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Rating: 
Summary: Good Review book, but don't buy it to learn new information
Review: I am willing to give this book three stars because it provides a good review of high school math. I bought it as a warm up for future studies on Calculus and for preparation for the GRE.However, there are several wrong anwers that I have seen in the book. I am grateful to the Princeton Review for confirming these mistakes by e-mail for me. For those of you who decide to get the book, here they are: 1) page 26, #7, x= -10/3 (not 10/3) 2) page 28, #5, should be -3x squared -2x +1 over 2x squared -2x 3) page 120, exercise 8.4, #1, should be 64 (not 32) Part of the problem here may be the fact that the author, Marcia Lerner, only has a Bachelor's degree. The publisher, Princeton Review, should consider hiring people with at least Master's degrees in the future. "Math Smart II" is marginally acceptable as a learning tool. I did find that it was more helpful in studying for the GRE math section than the Princeton Review's "Cracking the GRE CAT." That's because with that book (and some other GRE books), the idea is to teach you the best strategy for answering the questions rather than making sure you understand all the concepts behind the answers. So in that aspect, "Math Smart II" can be of help for GRE test takers.
Rating: 
Summary: Be careful of the wrong answers in the book
Review: I am willing to give this book three stars because it provides a good review of high school math. I bought it as a warm up for future studies on Calculus and for preparation for the GRE. However, there are several wrong anwers that I have seen in the book. I am grateful to the Princeton Review for confirming these mistakes by e-mail for me. For those of you who decide to get the book, here they are: 1) page 26, #7, x= -10/3 (not 10/3) 2) page 28, #5, should be -3x squared -2x +1 over 2x squared -2x 3) page 120, exercise 8.4, #1, should be 64 (not 32) Part of the problem here may be the fact that the author, Marcia Lerner, only has a Bachelor's degree. The publisher, Princeton Review, should consider hiring people with at least Master's degrees in the future. "Math Smart II" is marginally acceptable as a learning tool. I did find that it was more helpful in studying for the GRE math section than the Princeton Review's "Cracking the GRE CAT." That's because with that book (and some other GRE books), the idea is to teach you the best strategy for answering the questions rather than making sure you understand all the concepts behind the answers. So in that aspect, "Math Smart II" can be of help for GRE test takers.
Rating:
Summary: Good Learning Supplememtary
Review: I began this book in the fouth grade. I wanted to excel in mathematics and geometry. Answers were somewhat accuarate; when they were not I was utterly perplexed. The Algebra section was clear; I often needed to re-read sections to understand information expressed. Geometry was almost clear, again I needed to re-read and was sometimes confused. Analytic geometry was very puzzling- I needed adult assistace. Trig was very clear, and I now have a good grip on trig. Readers for this book should consider buying another ^workbook^ as to achieve stronger levels of understanding from practice. Being determined to understand, this was essential.
Rating:
Summary: Good Review book, but don't buy it to learn new information
Review: I bought this book a few years ago, and I was like, wow! now I get to learn all about trigonometry and inequalities and polynomials! gee whiz! but reading it, I found that the explanations weren't deep enough to actually TEACH me the concepts, that there weren't enough excercizes for people new to the algebra, and it wasn't until I finished my Algebra 1 class last year that I could fully understand the topics covered in this book, because I had learned all of them during the year(i.e. polynomails, quadratic equation). Looking back at this book, I think, however, that it is a good review book, in part because its coverage of topics is so superficial. So, if you've seen the stuff in this book before (algebraic expressions, equations, exponents, roots, logarithms, polynomails, inequalities, permutations, combinations, binomial therom, plane,solid and analytic geometry, parabolas, conics, trigonometry of degrees, radians) then you'll understand them, but if you haven't, go buy another book with better (and more) excercizes, more accurate answers to them, and better explanations.
Rating: 
Summary: A solid foundational book
Review: I grabbed this book from my local library to do some brushing up on some old high school concepts before reviewing some more serious calculus. There is very little intuitive development for what "may" be intended as prep material for standardized tests such as the ACT or GRE. For example, the proofs for geometrical volumes or surface areas are laughable at best,if existent at all. As an electrical engineer, I feel very confident in the answers I obtained...especially after double checking my own scratch work. I am seriously considering writing my own book based on the material that was thrown into this one.....
Rating:
Summary: Good Sample Problems
Review: I love using this book to present my daughter with sample problems for test review or when I think the school is not teaching at the level of my expectations. My daughter is in 7th grade, I think this book may be elementary for high school students, however. Still could provide good review problems at test time.
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