This was a great middle school mystery.
I wish I had known about this when I was a kid because I think 10 year old me would have been even more engrossed than 38 year old me already was.

I first read this when it came out in 1978 or ‘79. I loved it. That said, it turns out I had almost no recollection of anything but knowing what the clues are all about.

I read it to my son and he really enjoyed it, but was slightly disappointed by the ending. It is a very subtle and unspectacular finish to an exciting and eventful story. But fitting somehow. I really enjoyed reading it aloud to him.

4 stars

An eccentric, but endearing ensemble mystery, I'm 100% onboard with calling The Westing Game a classic; even though it is targeted towards young adults, the story is truly an ageless, timeless joy for those who enjoy a wacky whodunit.

I come to realize I'm very tolerable regarding large cast in books, so The Westing Game's just shy of 20 primary characters isn't a point of complaint — in fact Ellen Raskin is excellent at making each individual distinct and memorable, and the amount of diversity is a pleasant surprise for something written in the 70s (yes, some character setup / description might be a bit passé reading today, but nothing off-color).

Slapstick and hijinks is the name of the game, The Westing Game is by no means an exercise in realism, and as a mystery it is more of a passive experience, letting its silly internal logic reveals the connection, instead of providing clues for the reader to solve puzzles alongside. While I had a lot of fun devouring the first half, I was in a bit of an antics fatigue during its third quarter (the plot was at a standstill), but the last quarter pulled through with the reveal, and became unexpectedly poignant (who knew I would get emotionally attached to these cartoonish characters!).

If you're in the mood for a Knives Out-like experience, this one is definitely worth considering!

This started off well but sagged badly in the middle and the ending left me a bit unsatisfied.

This is one of my all time favorite novels. I must have read it a hundred times...at least. Turtle remains one of my favorite protagonists, and to this day, I still connect more closely with her character than a lot of modern heroines (or heroines my actual, current age). The mystery is amazing--I get chills every time I reach the end--and just writing this review is making me itch to find my old, beat up copy...

I highly recommend this to mystery or middle grade fans everywhere.

happened to email a friend the other day about some old, nostalgic childhood reads; was about to recommend this book to her, when i realized i could remember almost nothing of the plot or characters, nothing but the memory of me reading this book in 4th grade and falling immediately, irrevocably, unshakably in love with ellen raskin. that's it; that's all that remained.

some ten years later, and here i am reading the westing game again but also, in a way, for the first time. the ghost of the past rising up into the present. here's how the first chapter starts. The sun sets in the west (just about everyone knows that), but Sunset Towers faced east. Strange!

and here's how the first chapter ends. Whoever, whatever else he was, Barney Northrup was a good salesman. In one day he had rented all of Sunset Towers to the people whose names were already printed on the mailboxes in alcoves off the lobby . . . Who were these people, these specially selected tenants? They were mothers and fathers and children. A dressmaker, a secretary, an inventor, a doctor, a judge. And, oh yes, one was a bookie, one was a burglar, one was a bomber, and one was a mistake. Barney Northrup had rented one of the apartments to the wrong person.

and there it was again: immediate, irrevocable, unshakable love! [and awe, now that i've read those bits again after this second reading - how was ellen raskin so BRILLIANT?] i can't describe it. i was going to draw on the old, faithful analogy of friendship, but really i don't think this needs to be explained as anything other than what it is: love for a good book. a great, inventive, clever, magnificent book. it makes me want to go back in time and high-five my 4th grader self, for being smart enough and lucky enough to have found it. long live the westing games!

So glad I reread this.


(first read)
One of my all-time-favs. I will never not like this book. I've read it so many times & it's still good to me.

“You, too, may strike it rich who dares to play the Westing game.”

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

Well done, Ellen Raskin. Quite the clever little yarn you've spun. I can see little middle-school-Lisa reading this book and taking notes and trying to win the prize. Alas, I didn't even know this book existed then. But reading The Undertaker's Gone Bananas gave me the hankering for more mysteries involving kids finding corpses and getting in deep with the grown-up business of murder and finger-pointing. I'll keep it short. After all, it's not what you have, it's what you don't have. The Westing Game is a smart, impressive little mystery that will keep you on your toes. I think all my Goodreads gals would appreciate this one.

I first read this in grade eight and thought it was the smartest book ever. It was ingenious and full of twists and plots and I adored the main character Turtle. It's one of those books where everything just connects in the end, all loose strings are tied up, and upon closing the back cover, it leaves the reader with a feeling of satisfaction.

It's an amazing book, even after all these years.

I don't understand why this book won a Newbery Award. It was confusing and sort of awful. Additionally, for today's reader, it felt extremely dated and had some remarks in it that I would call "un-politically correct."
It all starts with a group of eccentric people of all ages who quickly become involved in a mystery game involving a large inheritance. The person who first solves the mystery wins the inheritance. Clues are given along the way, but I'm not sure whether or not the reader was supposed to be able to solve the mystery. I wouldn't recommend this and I feel bad for kids who have to read it as an assignment.

This is one of my favorite books. I have a strict rule of not allowing myself to read it more than once every 5+ years because that way, I won't fully remember it, and every re-read will still have a bit of surprise to it.

"The Westing Game" is called a "puzzle mystery" because all the major characters have to work together to solve a strange puzzle set forth by a man named Sam Westing. They all live in an apartment building Westing owned, and when he dies, they're all named in his will. But they have to play this game to inherit their share of his millions.

Initially, they all think they're strangers, but it turns out many of them are connected in ways they're not aware of, which is another part of what makes this book fun. But what really makes me love it is Turtle Wexler, the main character. She's a wildly intelligent girl with a passion for the stock market and for kicking anyone who annoys her in any way. She's very good at both. In fact, she's very good at everything except understanding adults, and since she's just a middle-schooler, who can blame her there. (To be honest, I don't understand adults much myself.)

I really don't want to say much more about this book because it's full of so many delicious surprises, I don't want to spoil any of them!

A YA detective story that was better on a reread than the first time through many years ago.