n  n

There isn't much to be said about this that hasn't already been said about the wonderful book that is The Westing Game, so this review will be short and simple. In short: There is so much to love about this book - from it's endless twists and turns to its countless red herrings - that it will almost surely leave you spellbound.

With a premise that's relatively reminiscent of the movie Clue (but with a much more intricate ending and more emphasis on the characters), Raskin's Newberry winner follows 16 people who are invited to read the will of a famous millionaire.

n  n    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.n  n

The catch? One of these 16 people was the one that killed him - and it's their job to find out who...before the killer strikes again.

The genius of this book - besides its spellbinding and absolutely unpredictable ending - is Raskin's writing style. She implants clues in exactly the right spots, and adds more than enough red herrings to keep you on your toes guessing. It truly is a gifted mystery writer who is able to do this so skillfully.

From a character standpoint, this is genius. With sixteen main characters to focus on, Raskin's electric cast might at first appear a bit daunting. You may struggle remembering who is who for the first hundred pages or so, and during that time I recommend using a handy cheat sheet like this one to help you keep everything organized so you can focus entirely on solving the mystery.

Raskin's attention to detail on each character is amazing. Each of her characters are skillfully developed and have unique and identifying traits to them. From the grumpy business-like Mr. Hoo to the perfect but rebellious Angela to the brilliant but fierce Turtle...each character has traits that made me connect with them. Each character has secrets and layers to them...and you truly never know who they are and their role in the mystery until the very end.

All in all, Raskin has concocted something that every mystery fan will instantly gobble up delightfully. Raskin is one heck of a storyteller because I constantly guessed and second-guessed who I thought was the culprit (and turned out way off on each suspicion, mind you)!

n  Turtle, you'll always be a hero to me.n

When fun-loving, enigmatic millionaire Sam Westing dies without an heir, sixteen unlikely individuals are gathered together to find out who is named in his will. But this is no ordinary will--instead, it’s one last game orchestrated by Westing himself--and this one could have deadly consequences.

The sixteen potential heirs are pitted against one another in a web of intrigue, lies, misdirection, mistrust, suspicion, puzzles, clues, and mystery, as they compete to find out who will win the inheritance--and who caused the death of Sam Westing.

No heir trusts the others--but in spite of their suspicion, surprising friendships are formed between the most unexpected individuals. And each member of the group is forced to confront their past, their connection with Westing himself, and their own nature--and in the end, each becomes a better and kinder person than before.


***

The Westing Game is a quirky, unique, humourous, and suspenseful mystery written for older children, but it’s mature, serious, clever, and witty enough to be enjoyed equally well by adults of all ages. It's a must-read if you enjoy mysteries, juvenile fiction, or unique, complex characters.

The plot is complex, fascinating, and utterly brilliant, with a clever, mind-boggling web masterfully woven into an engaging mystery. No detail is insignificant, missing, or out of place, and each complicated thread is precisely placed as part of the whole. Each time I read this book, I’m riveted from the first page, eager to discover the mystery as it unfolds, and frantically racing to put together the clues as they’re revealed one by one. The first two times I read it, I knew or remembered nothing about the story, and the twists, turns, and reveals shocked me just as much as the characters. I never could’ve seen the ending coming or guessed the truth. But rereading it again, the clues are all there--the foreshadowing and hints are expert. An attentive reader could figure it out--if they only knew which subtle clues and pieces of information were significant. The pacing is quiet but intense, and it gradually escalates throughout the book to a riveting, mind-boggling climax. The gentle, bittersweet, heartwarming final chapter is one of my favorite parts.

The characters are equally complex, fascinating, and brilliant. Each one is a flawed, unique, and quirky individual--some are sophisticated, some are selfish, some are angelic in appearance, some are downright odd--and all are interesting and entertaining. Each is hiding their true nature in various ways, and it’s up to the other heirs--and the reader--to penetrate the facade. The characters range across all ages and all walks of life, with seemingly nothing in common--except the universal connection that is slowly revealed. The young adult characters--Turtle, Chris, Angela, and Theo--are some of my favorite characters, and I love several of the adults as well. Some of them have wonderful and kind hearts despite their flaws--not always apparent at first. All of the characters are somewhat likeable, but some of the more flawed and selfish characters are fascinating, even if I’m sometimes disappointed by their behavior towards others.

