This is only a minor issue that I personally didn’t really like but it didn’t have a large impact on my overall enjoyment of the book. At first it was interesting but it drew on a bit, becoming a distraction and detracting from the book as a whole. For me it seemed a bit irrelevant to the rest of the storyline and too much time was spent on it. My only criticism is I felt that Hoshino gave a bit too much attention to the issue of faith. The solutions are well explained, I had no trouble understanding them and I think that most people who have experience with school maths could get the main ideas of the problems. It reminded me of the Thinking Out Loud articles from Hoshino himself solved these problems when he was training for mathematical olympiads, so the accounts are authentic, hence believable.

It illustrates how different maths is from how it is often perceived, dull, dry and boring, like it usually is in school.įrom a mathematics point of view, I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of how Bethany solved the problems. Hoshino portrays mathematics as the subject it is, full of creativity, innovation, problem solving and beauty, relevant in every aspect of life.

Other challenges Bethany faces include self-doubt, bullying and not fitting in.īethany’s love of learning and mathematics is infectious. Bethany learns to deal with failure, a vital lesson that mathematical olympiads teach you but a difficult one to learn. I really liked how Hoshino described some of the difficulties young people who are training for maths olympiads face. Bethany has to deal with being in a male dominated environment and with the various challenges that are part of olympiad maths. The hurdles she faces will be familiar to both girls in maths and anyone involved in olympiad maths. Bethany, the main character, is likeable yet imperfect. Hoshino succeeds in creating an engaging, relatable, entertaining and inspiring story of how creativity and persistence can allow you achieve your dreams. The novel spans the three hour paper of the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad, which the protagonist, Bethany, is taking, detailing her thought process while answering the questions and using flashbacks to weave together a picture of her journey. The Math Olympian is certainly one of a kind- a book about Olympiad maths, yet it is a fictional novel.

The Math Olympian by Richard Hoshino