Barbara Esham shares an extremely relatable story about a boy who cannot perform academically under the pressure of a timer. Max loves math and understands concepts before the test, but completely freezes once it begins. Because of this, Max often gets bullied because he is the last to finish on tests and feels that he is disappointing everyone around him. When Max’s teacher calls his parents to arrange a meeting, Max realizes he has an extraordinary ability in math rather than a lack of ability. Esham does a fantastic job of normalizing test anxiety through Max’s experiences and demonstrates how everyone learns best in a different way. ( )

Last to Finish, A Story About the Smartest Boy in Math Class is an encouraging book about a boy named Max who has such bad test anxiety, he forgets all the math he learned and cannot finish a math test with a timer. I think this book will really resonate with readers, showing the fear of failure that many students feel. Also, Max is teased by his classmates for being unable to finish his math work on time, which many students have faced. Max's anxiety is so bad, he believes his parents are disappointed in him, even though they have told him many times how proud they are. Again, I believe many readers can relate to this emotion, myself included. The solution comes when his teacher and principle notice that Max is gifted in math, already understanding algebra. With that encouragement, Max is armed with the confidence he needs to excel. The illustrations are well done is this book, helping us as readers understand the embarrassment and anxiety Max is experiencing. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I think it allows readers to feel less alone in their math or test anxiety. ( )

I really liked this book. This is an excellent book that shows a child who learns differently than other children. This story is about a boy named Max, who gets anxious when he takes tests. The reader finds out later that he was learning math that was very advanced for him and he was succeeding when he did those problems.

I think that this is a great book to read to people because it shows that it is okay to learn differently than others. Some children may feel ostracized for not learning the same way as other children, but they are geniuses, and they should be proud of what they can do.

Overall, I loved this book, and I would definitely read the other books in the series. ( )

This is an amazing book that takes a reader through a students perspectives of struggling in school. There is a young boy who is in third grade who has trouble taking tests that are timed. He shows signs of having test anxiety when the tests are being timed. Everyone around him feels that he is not smart nor educated in the subject of mathematics. In reality there is a parent teacher conference with the principal and a secret about the young boy is revealed with a shocking but intriguing ending! The moral of this story is do not judge a students capability by the results of a test. Every teacher and parents needs to look and practice every teaching method and strategy to find the most beneficial for the student/child. ( )

I would really like to read this book without paying!
And at last I could. This is a story of a boy he is genious but get easy paniced and not easy to memorise. They are wonderful who is around the boy. ( )