Blurb: For over twenty-five years, Ellen Raskin's Newbery Medal-winning The Westing Game has been an enduring favorite. It has sold over one and a half million copies. This highly inventive mystery involves sixteen people who are invited to the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. They could become millionaires-it all depends on how they play the tricky and dangerous Westing game, a game involving blizzards, burglaries, and bombings! Ellen Raskin has created a remarkable cast of characters in a puzzle-knotted, word-twisting plot filled with humor, intrigue, and suspense.
My review: The Westing Game is one of the only books I will actually choose to reread. Why, you might ask? I have no clue actually! I first ordered this book from the book order in 4th or 5th grade. Since then I reread it at least once a year.
What starts out as a strange storyline, quickly becomes something much more. You become so attached to the characters that you don't know which way is up! There are quite a few main characters but no minor characters really to keep track of. So, in a way it works itself out.
The book is a murder mystery, of sorts. It is extremely interactive, but I'll warn you, it WILL keep you guessing up until near the very end. Just when you think you have it figured out, Ellen Raskin finds a way to turn it all around.
Like I said, I've been reading this for years and it never ceases to delight me with every page turned. No matter your age, I think you will enjoy this wonderfully written mystery that might just leave you in tears by the end too! I really hope some of you consider picking this one up : )
Later, taters!
Hannah
Hannah, that's so funny that you chose to review this here and said that you read it first when you were in the fifth grade. I work in a school board library and have been putting together Mystery Literature Circles (5 different titles on the same theme, 6 books of each title so it's a compelte class set of 30 books). Anyway, I was dithering over adding this one because I wasn't sure if it would grab young readers (I'm targeting grade five, six with this set) and voila, you've proven me wrong. So in it goes!
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