The Westing Game

By Ellen Raskin
(1968) 0525471375

The “Westing Game” is thoroughly intriguing, complex in its plot and full of characters upon characters.  It is suggested that it’s reading is undertaken only by readers with a sufficient amount of time as well as a location where distractions can be held to a minimum.  The variety of twists and turns as well as character transformations in this work call for readers who are able to pay close attention.  It is the confident view of this reviewer that overall, readers will be well rewarded for their efforts.  There is never a dull moment in this book but it is necessary to focus fully from start to finish.  This book, winner of the Newbery Award in 1968, is one of the most enjoyable mystery books that this reader has ever encountered.

In that the main character, at least a very important one, is a 13 year old girl, this book seems ideal for the Tween audience.  This work however can be fully enjoyed by a very wide age group.  The interesting constant twists and turns that start from the beginning and end only when one closes the book ensure the attention of its audiences no matter who they are.

The main theme of the book is that of a huge fortune available to one of 16 potential candidates, with the winner to be the one who is able to determine who is person responsible for “taking the life of Samuel W. Westing”, the person who is the extremely wealthy person after whom this book is named.  To help you start solving this mystery, the immediately preceding sentence has been written so as to contain two important hints to get you started in the “Westing Game.”