The Westing Game (Puffin Modern Classics)

by Ellen Raskin

Book Overview

A Newbery Medal Winner

"A supersharp mystery...confoundingly clever, and very funny." --Booklist, starred review

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-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger--and a possible murderer--to inherit his vast fortune, on things for sure: Sam Westing may be dead...but...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 014240120X
• ISBN13: 9780142401200
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 6.9"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Better than Harry Potter!!!

When I was a kid, this was one of my famous books. It contains more plot twists than a soap opera and is just as good as most Sherlock Holmes stories. (except of course the magnificent Hound of Baskervilles) Furthermore, the ending is shocking. No one I have met has been able to guess at the ending but unlike other mystery books once you know the answer it all makes sense and seems so obvious. So if your kids have just read Harry Potter and you are looking for something else or if you just enjoy a good mystery pick this one up.

Intelligent Mystery with a lot of humor

THE WESTING GAME is an intelligent mystery packed with a great deal of humor. The dialog is snappy (my husband said it reminds him of CATCH-22), and the characters are entertaining. The book clips along at a brisk pace, and so many things are happening that it's impossible to get bored.Basic plot: A group of people are gathered together at the mansion of a deceased tycoon and are divided into groups, given sporadic clues, with the opportunity to win a great deal of money if they can find out who killed Sam Westing.The book is a madcap adventure, a stunning mystery (with plenty of clues and red herrings), and a wildly entertaining comedy. One feature that I especially liked was that the author included what happened when everyone "lived happily ever after."I would recommend this book to: any kid who wants to be entertained, any parent who wants to interest her child in reading, any person who likes quality children's literature.

The years pass, and still a must-read

'The Westing Game' was my favorite book as a pre-teen, so when I returned to it years later, my expectations were low. Was I wrong! This book might be accessible to younger readers, but no one who loves a mystery with incredible characters should miss this for the world.While the plot centers around a less than run-of-the-mill whodunit, the book mainly focuses on the characters: each unique, bizarre, and ultimately endearing. The author manages to make them quirky without making them caricatures. The developing relationships between the 'heirs' as they attempt to unravel the mystery, is, I think, far more important than the mystery itself; they also develop in their sense of identity. These are all themes any adult can appreciate, woven into the story with humor and sly understatement, yet in effect deeply moving.The plot is complex and suspenseful, layered so impenetrably that at least one surprise at the end is inevitable. Yet even when wrapped in the most logical of puzzles, the author never loses the human touch. There are many scenes portrayed with hilarious, touching absurdity; and Raskin is dead-on with her take on human nature, even when her depiction seems exaggerated.Read it for a good chuckle--but in the end it may be more than that.

The Westing Review

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin is a must read book. It won the John Newbery Medal and everyone can see how it won. It is a mystery about Sam Westing who was murdered on Halloween by one of his neices or nephews. In his will he gives out clues like when he says "May God let Gold Refine" and when he says "My soul will roam relentlessly untill that one is found! " The heirs who find the murderer will inherit his millions of dollars! The author of this book can make you twist and turn. You will almost know who the murderer is then she decides to say that person is innocent in some way. She has an excellent word choice and she is an even better author. This book was good and sometimes I read one to two hours past my bed time. This is one of the best mysteries ever. I hope you also decide to read this book! Enjoy!