Hallie reviewed The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Review of 'The Westing Game' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A reread of a book I loved as a kid
192 pages
English language
Published April 12, 2004 by Puffin.
The Westing Game (Puffin Modern Classics)
by Ellen Raskin
4 stars
(49 reviews)
The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.
puravjha07 reviewed The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Purav Jha
4 stars
I love a good puzzle and mystery books. I had read it from shabd.in and kindle . A good game is something I like to watch. But I much rather read books with real people as the characters than ones where they're just pieces of a chessboard. As a chess player who enjoys the game, I say this.
Geoff reviewed The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Review of 'The Westing Game' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
My brother and I read this book together during a family trip when we were maybe 10 and 11. I had completely forgotten about it until Audible promoted it to me because it is apparently having a birthday. As soon as I saw the title, the memories came flooding back, however unclear.
I remembered my brother reading it on the long car drive. He told me how amazing it was and then loaned his library copy to me when we got to the hotel.
I can’t say I remembered much detail, and much of what I did remember was mixed up (it was an old hotel in my memory, not a new apartment building, for instance). But I did remember a precocious young girl called Turtle, and some kind of elaborate and very tricky scheme. I have to say, to the jaded eyes of a 40-something, the game that drives …
My brother and I read this book together during a family trip when we were maybe 10 and 11. I had completely forgotten about it until Audible promoted it to me because it is apparently having a birthday. As soon as I saw the title, the memories came flooding back, however unclear.
I remembered my brother reading it on the long car drive. He told me how amazing it was and then loaned his library copy to me when we got to the hotel.
I can’t say I remembered much detail, and much of what I did remember was mixed up (it was an old hotel in my memory, not a new apartment building, for instance). But I did remember a precocious young girl called Turtle, and some kind of elaborate and very tricky scheme. I have to say, to the jaded eyes of a 40-something, the game that drives the plot of the story isn’t nearly so tricky as I thought it was at ten. But it is fun and clever.
In some ways The Westing Game feels like a progenitor of the Lemony Snicket books. The setup is wild, the story absurd, and the adults all behave in a way a child might think adults would behave. It even includes a female judge-hero whose grasp of law is, shall we say, a little fictive. I love how unsentimental the book is. It believes deeply in its characters, and presents them earnestly. It never toys with our emotions. It only seeks to surprise and delight. It all adds up to a charming and funny story.
I remembered my brother reading it on the long car drive. He told me how amazing it was and then loaned his library copy to me when we got to the hotel.
I can’t say I remembered much detail, and much of what I did remember was mixed up (it was an old hotel in my memory, not a new apartment building, for instance). But I did remember a precocious young girl called Turtle, and some kind of elaborate and very tricky scheme. I have to say, to the jaded eyes of a 40-something, the game that drives the plot of the story isn’t nearly so tricky as I thought it was at ten. But it is fun and clever.
In some ways The Westing Game feels like a progenitor of the Lemony Snicket books. The setup is wild, the story absurd, and the adults all behave in a way a child might think adults would behave. It even includes a female judge-hero whose grasp of law is, shall we say, a little fictive. I love how unsentimental the book is. It believes deeply in its characters, and presents them earnestly. It never toys with our emotions. It only seeks to surprise and delight. It all adds up to a charming and funny story.
Jens reviewed The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Review of 'The Westing Game' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Beloved my so many, maybe this book should be enjoyed while younger... Certainly an intriguing and mysterious story, its charm was diminished for me by the high number of characters - that were insufficiently fleshed out for me - and the first chapters that drag on a little.
The conclusion of the mystery was lacking depth for me. This part made it the most obvious for me that this novel is aimed at teenagers. That's absolutely ok, but didn't make me love this book.
Elspeth reviewed The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Review of 'The Westing Game' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Meh.
gimley reviewed The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Review of 'The Westing Game' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
In the rating game, I moved between 1 and 3 stars, settling on 3 before it could fall back to 2 where it was headed. I almost abandoned it twice.
Before the Internet, I'd never known anyone not related to me with the same last name as mine but now I've discovered it's not so rare. Because of writers in my family, I've seen parts of my life and those of my family fictionalized to various degrees but this book was the first time I've run across a character who shared my last name. That may have been the narcissistic push that got us to 3 stars.
I enjoy a good mystery and a good puzzle. I enjoy a good game. I prefer books with actual humans as characters, though, rather than the chess pieces being moved around in this one. I say this as someone who enjoys playing chess. …
In the rating game, I moved between 1 and 3 stars, settling on 3 before it could fall back to 2 where it was headed. I almost abandoned it twice.
Before the Internet, I'd never known anyone not related to me with the same last name as mine but now I've discovered it's not so rare. Because of writers in my family, I've seen parts of my life and those of my family fictionalized to various degrees but this book was the first time I've run across a character who shared my last name. That may have been the narcissistic push that got us to 3 stars.
I enjoy a good mystery and a good puzzle. I enjoy a good game. I prefer books with actual humans as characters, though, rather than the chess pieces being moved around in this one. I say this as someone who enjoys playing chess. Also, I guessed some of the puzzles too early. I did appreciate some of the others. I could say more but they'd just be spoilers and, if you're going to read this, the fewer spoilers the better.
Sean "Sharky" McMains reviewed The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Review of 'The Westing Game' on 'Goodreads'
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Gossamerchild reviewed The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Review of 'The Westing Game' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
I was able to view the original manuscript for the book; Rankin had an interesting and intriguing method of writing. Knowing this made reading the book more enjoyable. Fun read for teens.
