Be Prepared
for the AP Computer Science Exam
in Java

Ninth Edition

Maria Litvin
Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts

Gary Litvin
Skylight Publishing

Includes four practice exams

Copyright © 2026 by Skylight Publishing.

288 pages. Dimensions 8.25" x 10.75" x 0.7". Soft cover.

ISBN 978-0-9972528-3-5.  List price: $25.95.  12+ copies: $20.75 each.

e-Book: $25.95 (lifetime).

Brief Contents

Contents

Preface

How to Use This Book

Chapter 1. Exam Format, Grading, and Tips

Chapter 2. Java Features, Part 1

Chapter 3. Java Features, Part 2

Chapter 4. Algorithms

Chapter 5. Annotated Solutions to Past Free-Response Questions
        http://www.skylit.com/beprepared/fr.html

Practice Exams (#1, #2, #3, #4)

Answers and Solutions

Index

On the Back Cover

Since it was first published in 1999, Be Prepared for the AP CS Exam has helped tens of thousands of students earn high scores on the AP CS exams. Whether you sit in the front row, the back row, or anywhere in between, Be Prepared for the AP Computer Science Exam in Java will help you focus on the AP Computer Science A exam requirements, review the material, and fill the gaps in your knowledge.

“Excellent review book that can help you get your 5 too! ...I give my highest recommendation for this outstanding review book.” Reviewer from IL, USA

“I Got My 5. ...this book was perfect for bringing me up to speed for what was on the test.” Reviewer from Lafayette, CA, USA

“By far the best APCS review book. ...those of my students who used this book did the best on the exam.” Reviewer from Houston, TX

“This Book Is God-Sent... I have absolutely no idea what I would have done without this book. ...I cannot say enough how helpful this book was.” Reviewer from Los Angeles, CA, USA

“A stunning APCS review book. ...I'm delighted to have copies to use with my students. Highly recommended!” Reviewer from Kent, WA

“Your students will build confidence for the AP Computer Science Exam with this review and practice resource. ...The hints for exam-taking are extremely helpful and will benefit the student as well as the teacher new to the AP CS curriculum. And, yes, we 'seasoned' teachers also benefit from reviewing this chapter! The remaining chapters include superb reviews of the topics covered on the exams.” Reviewer for apcentral.collegeboard.com.

See reviews and testimonials at skylit.com and amazon.com.

What teachers say...

Hi Maria,

I'd like to share with you how much I like the Be Prepared book. It's not only a fabulous AP prep book, now I know I can also use it for labs! As a matter of fact, I have two older versions - from 2014 and 2015. I "inherited" lots of books from my predecessor when I started teaching AP CSA in 2023. When I had a chance to read the Be Prepared book that you and Gary wrote, it was eye-opening for me. The book reviews all the content in AP CSA in a highly concise fashion, which makes it short enough and still comprehensive. What's the best is that it's easy to understand. I will definitely use it throughout the year for AP prep.

Bonnie Zhu, Hamilton High School, AZ

Hi, Maria

By the way, I am using Be Prepared for APCSA for my classes.  I found it extremely helpful.  Really thank you and Gary for the great book.  It is the best of its category.

Eric Chou, Adjunct Professor, Lewis University, Romeoville, IL

I completely recommend this exam prep book as well as the Litvins' “Java Methods”....Fantastic books!

Joe Thompson, Mcdonogh School, Maryland

My students credited the Litvin book with giving them the very best practice for the AP CSA exam - far superior to any of the other prep books.

Pat Clark, Nashoba Regional High School, Massachusetts

In addition to the outstanding texts from Mrs. Litvin, she also leads outstanding summer AP training sessions.

Lisa Schroer, Loy Norrix High School, Kalamazoo, Michigan

I totally agree with everyone on the Litvin's Skylit publications and the AP solutions manual. It s an excellent resource for APCSA prep.  Moreover, Maria's CSA-APSI that I attended virtually last summer was tremendously helpful.

I'm extremely thankful to the Litvins for their contribution to CSEd community.

Suprabha Malhar-Jain, Oyster Bay High School, New York

I have a class set of the 5th edition of the book "Be prepared for A.P CS exam in Java".  It is a practical review book that offers great tips on common pitfalls, detailed explanations of particular answer choices on MCs, 5 full length practice exams, and my favorite... a chance to code and test your solutions to FRQ questions from the past years in the electronic version of chapter 7 of the book.  I highly recommend it!

Shanti Kolluri, Oakland, California

I don't know about that particular book, but I can highly recommend Maria Litvin's Be Prepared for the AP CS Exam in Java.  My first group of students (and I) found it thorough, well-written, with plenty of practice materials... and we did have some students earn a 5 despite having only a spring-semester course in which to work.  The sooner you get it and start using it, the better.

Nola Forbes, St. Johnsbury Academy, Vermont

Hi Mark (and everyone else!),

My kids and I really like Maria Litvin's Be Prepared For The AP Computer Science Exam in Java (ISBN #0965485358) review book. Lots of great practice questions, topic-by-topic and in full exam format, with answer keys. Decent MBCS coverage as well.

