Title: The Westing Game
Author: Ellen Raskin
Pages: 182
Publisher: Puffin Modern Classics
Copyright: 1978
Format: Paperback
Rating: 
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I picked up The Westing Game after reading that Suey at It’s All About Books was reading it. Also, it won the Newbery Medal in 1979, so I read it for the Newbery Project and the Book Awards Challenge.
From the back of the book:
A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-lovely millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger – and a possible murderer – to inherit his vast fortune, one thing’s for sure: Sam Westing may be dead . . . but that won’t stop him from playing on last game.
This is a fun mystery with a plethora of characters and suspicious events to make the guessing a little harder. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was impressed that, though their screen time was obviously limited, each of the characters was more than a caricature. I think, had I read this book as a child, I would have loved it even more. Definitely worthy of the Newbery and my time.
The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin
Other Reviews:
The Book Zombie
Books. Lists. Life.
Flight into Fantasy
It’s All About Books
A Reader’s Journal
Buy The Westing Game at Powell’s Books or Amazon.com.
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{ 5 comments }
You linked to mine so you already know this, but I didn’t love this one. I don’t think I’d have loved it at the “right” age either.
This is one of those books that I read as a child and that stayed with me throughout the years. As a kid, I thought the ending was superb and left me speechless. I’ve been trying to get my nine-year-old to read it, but he doesn’t seem to be quite as drawn to it as I was. I recently re-read it as an adult and while I found it enjoyable, I didn’t have that same sense of wonder that I had as a child. Still, it is one of those I would consider a must-read for almost everyone at some point in time in their life.
Oh, I loved this book so much. I remember reading it to my little sister, and it was even more fun to read aloud! Ellen Raskin writes such strange, endearing little books, but this is by far my favorite of hers.
I did like it when I read it as a kid! I should revisit it and see why. (I don’t remember the details.)
I’ve never even heard of this before, but it looks interesting – I’ll see if I can track down a copy.
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