In this sequel to Do the Math: Secrets, Lies and Algebra, a middle school student who likes to think of things in terms of mathematical notation (for example, calling her friend Miranda "|m|" because she is always so positive) decodes a message left in mathematical graffiti suggesting that the fire at her school was actually arson.
The intended audience for this book is clearly young adults, especially middle school girls. That audience seems to like the book, though I cannot really recommend it as great literature. Moreover, although I'm sure the author's intention is to help the reader to like mathematics, I'm concerned about the message people seem to get out of it. Consider, for example, this quote from a reader review:
Contributed by
(taken from Amazon.com reader reviews)
But what I appreciated most about this math-obsessed girl was how she realized that her system of comparing everything to math was flawed because not everything in life can be figured out using simple steps and formulas.
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Not everything in math can be figured out using "simple steps and formulas" either!
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