Diverse residents of a Wisconsin town are inveigled to rent apartments in the same building, then informed that they are competing with one another for the inheritance of Sam Westing's fortune - but one of them murdered Westing! Readers solve the puzzle along with the characters, with successive clues.

This Newbery Medal winning text has aged well; readers will find little to date the engaging, fast-paced mystery. Each character's point of view is considered, ultimately leading to a feeling of community among the disparate residents. This would be a good recommendation for upper elementary students who like solving puzzles. ( )

I read this halfway through 4th grade probably, but it was one of the few books I ever read for school and didn't think the teaching of it ruined the book. ( )

I read this halfway through 4th grade probably, but it was one of the few books I ever read for school and didn't think the teaching of it ruined the book. ( )

A mystery in the tradition of Agatha Christie, The Westing Game (winner of the 1979 Newbery Award) is about seemingly unrelated people brought together to solve the mysterious death of a millionaire, with the possibility of inheriting his fortune. Nothing is as it seems to be. The mind-bending clues will interest young readers, but it is also dated. ( )

Justin Safarik
July 20, 2009

The Westing Game

For a book to be remembered by its reader it must capture their attention, and heighten the need for further reading when you have reached the end of an exciting chapter. As the reader you are drawn to learn more about the constantly thickening plot of murder and deceit, which is exactly what The Westing Game entails. There are however, a few potential flaws in the overall presentation of the novel. There are too many characters throughout the story, which can easily confuse the reader as a result of all of the names. Although a possible down side of the book, it is actually one of the factors that got me interested in it because of the unique aspect of having so many interesting characters. Another reason I enjoyed this book is that it is both a mystery and an adventure book, and brings together two reading demographics. The story is able to capture those essences very well, in its main conflict, of who the true heir to the Westing fortune is. Also that fact that it is told from a third person perspective allows the characters to be analyzed in greater depth.
Overall, it was the storyline that was one of the greatest highlights of the book because it never seems to have a resolution until the end scene, even though it provides many different explanations throughout the story for the game, its creator, and the heirs. This trait is also a big part of the mystery. Every character seems to have their intake on the events. Even though they all seem reasonable, it is shown that most of them have flaws. An important lesson that I took away from this story was to expect the unexpected because as demonstrated in this story no matter how solid and airtight your solution about the back story of one of the heirs seems, there is always one flaw that proves your solution to this great mystery false.
The most interesting aspect that The Westing Game embodies for me was that of guessing, and how throughout the story, you too are always trying to reason out the events, through either logic or misperception of the characters. Not only was it the intertwining plotline and the guessing game that intrigued me, but it was also the 16 or so main characters in the book, which is uncommon in any novel. By doing this the author was able to make a very deep and intuitive story with less background of each character. Due to all of these factors this book easily became one of my favorite novels. From the great writing style and the multitudes of underlying plotlines of the heirs and heiresses that change the story in so many ways to the number of intriguing characters. I would recommend it for any age reader and having won the Newberry medal greatly distinguishes this book that has broken boundaries with the writers intuitive style and new age thinking. Overall this is an essential read for both thrill-seekers, and mystery fanatics alike, no matter what their age. ( )