1979 Newberry Honor Book 
Now, I know that I have done nothing but gush about every book that I've covered so far. Well, that is about to change, but I leave the blame on my shoulders, and my own shortcomings in taste.
The Westing Game is a puzzle mystery that involves an apartment building and its residents, a few outsiders, a very wealthy man, and his last will and testament.
Now, I know that I have done nothing but gush about every book that I've covered so far. Well, that is about to change, but I leave the blame on my shoulders, and my own shortcomings in taste.
The Westing Game is a puzzle mystery that involves an apartment building and its residents, a few outsiders, a very wealthy man, and his last will and testament.
The average amazon review is 4 1/2 stars out of five, and in order not to discourage your reading, I will give you an amazon reader review:
The years pass, and still a must-read, May 30, 2000
Reviewer: Ilana - See all my reviews'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.
Reviewer: Ilana - See all my reviews'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.
I hope this helps. I am just not into the mystery genre. I also didn't enjoy Chasing Vermeer at all, and everyone raves about that one.
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