The themes of The Westing Game are fascinating, beautiful, often moving, and deeply profound. They involve morality, relationships, and what it means to be a good person. On my most recent read, I was overcome by bittersweet emotion on the behalf of a few of the characters, especially for one character near the very beginning. When I reread the book as a teenager, unable to remember the story, the ending made me emotional in a beautiful and touching way. (I can’t remember if I cried, but I either cried or wanted to--which was unusual for me back then.)

I really appreciated the diversity of the book and its characters, and the way the author handled racism, sexism, and discrimination against people with disabilities. Fully half the cast is female, and each of the women in the story is well-developed, unique, and attentively portrayed. One woman is African-American and a successful, prominent judge who worked hard against adversity to reach her position. I also love the wonderful portrayal of characters with disabilities, and how they’re able to live a full life despite deep hardship.

A note on age level and content:

The listed age range is 8-12, and most children of that age will enjoy it--but younger children who aren’t used to books with a higher reading level or a gradually-paced plot may be bored or have trouble understanding the complex story. It will also appeal to older readers of all ages. Very sensitive or very young children may be disturbed by some elements of the story or may need guidance when reading.
-- When someone tells a young girl a gruesome ghost story, she takes a dare to enter a creepy, abandoned house, and she finds frightening whispers and what seems to be a dead corpse.
-- It’s implied that Sam Westing has been murdered, and the entire book involves the other characters trying to figure out who did it--and stop him or her from killing again. (MAJOR SPOILER) However, it’s eventually revealed that there never was an actual murder. A character seems to die an alarming death on the page, with the other characters watching, but that turns out to be an illusion as well. (END SPOILER)
-- A character finds out that Sam Westing’s daughter committed suicide (by throwing herself off a cliff) to avoid marrying a terrible person.
-- An unknown character sets off a series of bombs to scare people, some of which accidentally result in minor injuries and burns.
-- It’s subtly shown that a middle-aged married couple go through a rough patch of distance in their marriage, but they resolve it toward the end of the book and return to a place of love.
-- A mother is selfish, controlling, unkind, and unloving toward her daughters. It’s sad and causes issues for the girls.

This is a middle grade/mystery novel about a group of 16 randomly selected people to play a part in a rich man's game. It all starts with a will and millions of dollars at risk. This hodge-podge group of people are summoned to a mansion to take part in a dead man's game. Everyone wants the money but are they cunning enough to see the bigger picture?

You get a wide variety of characters and view points throughout this book that come a bit unexpectedly but in a wonderful way. There were characters of every age, though I personally related to Turtle the most. I highly suggest anyone read this wonderful story. It's a great who done it mystery for anyone. This book is timeless both in writing style and characters.

Ahoy there me mateys!  This read accomplishes four things!  I feel so productive from one book.

1. This be the the first book from me 20 in 2020 list!  This year has been so crazy that it has taken two and a half months to read one of them.  Eesh!

2. It's the first book I have read in 10 days!  I feel like I be drowning due to lack of reading time.  I had a free weekend due to the corona virus panic.  Something positive out of the crazy.

3. This book belongs to the 102 unread physical books in the hold! I finally read something from that towering stack.

4. I have finally read another Newbery award winner!

In October 2017, I read a post by me Matey Jackie @ deathbysundoku.  She be on the Great Newbery quest wherein she be reading all Newbery medal winners by January 2022 when the 100th Newbery Award happens!  Worthy goal indeed.  I meself had embarked on this journey many years ago before adverse winds and scads of other adventures sent me off course.  So Jackie's posts have rekindled me interest in finishing them all (eventually) but I tend to keep rereading me favourites.  I had somehow missed out on the westing game as a young lass.  I was excited to see what the fuss was all about.

I get it.  This book is so well done.  I would have loved this as a kid, reading it for the first time, but me adult self very much appreciated it too.  The basic premise is that a group of people are brought together as beneficiaries to a millionaire's will and find out they have to compete in a game to win the fortune.  Shenanigans ensue and things get all out of kilter.  I won't say more of the plot because it be better to go in blind.

What I can say is that this 1978 book has excellent writing, extremely fun quirky characters, lovely plot twists, and surprising diversity.  Though written in third-person, the books shows perspectives from all 16 contestants.  While the characters are not psychologically written as they would be today, ye get a surprising amount of personal growth and self-reflection in the style of writing.  There are humorous elements too.  I thought the opening was particularly engaging because I was surprised by it and immediately wanted to understand what in the world was going on.  I really liked that while it be marketed for children, it does not treat younger readers as idiots.  In fact the book is rather clever.  It is short but so well done.

