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

by Danica McKellar

From a well-known actress and math genius—a groundbreaking guide to mathematics for middle school girls, their parents, and educators

As the math education crisis in this country continues to make headlines, research continues to prove that it is in middle school when math scores begin to drop—especially for girls—in large part due to the relentless social conditioning that tells girls they “can't do” math, and that math is “uncool.” Young girls today need strong female role models to embrace the idea that it's okay to be smart—in fact, it's sexy to be smart!

It's Danica McKellar's mission to be this role model, and demonstrate on a large scale that math doesn't suck. In this fun and accessible guide, McKellar—dubbed a “math superstar” by The New York Times—gives girls and their parents the tools they need to master the math concepts that confuse middle-schoolers most, including fractions, percentages, pre-algebra, and more. The book features hip, real-world examples, step-by-step instruction, and engaging stories of Danica's own childhood struggles in math (and stardom). In addition, borrowing from the style of today's teen magazines, it even includes a Math Horoscope section, Math Personality Quizzes, and Real-Life Testimonials—ultimately revealing why math is easier and cooler than readers think.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mathematics, Education, Reference, Childrens, Teaching, Self Help

320 pages, Hardcover

First published August 2, 2007

About the author

American 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.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a middle-school student by a long shot--I'm a woman in her late 20s with a lifelong fear of math--but found this book to be a refreshing refresher course. Is it silly? You betcha! Did I skip the quizzes and wince at some of the examples? Yes and yes. But it's also encouraging and it works. I read through the whole thing in a couple of days, will probably go back and do some of the "homework".

I have a recurring nightmare in which I haven't passed my high school math course and therefore my high school and college diplomas are void. The dream ends with me being forced to re-enroll in the 9th grade. Oh, the horror! I figured it was time to put an end to my irrational math phobia.

[Jada · Rating 4 out of 5]

While part of me is a good bit disturbed by all of the "girly-ness" (and my junior high self would be completely insulted), I would, and likely will, promote this book. It is a fact that many girls (and boys as well) are all tied up in the world that they are told is supposed to be theirs - makeup, celebrities, shopping, waxing(?!?), etc. I think this book could do a nice job of reaching those girls who could care less for something if it didn't involve these things.

McKellar draws girls in with the usual, then she actually talks about some worthwhile things without sounding preachy, but like a friend. Sure she pushes the "smart is sexy, and you want to be sexy, right?" - but isn't it? But she also talks about what studying math can do for your own health and happiness. And her math is clear and fun, with relevant, up-to-date examples - it's playful and that's good for anyone learning math.

The horoscopes do irk me, but hopefully, if this book works, it's readers will develop a sense of logic and reason and eventually come to realize that horoscopes are a load of unfounded crap. Hopefully they'll even develop a sense of self without being told who they are.

Overall, I think this is a great book that could get and keep a lot of girls out there interested in math. I'm happy to see that all 20 out of 27 copies at 4 surrounding library systems are currently checked out.

[Heather Hulse · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a middle school math teacher, I would recommend this book to a very select group of girls. You should really know a student before recommending this book. Recommend it to the wrong student and I think they could be very offended. This is only for the girly girl. As a not so girly girl myself, I was a little offended at how girly the book actually was. But, after I got past the girly-ness, the book does have great real-world examples that I might use in my classroom after a bit of "tweaking."

[Kathrynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book and the humor that the author put into explaining math concepts. This book is definitely written for the female persuasion as most of the examples pertain to buying nail polish, shopping (sales and percents off), comparing boyfriends (finding greatest common factor), making beaded friendship bracelets (factoring), etc.

I found most of the material in 3/4 of this book 5th grade level math. Factoring, fractions, adding with common denominators, finding common denominators, multiplying (canceling), finding greatest common factor, etc., + - x / with decimals and percents

Only after Chapter 17 did I find new material for my 7th grader. There isn't any geometry in this book and that is where my 7th grader is in 7th grade math.

I did enjoy reading some of the memory tricks and believe they would be valuable for anyone (male/female) (teacher/student) struggling with math or teaching.

