The 8 Best ACT Prep Books

Written by the people who write the test, Official ACT Prep Guide 2026-2027 holds four full practice tests built in the new, shorter format, each with an answer key and an explanation for every question. Real questions matter because they show the exact wording, pacing and traps you will see on test day. The strategy chapters are brief, though, so a student who is shaky on algebra or comma rules will need another source to learn the material.

For students who want a full course in one binding, Kaplan ACT Total Prep pairs long lessons on every section with six full practice tests, most of them online. A bank of quiz questions online lets you drill a weak topic, and short videos walk through tricky math. The questions are Kaplan's own, so the phrasing and difficulty don't always match the real exam. It's also a thick, heavy book to haul around in a backpack.

Barron's ACT Study Guide Premium suits a student who wants teaching and testing in one place without paying top price. Brian Stewart, a longtime tutor, opens with a diagnostic test to show where you stand, then reviews each section with drills sorted from easy to hard. Six full practice tests come with it, some printed and some online. Its questions are written in-house, not by ACT, so save an official test for the final weeks.

If the new format still confuses you, Princeton Review Enhanced ACT Prep starts by explaining what changed, including the online testing option and the separate STEM score. Its lessons lean on shortcuts for pacing, dodging trap answers and guessing with a plan. You get four full tests with answer explanations, plus checklists for grading the optional essay. Only two of those tests are printed, though, so a student who wants to practice on paper runs out quickly.

Students chasing a top score in one weak area get the most from the Official ACT Prep Complete Set, a box that adds separate English, math, reading and science books to the main official guide. Each subject book drills one section with real questions sorted by skill, and each comes with a year of access to an online question bank. The box costs a lot, and the science book matters less now that science is optional.

A good first book for a nervous junior, ACT Prep 2026/2027 For Dummies walks through each section in plain, friendly language and assumes little background. Lisa Zimmer Hatch, an independent college counselor who has coached test takers since the late 1980s, wrote it. Study plans, flash cards and four full practice tests sit online. The review is brief, and nearly all the practice is digital, so a student aiming for the very top will outgrow it fast.

815+ Enhanced ACT Practice Questions is for the student who has finished a main guide and needs more reps. It's built on short drills grouped by subject, and the explanations cover why each wrong choice is wrong, not just why the right one works. Two full tests round it out, and only the first is printed. There's little teaching between the drills, so it works poorly as a first or only book.

Students who learn by seeing will like UWorld ACT Study Guide, a two-book set covering math in one volume and English with reading in the other. Full-color diagrams and worked examples lay out the reasoning step by step, and quick check questions after each lesson confirm the idea stuck. The style comes from UWorld's well-known online question banks. There's no science volume, so a student taking the optional science section needs another book.