A Math Makeover

When you think about what young Hollywood actresses get up to in their spare time these days, you're likely to envision wild parties, rehab or jail. When Danica McKellar, Winnie on the '90s hit television show "The Wonder Years," isn't on set, though, she's writing. No tell-all bio here. She's penned a book aimed at helping young girls survive--and even thrive--in math class. "When girls see the antics of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, they think that being fun and glamorous also means being dumb and irresponsible," says McKellar. "But I want to show them that being smart is cool. Being good at math is cool. And not only that, it can help them get what they want out of life."

To that end, her book, titled "Math Doesn't Suck," uses cutesy graphics and teen-magazine staples like personality quizzes, horoscopes and straight-from-the-mall examples to spell out often confusing concepts like reciprocal fractions and prime factorization. It also contains syrupy dollops of just-between-us-girls encouragement, three miniprofiles of drop-dead-gorgeous mathematicians, as well as practical tips for avoiding sloppy mistakes on homework, overcoming test-day brain freeze and suggestions on what to do when algebra gets you down. (Hint: ... // 72% Remaining