The book is well laid out, lots of examples and cuteness. There is a silly section on your "math horoscope" and that's all I'll say about that.

If anyone would like to know the other chapters or material covered, here they are:

Part 1: Factors and Multiples Don't Suck
Chapter 1, How to Make a Killing on eBay (prime #'s and prime factorization)

Chapter 2, Do you still have a crush on him? (greatest common factor)

Chapter 3, You can never have too many shoes (multiples and lowest common multiple)

Part 2, Fractions Don't Suck
Chapter 4, Everything you ever wanted to know about pizza but were afraid to ask (fractions)

Chapter 5, How many iced lattes can these actors drink? (x / fractions and reciprocals)

Chapter 6, When to seriously stop raiding the fridge (equivalent fractions and reducing)

Chapter 7, Is your sister trying to cheat you out of your fair share? (comparing fractions)

Chapter 8, How much do you and your best friend have in common (common denominators--+-)

Chapter 9, Choosing the perfect necklace (complex fractions)

Part 3: Decimals Don't Suck
Chapter 10, What every savvy shopper should know (decimals)

Chapter 11, Why Calculators would make terrible boyfriends

Chapter 12, How to entertain yourself while babysitting a devil child (converting deicmals to fractions)

Part 4: Percents join the party...and they don't suck either.
Chapter 13, Sale of the century (converting percents to/from decimals and fractions)

Chapter 14, A choreographed performance (mixing fractions, decimals, and percents)

Part 5, Word problem's don't suck
Chapter 15, The universal language of love...and math (intro to word problems)

Chapter 16, Does she ever get off the phone? (ratios)

Chapter 17, The perks of a southern drawl (rates and unit rates)

Chapter 18, Filmmaker Extraordinaire (proportions)

Chapter 19, Are you drinking enough water? (unit conversions)

Part 6, Even Algebra Doesn't Suck
Chapter 20, Who's the cute new foreign exchange student? (intro to solving for x)

Chapter 21, Romeo and Juliet (intro to solving for x in word problems)

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Wonder (years) where Danica McKellar has been? Doing math!"

I haven't read this yet, but can't wait. Feel free to use the above for blurbs.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so like you've seen this drop-dead gorgeous dress at a boutique and it costs $62. Well, you've only got $50 bucks...what's a girl to do???

You wait 'til it goes on sale! Ok, so like the boutique is having a 1/5 off and no tax sale, yippee!! But do you have enough money to get the dress of your dreams?? Let's find out...

Danica McKellar uses practical stories like these to make math a necessity for living, even when you're a middle school girl. Her mathematic tips are easily explained.

We are talking basic math here...no stellar realizations that will land you AP math your freshman year...but Danica DOES take the stress out of doing math. Sprinkled throughout the book are pictures & stories of beautiful adult women at some swanky party who use math in their careers, but had some sort of awful math experience as girls. "Danica's Diary" entries also offer words of hope and advice for surviving math.

An easy quick read, with a good table of contents and index to help you get right to the section of math you are needing. Would be a great gift for a middle school girl.

Danica makes math fun, while building a girl's confidence a the same time. Basically, this star/math genius pulls off what she's trying to attempt here.

[Susan D'Entremont · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on the covers of Danica McKellar's books - glamorous author and goofy names - I never would have picked them up, although I suppose the point is to appeal to teen girls, not their middle-aged mothers. When I learned that McKellar is an award-winning scientist/mathematician with a theorem named after her, I looked twice.

I love this book! It explains concepts in several different ways so if you or your child don't understand one explanation, you can move to another one. It also has lots of shortcuts and tips that make math easier. Scattered throughout all her math books are vignettes about women who have exciting jobs that use math, how to deal with test anxiety, and why being smart is cool.

There are not many practice problems in this book. The author did this on purpose - she states in the introduction that there are lots of resources for more problems. This book is more of an explanation of how math works. There are a small number of problems - about 5 - in each section. What I do with my daughter is have her to the problems in the book. If she does them with no trouble, we move on the the next section. If she has trouble, I find problems on the topic in other math books for her to practice.

