concepts explained throughout the book kept me entertained and I didn't feel bored at any point. This all interloped with a "murder mystery" element was an absolute blast. I just loved how every chapter of the book explained a different concept and the author managed to relay it all to the readers in a unique way -thrpugh real life scenarios.

I definitely need to read more books like this!

[Rosa Dracos99 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leída en compañía de mi sobrina, para una lectura obligatoria del cole. Como ella odia las mates y a mí siempre me han gustado, la íbamos leyendo y comentando.
Nos explica como una chica en su último año previo al instituto, lo ve todo a través de las matemáticas y las aplica a su vida diaria: sus relaciones con los compañeros de clase, con sus padres, con las amigas, con los novios; en sus actividades...
Aunque está bien escrita, con personajes coherentes, la historia es un poco anodina. A mi sobrina (12 años) no le gustó nada!!!

[Cherise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really different for me because I don��t like math I was really skeptical but the title was very interesting Secrets, Lies, and Algebra as I was reading I it incorporated math but in a different kind of way it definitely had secrets, lies, and Algebra I would definitely read this again but I feel like it was missing something but I loved either way it was narrated by and 8th grader which captured my interest the most and it had a lot of different backgrounds to the story I personally loved it.

[Casey Eccles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for young adults, especially middle school girls. It paints a true picture about friendships and betrayal that all too often happens with middle school kids. It also would resonate with tweens and teens who are mathematically inclined - or who just think outside the "trendy" mind.

It could also be used to teach algebraic situations with real life applications.

The murder mystery could be a little unbelievable, but I haven't made a concrete decision yet.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lichtman, Wendy Secrets, Lies and Algebra. pgs. 188 Greenwillow (Harper). Language-G; Sexual Content-G; Violence-G;

Tess loves algebra. She uses it as a secret code in her journal. When different problems are thrown at her she uses her secret code to help solve them. Tess is in a tight spot. I liked this book, but I wouldn't read it over and over again. I think it is kind of confusing the way the author uses algebra as a code.

EL, MS - OPTIONAL. Student Reviewer: SH

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y’all idk what a 25 year old woman doing reading this book but I picked it up off the shelf and read it in the cafe if B&N in an hour lol. It was great. Made me laugh and try to remember concepts from my math classes 😂 I find myself wanting to read the next one just for fun. No idea why some comments say middle schoolers wouldn’t want to read about serious topics like murder/suicide since I remember being ultra interested in anything dark and reflective of my own moodiness lol.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’m cleaning out some of my unread books and i decided to speed through this one. it was a cute book (with a surprise murder element) which used math to explain the world of a girl in grade 8.
the comparisons and mathematical applications were really good and there were a few lines that i saved because i was quite impressed by how clever they were!
i’m going to leave it in the lending library downtown in hopes that a little girl who loves math finds it and enjoys it. 💖✨

[Maesa Waheed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friday, 20, 2015

Tess has a lot of emotions that make her do forbidden things. As her crush Richard comes to the copy room she lets him copy a document. It is normally forbidden to let other students copy a document without the teachers permission. She sees what he copies and remarks that it is the test they will pass. "Richard had obviously stolen the test of Mr. wright's desk and was making a copy so he could put the original one back and not get caught" (Lichtman 4). Sometimes the emotions make Tess get crazy.


Tess dreams about being together with Richard, which will probably stay a dream. Richard is one of the 'cool' guys. Richard is one of the best basketball players in their school and very popular. Tess has to do once a week 300 copies of the newspaper. "It's my job to make three hundred copies of the newsletter every Thursday" (Lichtman 1). In school coolness is overrated.


Tess likes to have her life simple just like in math. She doesn't want to have things change because of one variable. She isn't used to that many changes which could happen because one event in her life was bad. She's very good at math and wants to have it as lifestyle. "In math, if a number is greater than or less than another one, that never changes" ( Lichtman 5). Eighth grade changes life for a lot of people, not only for Tess.


