5 Steps to a 5: AP Biology, Second Edition (5 Steps to a 5 on the Advanced Placement Examinations Series),   ISBN:9780071476300

Customer Rating: 

okay i promised myself that if this book saved me, i'd actually write a review on amazon. i bought this book about a month before APs but i didn't actually start reviewing it 2 days before the AP. (yeah, "the week before" is not actually last minute). the author is corny, but in a good way. i was a little scared i had made the wrong choice of AP review book at first because it didn't include "nucleotides" at the beginning but it didn't end up mattering. also the rapid reviews at the end of each chapter really helped. the book outlines only the stuff you need--nothing too much. i still use the book sometimes if i need biology help (read: SAT 2s) i just got my scores back and got a 5 on the AP and a 770 on the SAT 2, if that's any testament.

Customer Rating: 

This review is second only to Barron's AP Biology. This book was far less-complex than Barron's and far more enjoable to read, but has less accurate practice examples. Using 5 Steps to a 5 or Barron's AP as a SUPPLEMENT should guarentee you at least a 4. Personally, I think Barron's AP is a more appropriate purchase if you decide to study along with the course. However, if you are cramming a few weeks before the exam, BUY 5 Steps to a 5--Barron's is NOT meant for a quick-refresher.

If I can share some advice: bunker-down on the plants. College Board loves plants and are subject of around 10% of multiple choice on average, and compose at least part of one essay. The menstrual cycle, for some reason, and its associated hormones seems to pop up, too. MAKE SURE to start studying human systems more. I am predicting a slight deviation from the cellular/molecular aspects of biology because this year was a drastic drift to human systems (~40 mc and parts of the 4 essays). The AP test is difficult but not impossible--you always know something for the free response, so do not get intimidated and always write something!

Customer Rating: 

This was a good book, much easier to understand than most. It throughly reviews for the chapter. It's also a very good review for tests in school--helped me so much more than my teacher did. Although this book is not as famous as the others, I would recommended everyone getting it.

Customer Rating: 

This book was amazing for me because my teacher was not very good and we skipped several important chapters (most notably ALL of plants). Thus, it was great that it went through a lot of information in a really friendly and quick manner that was SO fun to read. I really think I would've done abysmally on the AP test without this book because I enjoyed going through it.

However, I do think it is a little too brief sometimes and I noticed that on some detailed questions and especially the free response on the AP i felt a little underprepared because I didn't know that much detail about subjects, making for not so good essays. However, the night before, I had glanced through the Cliff's notes book and was really really impressed. There is A LOT of information in it but I think it's the best if you want to be assured a 5 and you need something throughout the year in your AP bio class. It covers a lot, yes, sometimes unnecessarily, but it covered all that information in an easy to read manner. (also, i thought the practice MC tests were a little too easy compared to the real thing)

In conclusion- 5 Steps to a 5 is the best AP book I have ever seen in any subject because I really enjoyed reading it and I don't think I would've remembered that much information if I had been just passively reading some other normal book in 2 weeks. Get it if you have less than 3 weeks to study.

If you have more than a month/need a book for your course, get Cliff's and work through it steadily. You will be ASSURED a 5.

Customer Rating: 

After viewing several books, including PR and Barron's, this is by far the best one. It isn't too lengthy and explains evrything in a way you will understand it. It includes Chapter Key Points at the end which define everything you need to know and gives you questions with solutions after every chapter so that you can reveiw your materials. It helped me get through my AP Bio class. The sample tests are also excellent and extremely accurate.