The style is breezy and chatty, and might get annoying to adults or serious math students after a while. It is also very much oriented to girls, which in one sense is good because it makes girls feel comfortable with math and holds their interest. On the other hand, her tips and approaches would be useful for all students, so parents and teachers may want to use the ideas to help all students even if boys wouldn't be caught dead reading it themselves.

[sadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danica McKellar was to math what Crash Course was to history for me. Even at parts of this book that felt targeted at a younger student (I read this at about 10 years old), the idea that the concepts could be made s0 simple, fun, or even ridiculous took away the intimidation factor. I was taking math with kids a grade above me and clung to this book and the sequel for dear life.

To this day, when faced with a complicated problem, I translate everything into more fun terms (switching out long chemical names for sugar, flour, etc.). While in high school, I tutored younger students, and it was SO helpful to mimic the methods in this book to make new concepts less intimidating for the kids. I think reading this book would be most helpful to anyone tutoring in middle school math: it's a fun review and includes fun ideas for how to break down larger concepts for younger students, especially those who have already started to believe they intrinsically suck at math.

[dolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

i pretty much used all of danica mckellar's books as math textbooks in middle and high school. they were fun with all of the quizzes and interviews and incredibly informative

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can recommend these for a middle school girl who needs some extra tips on math. This isn’t at all a full curriculum (I read found it as a math work suggestion in the Teen Liberation Handbook) but could certainly give a boost. It could also boost a [homeschool] parent who’s trying to help their kid with math. Boys could certainly read this book for the help, he just has to be okay with the “girly” references. And honestly we need more boys who are good wit that. I read some reviewers didn’t like those super-fem references themselves but as I see it these books are to help girls get math and even enjoy it without feeling they have to fit one stereotype or another.

[Julie Akeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really does help, I'm 46 and want to get over my math phobia and this helps.

[Richard Gartee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library to preview it before buying it for my great-niece. This book is excellent at what it sets out to do, which is encourage young women to do well in math. Danica McKellar is not only a beautiful TV star but something of a math genius as well. This book talks about math problems using examples of fingernail polish, dresses, and relationships with boys. The math is solid and the writing will engage any middle school girl. She also has several tricks for quickly solving math problems, finding factors, etc. that even I didn't know. So an adult can learn something here as well. Unfortunately, I don't think you can get a math challenged boy to read this as it is so thoroughly inundated with examples intended to appeal to females. In addition to math, the book also gives girls practical advice on taking tests, reducing stress, healthy diet, and hydration.
Danica McKellar has written several more books introducing girls to per-algebra, algebra, and geometry. Whether the girl in your life loves math already or hates it, she will enjoy this book and benefit from it.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to relearn math after 35 years to help my nephew with college math. These books are written for preteen & teen girls, but don't let that deter you because they are excellent sources for learning or relearning math. I got them from the library first, but then bought the 1st three for reference.

Ms. McKellar goes into exacting detail to explain why something is done to numbers without dumbing down the material. I've gone through Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail, Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss, and Hot X: Algebra Exposed. Looking forward to Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape. Wish she had an Algebra II and/or College Algebra and hope she keeps writing these excellent books!

[Heather Speer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not just for middle-schoolers...I'm nearly 30 and have struggled with math starting in the 8th grade. Now that I have to know math again to try to get accepted into a master's program, I'm trying to start from where I last truly understood math and work my way back up. Danica's book is really helpful in breaking down different topics and showing different ways to work the problems. Most of the topics were easy for me but I pinpointed a few trouble spots. The best thing about this book, for me, is that it took me from saying "I suck at math" to "I know all of the math up to this point, but I don't remember how to convert decimals to fractions", which gives me a point to work from! There are not a lot of practice problems within the book, but there's a resource section at the back to find extra help. I found this book to be a great help, and I'm definitely planning to check out her other math books, particularly the algebra one!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, girls can do math. Danika McKellar (the actress who played Winnie in "The Wonder Years" T.V. show) grew up and earned a degree in Mathematics from UCLA. She wrote this book to help middle school girls understand that they can be girls and also be good at math. Full of fun analogies that young girls can relate to -- for example, improper fractions are like sneakers while mixed numbers are like high heals, (you use improper fractions to do most everything, but if you want to present an answer in a formal way, you write it as an improper fraction), it presents clear explanations for some of the mathematics topics middle schoolers find most difficult. Lots of fun to read! AND some great tips!