One of the things I did for this read was to also borrow an ebook copy from the library for the extra features.  Once I finished the story, I read the ebook's introduction and bonus material.  Apparently the author was an illustrator before she became an author.  She produced over 1000 book covers.  I also liked learning about her career.  Apparently Raskin designed this entire book down to font choices, paragraph style, and illustrations.  I got to see some of her sketches and notes about producing the westing game.  It was cool.  I was disappointed that neither copy I had used her original work.  I rather wish I had the deluxe anniversary edition published in 2018. Arrrr!

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. 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.

This book was as deeply charming as I remembered it.

When reclusive paper products millionaire dies, his heirs potential--all mysteriously gathered as neighbors or employees of Sunset Towers--are tasked with playing a game in assigned pairs to solve his murder and inherit everything. Included amongst the heirs is our heroine, Turtle Wexler, who I loved just as much as I did when I read this as a child. But through the empathetic genius of Raskin's writing, you come to love all of the heirs, even the not so likable ones (that's still you, Turtle's mom.)

I didn't notice this as a child, but this is an unusual children's book in that it gives perspectives of both the adult and child characters. The mystery is fun and fine for younger readers; adults will likely find it too far-fetched near the end. But I loved it anyway. And the flash forward in the final chapter made me reach for the tissues as much as when I was nine. This is a classic.

(The movie version is terrible though. Just don't with that....)

Fun murder mystery. I suppose that it was written for middle graders, but this adult still enjoyed the whodunnit.



Sixteen heirs to a fortune must puzzle out the benefactor's murderer to win the millions. Reminded me of Agatha Christie in a way. Lots of eccentric characters and all of them suspecting of each other.





More clever than funny with a strong ending. The ending is what really pushed it past 'just okay' for me. I could see this being brilliant for an early reader and will happily collect a copy for my own growing kids.

February 2022

Twisted and confusing in some parts, but thoroughly fun and satisfying by the end. The writing style felt very intentional for the story, and I was at the edge of my seat wanting to uncover the mystery every step of the way. This was a fun ride and I would love to revisit this story in the future knowing what I do now.

As a child, I probably read this book as many times as I watched the movie "Clue" (brilliance), and that is a lot! I loved (and still love) anything with a clever girl as a protagonist. Turtle can stand her ground among Nancy Drew and her ilk. Raskin's cast of characters feels somehow simultaneously real and fantastical, and the mystery is juicy enough to keep you hooked until the final moment of checkmate.

This book was delightful.

I'm still reeling from the fact that the author wrote this straight through without knowing all the plot details or how everything would turn out. Sam Westing dies and leaves behind one final game for his 16 heirs who he has move into the same apartment building. A bit Agatha Christie mixed in and you are reading about this puzzle. Everyone is not who they say they are and the author slowly unravels the mystery.

For some reason, this took me far longer to read that it should have. It was a quick page turner and the paragraphs switched perspectives almost from sentence to sentence, which made it a little tricky to follow along. There were a lot of characters, which also made it hard to keep them all straight, especially the families. I really enjoyed getting to know how everything played out, and especially the time gaps in the ending. Great book for almost every reader.

Entertaining solve the puzzle win the prize mystery.

Here is a book that is very, very good when you view it from within its genre's boundaries, Children's Literature, but if you try and analyze it outside of it then it starts to fall apart. Told from Turtle's perspective, prepubescent female, we are pulled into the game of the town's richest citizen, Sam Westing. He's dead and one of the players present was responsible!

Solve the mystery and win his fortune.

There's a good deal of point-of-view switching to keep the reader disoriented and guessing while also providing break points for younger readers. At first, the characters seem like gross stereotypes, but these quickly change as Raskin reveals hidden qualities that many would overlook at just a glance; providing the 'Don't judge a book by it's cover' or 'Don't judge a person by the way they look' parable.

The mystery is good and tricky. But the most unexpected part of the book was the ending and how emotional it was; giving context and closure to what was a game based on avarice.

Thanks for the buddy read, and for pleasant dive into a genre I generally avoid.

Acabo de terminarlo, la historia no es muy larga y se lee bien, aunque hay algo que no acaba de convencerme, no sé si ha sido la forma de narrar o cómo se platea la historia.
Eso si, el final me ha gustado y ha quedado todo bastante claro, cosa que al principio no pasaba, lo veía un poco lioso y con datos poco interesantes.
Pero esto, com siempre, es mi humilde opinión.

Duh. 100 stars. The best. Read it whenever I remember to.