As far as math goes, McKellar knows her stuff. With two girlcentric, best-selling titles under her belt (Math Doesn't Suck, 2008, and Kiss My Math, 2009) and a degree in mathematics from UCLA, it is almost easy to forget that she was Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years. Facing down a 432-page book devoted to algebra could give even math whizzes pause, but McKellar makes it work, taking the textbook-meets-Seventeen approach by mixing the explanations and equations with boy talk, quizzes, and testimonials from successful women. While a tutor might use this title as a teaching aid, teen girls will want to explore it on their own. Navigation is easy; students are encouraged to hop from chapter to chapter as their homework demands. The breakdown of equations is effective and certainly unconventional plaining functions in terms of sausage factories, for example, or exponents in terms of whip-bearing female executives (makes sense in the book, promise) d while McKellar keeps her focus on how to solve math problems, her approach is both readable and even entertaining.

This book’s cover features the author and looks like a teen magazine. A self-described math nerd, McKellar graduated summa cum laude from UCLA after starring in The Wonder Years and epitomizes her mantra that a girl can have both beauty and brains. Continuing the format of her two other books (Math Doesn’t Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail [Hudson Street/Penguin, 2007/VOYA October 2007] and Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who’s Boss [Hudson Street/Penguin, 2008/VOYA October 2008], Hot X: Algebra Exposed picks up where Kiss My Math left off and focuses on algebra. McKellar’s tour through Happyland (her euphemism for algebra) sprinkles humor and personal insights through a plethora of useful illustrations, graphics, reviews of pre-algebraic concepts, testimonials, questionnaires, inspirational quotes, and real-life advice that actually teach the reader algebra. The book convinces that competence in math means confidence in life. Students can read the book straight through or use its tips, definitions, step-by-step guides for solving equations, and sample problems as a reference for specific topics. McKellar’s humorous yet effective approach to algebra, a “gatekeeper” to success in a variety of scientific and professional majors, is a must for any teen’s (especially girls) library.—Christina Miller.