| A novel about a girl hoping to be on the Canadian team to the International Mathematical Olypmiad written by someone who should know what it is like. (FYI The author earned a silver medal as part of the Canadian team at the 1996 International Mathematical Olympiad in Mumbai.)
I must admit that I have not had a chance to read this book yet, apart from the free samples available on Hoshino's Webpage, but it has glowing reviews from a large number of readers. From what I've seen, it seems to fall into the genre I call "didactic" in that the focus is on what one can learn about math, with the plot and characters serving only as motivation for those didactic goals. The book features real (and really challenging) mathematical problems. In a way, reading about how the character approaches them is similar to what one might do with a coach in preparation for mathematics competitions. If you have read the book and can add more information, please let me know! | Contributed by
Jim Marsalis
The mathematics is excellent, with a variety of problems presented as part of the plot line. The story is probably secondary to the mathematics, but is it well-done. The difficulties of being a female in what has been a male-dominated competition are well-presented. There is much here regarding the philosophy of how math should be done. In many ways, it reminds one of the Math Girls series, which also blend math with plots about high school kids who love mathematics. This may be be my second favorite math-related novel, trailing only A Certain Ambiguity. Even for folks who find the problems too challenging (as I sometimes did) the explanations of the various solutions can teach one a lot about problem-solving.
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