Matt Gironda, Science High School, Newark, New Jersey

I had a chance to read Maria Litvin's Be Prepared this past week. I thought it was a very good book. It seems to have kept the spirit of the C++ version (meaning questions written in the language and style of the AP test) without just being a simple translation. I am sure there will be other good books out as well but I don't think you can go wrong with Be Prepared.

Greg King, Dublin Coffman High School, Dublin, Ohio

I saw someone recommended the Barron's book for review of multiple choice questions. The practice tests for the AB exam, especially the second one, are full of errors. Sometimes the answer is wrong, sometimes there is more than one correct answer, sometimes the question isn't clear. My students found it confused them more than it helped them.

The Litvin book, on the other hand, is far more accurate. On Litvin's AB practice exams, however, it seems like they have more "A" level questions than appear on the actual test (at least the 1999 released exam). Other than that, however, I highly recommend it.

Mike Bollhorst, Los Gatos High School, Los Gatos, CA

We are in the midst of "navigating" Part II of the Case Study, and I have a few comments. First of all, I would like to thank the Litvins for providing an alternate implementation in their "Be Prepared" study book. I think it is elegant in its simplicity and straightforward implementation. One of the conclusions I plan to teach my students by the end of our case study discussions is that too much complexity can lead to confusion and to more difficulty in maintaining code. I don't believe that the benefits of object-oriented design have been achieved with this implementation. Having worked in industry, I've seen up close the problems that resulted when things got unnecessarily complicated...

Tammy Neuhaus, Torrey Pines High School, San Diego, CA

I believe that Maria Litvin's AP review book does deal with the case study through her website. The case study questions are not addressed in her book but the reader is referred to a webpage address where questions related to the current case study are available. I found her book to be helpful and well organized. There are several others that you may want to use as additional resources.

George Benack, Horace Greeley HS, Chappaqua, NY

I very much like Maria Litvin's book, "Be Prepared for the AP Computer Science Exam".  Added bonus is that it does have material on the case study.

Go to www.skylit.com

Richard Lamb, Cranbrook Schools, Bloomfield Hills, MI

I use "Be Prepared for the AP Computer Science Exam" (ISBN 0- 9654853-6-6) by maria Litvin. It does an excellent job of re-capping the material covered during the course and has two A and two AB practice exams. The chapter that covers the Case Study is found online and is updated frequently.

Bob Davis, Saint Francis High School, Mountain View, CA

Here's one to avoid.

The book, by the "Research & Education Associates" is HORRIBLE. Here are some of the choice excerpts from just question #1 on the first practice test:

...[snip]

Definitely don't get this.

Get the Litvin book - it's wonderful (and is a great complement if you are already using the Litvins' C++ for You++ texts).

David A. Gillespie Jr, Hawken School in Gates Mills, Ohio

Hi ---I don't usually write thank-you letters, but this time, I feel it's a must. This is my first year teaching APCS and only my second year of C++. When I decided to teach these courses, my school went through an extensive text evaluation (out of legal necessity), but I was convinced early on that your books were the best. They walked the fine line between theory and practicality without delving too much into either.

Anyway, the ONE topic I was intensely afraid of was the MBCS! I had taken the 1 week intensive AP course last summer, and was able to do the fish in 1 dimension, but the 2 dimension stuff was just way beyond me, I couldn't get the pieces to fit, nor did the AP documentation help at all.

Then I downloaded your MBCS section from your "Be Prepared..." book and what a difference. Your approach from the "bottom" up (starting with utils and moving into main) was just the trick that I needed. It seems so obvious now, but you took the approach of how best to teach the subject. I'm using your approach in my classroom now and the kids seem to get it (much faster than I did) thanks to your document.

Thanks for all of the support that you've given me! Now all I have to do is learn Java (is your text ready??????)

Philip Ingber, Nyack High School, Upper Nyack, NY

I used this book to prepare for the AP exam along with the Litvin book, and the differences were tremendous.  While both books gave a review, the Litvin book went the extra step by adding test taking tips in each section.  It also included an explanation of the answer, something this book didn't do. Both texts contain practice exams for both the A and AB level exams.  The exams in this book were easy compared to the Litvin book, and they didn't give explanations to the free-response questions, just the answers. I'm glad I used the Litvin book too because this book would have sunk me on the AP test.

Reviewer: Bryan Lieber from Tulsa, OK
(Reproduced, with permission from the author
from his amazon.com review.)

Be Prepared for the AP Computer Science Exam
by Maria Litvin and four contributing authors
(Don Allen, Sally Bellacqua, Mary Johnson and Craig Steele)

This review book does an excellent job of describing the basics of APCS for the "incoming" teacher as well as reviewing all the A and AB material for the students. Because of their constantly changing nature, two of the chapters are on-line. These chapters cover 1) the current case study and 2) annotated answers to last years exam.

Maria has done a great job with explanations and examples of the various topics. Everyone needs at least one copy in their AP classroom!

