I plugged through this book often using the solution guides on the website. I think her books are excellent for help for teen girls, perhaps in a tutoring situation with a girl tutor. ( )

I definitely can see teachers using this book in high school Algebra classes, especially to grab the attention of females in the classroom. This book is put together very similar to how a magazine is. The book will jump around, and insert little facts or “What’s it called?” sections that give the reader a break from the main content. It also contains quizzes which deal with the math classroom, and students would enjoy taking. I would recommend using this book as more of an extension to the lesson. The book does a decent job at showing their steps, however I still feel that the student would need to have some idea of the subject before reading.

The book has an excellent index in the back. I also like the footnotes, the author reminds students of previous terms, or they actually will define a term that the student may or may not know in the footnotes. Overall, this book would definitely spark the interests of high school female students. ( )

The book is well thought out to engage the female reader. Even though majority of the content can be used by anyone, the author add in extra quizzes and stories like you would find in teenage magazines like Seventeen to peak the interest of the female reader. The sections are categorized from simple to complex as you would find in any Algebra textbook, so this book can be used in conjunction with a textbook without a student trying to figure out where they need to be. The chapters in each section are titled for the age group of girls to add a little extra fun to the information.
This is a book I would add to my classroom library for students to use as needed. Plus there are extra problems for students to use. And I like how the answers aren't directly on the page, making the students work the problems out and not just looking at the answers. ( )

This is a great book for helping students who are afraid of math become confident in math. It gives easy to follow step-by-step instructions and detailed solutions to problems. This book is written with comments that appeal to girls rather than boys, but the author's explanations and solutions can be used in any Algebra I class. The chapters are organized from easy to difficult with each chapter's contents mentioning previously learned concepts. The author then applies these previously learned topics or concepts to new topics/concepts. It's a scaffolding effect, which teachers love to use. The author is highly qualified to write about this topic. This book contains no bibliography. ( )

This is the second of Danica McKellar's books I am reviewing. The first was Kiss MY Math which I found too crowded to be extremely helpful as a math text book, but acceptable as a reference. The first book I found great as a positive supportive book to encourage academic achievement for girls, especially in math and science.
Hot X Algebra Exposed switches to Penguin Publisher. I rarely find a book published by Penguin that I do not find great, even if I am not interested in its subject. This book has all of the extensive girl support features that I liked about Kiss MY Math, but has significantly improved in the specialized and reference book categories. The covers of both books are very similar with the movie star photo and teaser articles that make me think of Seventeen magazine. I am fine with that. Anything that will make a girl pick up this book is great. The format is standard specialized with chapters organized around topics proceeding from more simple to complex. There are catchy (? but not to me) super titles. The index is complete and there are the same graphic feature motifs that allow a reader to locate special type of features by flipping through the book. The big difference with Hot X is that it so much less crowded, with a much less frenetic pace. I actually find her section on Functions and her explanations about whether an equation represents a function or just a relation superior to most text books I have used. I will definitely use this book as a resource for Algebra I and also for Algebra II. The end chapters contain many fresh approaches to tackling word problems. This book will both sit on my lending book shelf for students and another copy will remain for my own use in finding fresh approaches. As a support book for teen girls, it offers lots of support for academic effort especially in math and science, but a lot less of the very young teen stuff about do boys like smart girls. There are lots of true life stories and many serious spots about how uneducated women are more likely to be trapped in abusive marriages because no education means diffculty supporting oneself and children. There are many sections on things such as Confessional: How Can I Focus and Avoid Distractions? This will definitely be a book I use as a resource as a math teacher. ( )