The story teaches a lot about life and how it can change from one moment to the other. Tess knew her life as unchange able. She was used to have one solution for every problem and only one. But everything changes, this is one of the things Tess does not want to understand. " Now that I know Richard stole the U.S. Constitution test, and he knows I know, I think our inequality may have changed" (Lichtman 5). Life has a lot surprises ready that Tess will still have to experience.



Friday, 6, 2015

Tess finds out that life has a lot of surprises and it is never predictable. As Tess enters she gets to know that her mother’s best friend’s wife is dead. Nina is dead because she locked herself in the garage and left the motor on, so that the poison can kill her, this is what they think until now. Her mother has another theory. “My mother’s voice was shaking ‘But I don’t think so.’...’I think rob was involved’” (Lichtman 7). Tess can’t believe that her mother accuses her best friend for killing his own wife, which is only the beginning of the story.


Tess is beginning to have a lot of changes at once which is one of the main conflicts. Tess’ parents start telling the things that happen in their life’s. As Nina died her mother told it to her directly, this shows that her mother is treating her like an adult. Tess gets to understand better the things that happen around here, which shows also that she is growing not physically but mentally.”But that’s not what Rob had meant by ’gone’” (Lichtman 16). This story shows what a lot of children experience around this age.


Tess is experiencing a lot of feelings, which are very unusual at this age. As Tess hears about Nina’s death she finds somebody or something to hold on. “Even though I knew I’d never hand it in, I tore off a sheet of graph paper and tried to draw Nina’s death” (Lichtman 11). As Tess had a problem in her life she needed to do in math or rely it to math. Tess loves math and is very good in it, but she needs everything to be able to be solved in a mathematical way. Some people need different things to feel better after a person had died.


In every story there is a theme or a life lesson to know. In the story Trust plays a big role. Tess’ mother trust’s her daughter very much and tells Tess all she has on her heart, even if it is a huge problem or a huge secret. As Nina dies Tess’ mother shows a lot of trust to her daughter by telling Tess her opinion about this story. “My mother’s voice was shaking ‘But I don’t think so.’...’I think rob was involved’” (Lichtman 7). A lot of parents tell their children that they are trusted which is not very true in some cases.

Sunday, 15 March, 2015

Tess is very intelligent and criticizes her teachers as they are doing mistakes in her mind. As the history test was almost going to begin, the history teacher makes a mistake and Tess thinks about what the teacher should have been saying. “‘This test is of infinite importance’ is what he said, which is, of course, ridiculous” (Lichtman 32). As her teacher makes another mistake she corrects him again. “This is another perfect example of how hard math is for Mr. Wright” (Lichtman 33). Some things change in life some not.

For Tess, math begins to change, just like her life. Before she came to 8th grade math was always the same. “And math, because it was the place where something was either right or wrong, and where there was an answer to every problem” (Lichtman 30). As she came to 8th grade everything changed. There were intercepts, exponents, no solutions, etc. which change the whole equation. Life is hard, with a lot of obstacles to pass through.

Tess’ favourite class is math, which is very obvious. She relates her life to math. When she has a problem she tries to solve it in a way where math is included. When she is in class she finds out new words that have a relation to math and to her life. “’Tessellation’ I repeated ‘I like that’” (Lichtman 26). Tess has a lot of reasons why math is playing a big role in her life.

[catie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m so sad both of the books i’ve read in 2019 so far are both 2 stars. I really hope i read some good ones next. I’m planning on starting The Hate U Give tomorrow so i’m not that nervous i’ll have another 2 star. Unless I finish The Girl I Used To Be first. Have a feeling it’s only gonna be a 3 star read

[Carla Craddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read

For all the people in the world who asked “when will I ever use this in ‘real life’ when in math class..this book has the answers! Charming, connected, and a middle-schoolers ideal book!

[Lisa Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it, not sure I would let an eight grader read it. Give it a quick read, before hand or there could be some heavey discussions about murder. You can initiate a lot of good character conversations about friendships and knowing who you might trust as an eight grader.