Unsolicited comments by Sarah Fix, Former APCS Development Committee member, Current APCS Exam Leader

Sarah Fix, The Career Center High School, Winston-Salem, NC

I have looked at Maria Litvin's review book and I highly recommend it. It is excellent. I am pasting a review that Sarah Fix sent to us some time ago. I concur.

Judy Hromcik, Arlington High School, Arlington, Texas

We just purchased a set of Maria Litvins review book. It looks much bettter than the Horowitz book from last year. Last year's students who have looked at it feel that it will better prepare students for the A exam.

Just one teachers opinion...

Mark Sheinberg, Santa Susana High School, Simi Valley, CA

The Litvin review book is excellent. Some of the questions are more advanced than the Horwitz text. We use both, but found Litvin's book better for maximum preparation.

Bruce Erickson, Gahr HS, Cerritos, CA

SKYLIGHT,

I wish to purchase 20 of the "Be Prepared for AP CS Exam" by Litvins, Allen, and Craig Steele. Is there in discount for quantity purchases? We would like to place this order this weekend, so a quick response would be great ... I already have two copies and believe that it surpasses anything I have seen yet. Good job to all the authors.

Bruce Erickson, Gahr High School, Cerritos, CA

Litvin's book is highly recommended. For a start, there's no duplication of questions between the four practice exams. There's excellent coverage of the Large Integer case study available on the book's web site. Many multiple-choice questions are presented throughout the test, and solution strategies are modelled. Wonderful book!

Matt Bracher, Kentlake High School, Kent, WA

What a marvelous book!

I saw a testimonial in the APCS listserv and checked out the web site a couple of weeks ago. What I saw in chapters five and six intrigued me enough to order a copy of the book, and it's fabulous. I'm about halfway done reading it, and it's an excellent review presentation.

When I went to my department head, I meant to ask for seven copies -- one each for the AP students I'll have this trimester and next. To my surprise, she told me to order twelve (the price reduction probably had something to do with it).

Thanks for the book. It's a good review for me, and I'm sure it will be valuable for most if not all of my students. I remain impressed by the fact that the dynamic chapters are placed only on the web, and by the depth of the material that's in the book. I've caught myself on a few of your multiple-choice questions, and the explanations afterwards are helpful.

Lest I continue in gushing adulation, I'll sign off now. You should be getting a purchase order slightly.

Matt Bracher, Kentlake High School, Kent, WA

I really like Maria's book, particularly the sample free-respnse questions, which I felt are much more class-based than Susan's which I also like...

Don Slater, Sewickley Academy, Sewickley, PA

I have the Litvin book, "Be Prepared for the AP Computer Science Exam." I find it very helpful and full of good problems. In addition, there are questions on the case study on the web so the book will remain current next year with the new case study.

John Harrison, Princess Anne High School, Virginia Beach, VA

I have a copy of Litvin's book and have ordered it for my class. I think it is a really good book. I especially like it because it gives review along with the questions. It is a complete review not just questions.

Beverly Broughton, Lyman High School, Longwood, FL

I have a class set of Maria Litvin's review book and it looks really good although I haven't started using it in class yet. The Case Study questions are not in the book but are online at the skylit.com website.

Tim Brown, San Ramon Valley High School, Danville, CA

I have both the Horwitz book and the Litvin book. I've just started using them, but both are presented nicely. I like how the Litvin book is layed out. It gives students examples of good code and bad code throughout the book.

Ronda Kopfhamer, Baraboo High School, Baraboo, WI

I bought Maria Litvin's book and I think it's excellent!

Scott Malloy, Brea Olinda High School, Brea, CA

I really like her [Litvin's] book--Horowitz, too. Several people contributed questions, so even if you use C++ for You++, you get a good variety, She has excellent summaries of topics and covers a little bit more than the Horowitz book.

Paula Lemmermann, Harvard Westlake School, North Hollywood, CA

We just got Maria Litvin's book for my students. I haven't had a chance to do extensive analysis of it, but at first glance it looks pretty good. They talk about an subject area, give the important details about the issue, talk about the common mistakes and pitfalls, give a few examples of how the questions will be asked, etc. They have 2 A and 2 AB exams with answers in the back. They also have a few pages talking about the exam in general, giving some statistics, tips on taking it, etc.

Gene Schwartzman, Paul VI High School, Fairfax, VA

Recently there have been inquiries about review books for the AP Computer Science exam. At the AP Computer Science training session held last weekend here in Denver, the leader for the CS session had a copy of a new review book:

    "Be Prepared for the AP Computer Science Exam"

We looked at it during the session. Those that saw it agreed that it looked very useful. It's from Skylight Publishing (the folks who gave us C++ For You++) and I just checked: you can learn more about it by going to their site:

    http://www.skylit.com

I like it because it gives a good balance of worthwhile tutorials from exam format, grading and hints, through the language basics, the AP Classes, and right up through the AB topics. It then provides several practice exams with solutions. There is also a companion web site that supplements the book with additional material.

It's definitely worth a look.

Roger Frank, Ponderosa High School, Parker, CO