[Kevyn]

"OMG", I thought as I walked down the hallway to math class. It was mid-year, in 7th grade. I was about to get my math test back... which I probably failed. If you get this feeling right before you get every math test back, then this book is perfect for you. Even kids in their early high school years may find this book useful because it takes middle school math and puts it into a way the middle school kids (and high school kids) can understand. This book is for anyone but it specifically targets girls. You are probably thinking, "Even if i have this book, there is no way i can teach myself!" But you would be shocked. The way the math in this book is taught is very simple, compared to the way many middle school teachers teach. You CAN teach yourself!

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me so much! I did well on my college placement test and I give lots of the credit to this book. The way she teaches stuck in my mind. No doubt I do have to work on a couple of areas in math but there was no way I would have been able to do as well as I did without having consulted this book. I am definitely considering getting the other 2 books she has written. Just in case I need more refreshing. I would definitely recommend this book to someone who has been out of school for more than a couple years and needs a refresher. Lots of little hints and shortcuts too. My son also helped me and between this book and his brains I was able to accomplish my goal.

[Devon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! I recommend it to anyone that needs a little reminder of how to do some middle school math. I had to do some math homework over the summer to review certain topics before i skipped a grade. When i got stuck, i cracked open this book, turned to a certain chapter, and suddenly i understood perfectly what my homework wanted me to do! I love it! Danica ties middle school drama into perfect math situations. You can really understand how to do the work. I'm in algebra, and this book is totally helping.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

A condescension to young women.



Grow up to be Joan Birman if you want, girls. She began her mathematical career AFTER raising 3 kids, then lit the world on fire with beauty.
https://www.math.columbia.edu/~jb/my-...



By the way, here is the paper McKellar famously coauthored. http://danicamckellar.com/pdf/percola... Knowledgeable opinion obviously ranks this far below Mirzkani, Birman, Starkston, and so on. (list of women mathematicians https://qr.ae/TUn1yh)

[Serena Prieto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this book in grade 6 and used it all the way through college! I'm not a girly girl but it was immensely helpful for me, both mathematically and when it came to explaining concepts to my scribes. (I'm disabled and can't write.) I would use it to show them how to show my work. Great book! Danica McKellar has found a need and filled it.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is artfully written with various creative parts. The troubleshooting guide is so unique at the end. If you have questions, Danica has answers. The only problem is I wanted more advise on algebra. Maybe a different book.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Testimony
I am 39 years old. I have struggled with math my whole life. I have 20 years of training and job experience as an accountant/bookkeeper (and a very good one) but not the education. I can take you back to the exact day I knew I was in trouble with math. The summer between 6th and 7th grade my family moved and I switched schools. In my new school I was on par in all subjects except math. I was starting 7th grade with the absolute most basic math knowledge ~ add, subtract, multiply, divide. That's it. In my new school and apparently in most schools that basic math was mastered by 4th grade. I was THREE YEARS behind. I struggled my way through middle and high school, opting out of math classes every chance I got. When it came to testing, I was a good guesser. I maintained a B average in math by guessing my way through the exams. I had NO IDEA what I was doing. Math class might as well have been Greek class to me. I didn't know Greek either. My total lack of math knowledge culminated my first day of college with College Algebra. It was a disaster. I couldn't guess my way through it. I utterly failed College Algebra... TWICE! Now at 39 years old, I have the opportunity to go back to school and finish my degree, but I have to pass College Algebra. I've got a year before I have to take the class so I went to the library and brought home a HUGE stack of math aid/help books, including this one.
Y'all by the end of the first week I was weeping tears of JOY! In one week I had taken my time working through the first few chapters on Fractions and I had learned them! Before I started this book, the thought of just trying to reduce a fraction to its simplest form or even find the common denominator of two fractions was emotionally frustrating to me (I had no idea how to do anything like that) ~ a week later and I'm working through the Complex Fractions on Pages 108-109 with ease. I sent photos of my "work" to my family and we were all excited! If someone like Danica had set down with me that first week of 7th grade and worked with me like Danica did in this book I think my life would be completely different.
There's so much more to this book than just fractions and Danica McKellar wrote three more math books after this. I've still got a long way to go before I'll be ready to master College Algebra but this is a great start!
Review
Yes, this book is written for middle school girly girls. Yes, its designed to look like a teenage gossip magazine with love quizzes and horoscopes, but it teaches math! If you've watched Danica McKellar in Hallmark movies then you can hear her voice and charming personality coming through the pages of this book as she shares funny and memorable examples and tricks for learning math.
If you're a math teacher, math tutor, or just a parent trying to help your kid with math homework ~ this is a great book for you and the kids to work through together. This is not a textbook, so for teachers and tutors who are sticklers for procedure ~ by all means, teach math in the most procedural and boring way possible ~ and then think about the kids like me sitting in your class, lost, confused, and just guessing our way through this alien world of math, and try a different bag of tricks to help us learn too.
If you're decades past high school and struggling with anything beyond the absolute most basic math like I was ~ give this book a try and then treat yourself to a celebration dinner like I did!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a student, I got by in math just with memorization. I could do the problems, but I can't say I understood math or that I used more than percentages or price comparisons at the grocery store..

After marrying a mathematician and electrical engineer, my husband said that fractions and solving for X are a part of daily life. I have been challenged to do math more, but still didn't see how algebra could be used in my daily life. Now, I do. I didn't realize that unit conversions or recipe conversions were algebra.

Going through this book, I remembered a lot of the concepts, but now I understand when to use them and why it works. I got the word problems easily (thanks to Danica for not making them about two trains leaving their station at different times. .).

In junior high, I'd been told that I didn't do the problems correctly, especially when solving for X. Now, I see that I may have set up the solution incorrectly as Danica explains on page 253. Sometimes adding and subtracting come first. I got the solutions correct this time.

I liked the learning style quiz on pages 235-240 by Dr. Robyn Landow. It seemed accurate and acknowledged visual learners like me.

Overall, this was a better math experience than I had in junior high school.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book didn't suck. Actually it was VERY good. The author does a great job of presenting a multitude of ways to work fractions and decimals in this book. She gives lots of mnemonics that help to solidify the information for future use. I think that this would be a GREAT help to anyone having difficulty with these principles (and even be helpful of they are doing well). Now if I could only get my kids to read it...

I highly recommend it, it was a very interesting and worthwhile read. I look forward to reading others in the series.

[Miranda Summerset · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 STARS! Okay I have a confession.....I'm scared of math. Picking this book up felt like facing one of my biggest fears (I'm not at all dramatic). But, somehow, Danica managed to make math interesting, relatable, easy, & even.....FUN! I loved her style & way she formatted everything. I actually wanted to learn math again. Like, props to Danica cuz that's hard to do for someone with math phobia. I'd say this is a bookshelf staple that anyone could use & learn from. Never thought id say this, but math maybe doesnt suck.....thank you Danica!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had found this book when I was still teaching math to fifth-graders. Though most of the stuff is pretty basic (for teachers), McKeller did give me a couple of new ways of explaining concepts to kids that I would have used in my teaching. This book seems like it would also be good for struggling math students, though I would expect they would resist reading it because of their difficulties.

[Marcyjo Chachakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this approach to helping parents understand math, especially in a remote school environment. EVen if it didn't quite match what the teacher was teaching, it gave enough of a foundation that it was easy to follow the teacher's examples.

[Daze · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been brushing up on my math skills since I'm looking to take a promotional exam. I figured I should go back the basics. I loved how Danica broke up and structured each lesson. It's accessible and relatable to teens and yet, applicable to many adult situations.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. It very much aimed at girly girls but the material is presented in a very clear way. I found out from one of the testimonials in the book that I am only four degrees of separation away from Danica!

[Kitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I made a report on why she was my hero when I was in 6th grade.