Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger—and a possible murderer—to inherit his vast fortune, one thing's for sure: Sam Westing may be dead Get A Copy.
Paperback , Penguin , pages. Published April 12th by Puffin first published June 1st More Details Original Title.
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What's the greatest challenge that the hero must confront. Gladius Other than the race to win the game, Turtle had to break free of her sister's shadow. Their mother always liked Angela better, and Turtle lacked confi …more Other than the race to win the game, Turtle had to break free of her sister's shadow. Their mother always liked Angela better, and Turtle lacked confidence because of that.
The greatest challenge she confronted was her confidence in herself. Maybe the book doesn't support this, but I do. Would it be too scary for an 11 year old girl? That thinks the hunger games are creepy. Just mysterious. See all 33 questions about The Westing Game…. Lists with This Book.
Community Reviews. Showing Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of The Westing Game. View all 83 comments. Jul 09, Wil Wheaton rated it really liked it.
Really fun, and I know without hesitation what third or fourth grade me loved about it. I felt like maybe it dragged a tiny bit in the back half of the second act, but I think that's just me getting ahead of the narrative, and being a little out of the demo.
But if you're like 11 to 13? Holy crap, you're gonna love this book, and be on board with it pretty much from the first chapter. It was written in , but it doesn't feel dated other than the technology , and it ages very well. It has a di Really fun, and I know without hesitation what third or fourth grade me loved about it. It has a diverse cast, which I didn't appreciate as a kid, because I didn't know any better, but which I deeply appreciate now.
Much of it reads as brief vignettes, which made it very easy to pick up and put down. I highly recommend this for young readers, and I highly recommend it a second time to adults who read it when we were kids. View all 28 comments. Mar 02, T rated it it was ok. This book sounded like it would be lots of fun, and I read it hoping for a great mystery. In the end I think there were too many characters, and not enough information to make any of them seem real to me.
I never really got why they were who they were, except on the most basic level. Each character was just glossed over, and even though they were described in a basic way, there was nothing to really draw me in or make me care about them. View all 22 comments. Jul 07, carol. The Westing Game is first full-length mystery I remember reading. Well, besides Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew books. But the one mystery that I could still have told you general details about the plot.
It might have been the cleverness of the mystery or it's absence of gore. It could have been identification with the shin-kicking protagonist, nicknamed 'Turtle. Whatever it was, Raskin's story stayed The Westing Game is first full-length mystery I remember reading. Whatever it was, Raskin's story stayed with me for years. Opening page: "The sun sets in the west just about everyone knows that , but Sunset Towers faced east. Sunset Towers faced east and had no towers. This glittery, glassy apartment house stood alone on the Lake Michigan shore five stories high.
Five empty stories high. Then one day it happened to be the Fourth of July , a most uncommon-looking delivery boy rode around town slipping letters under the doors of the chosen tenants-to-be. The letters were signed Barney Northrup. The delivery boy was sixty-two years old, and there was no such person as Barney Northrup.
Initially, they are convinced to rent or buy units in the newly constructed Sunset Towers, a small building that has room for a coffee shop, a restaurant and a small office, perfect for further enticing the future tenants.
The tenants discover they have something additional in common when they are called together for the reading of Sam Westing's will. An isolating snowstorm ramps up the tension. Narration is third person, which is solidly done. Initially, all the characters have aspects that make them seem flawed, or perhaps somewhat unlikable.
Interestingly, however, it was probably one of the broadest casts I can remember reading: a black woman who is now a judge, who grew up poor; a Greek family, whose skin is 'darker' than the black woman's an interesting concept for a young white kid! We pop in and out of most of their heads at some point, which ends up giving the reader more insight than they each have on each other. There's accusations in a review or two of racism, but on adult read, I'd say that the racism is all internal to the characters, and Raskin does a solid job of showing how things a certain character might say or do regarding someone else's race is about their own knowledge deficits.
I found only a couple of moments for me that might not pass the twenty-first century sniff test: One of the characters, Chris, has some sort of unspecified physical disability that impairs movement and speech. One of the questionable moments comes up when his brother, Theo, tells someone else that they don't need to talk to Chris like a baby, "because he's not retarded.
I thought The Westing Game held up well. It's told in an omniscient third person, and tends to switch person and location fairly frequently. I think it is definitely a YA, but in the best sense of the word. Many of the techniques it uses are great for people that are younger and haven't figured some of this out yet; ie.
The shifts in perspective and time work well for developing empathy--I think each character goes through a redemption arc, and even the one I remember disliking the most--Otis--was shown to be something other than appearance suggested.
I ended up searching out a hardcover for my own library, and am glad to have it around. View all 23 comments. Nov 15, Jen rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: elementary girls with long hair. Shelves: children-s , classics , bc-before-college , col-mustard-in-the-parlor , sisters-book-club.
I think I first read The Westing Game in third or fourth grade. I checked it out of a public school library in Missouri. I loved it, returned it, and checked it again a few months later on another weekly library visit. Two things: 1. Why should children only go to the library once a week? My education would have been brighter and fuller had I just stayed in the library. Other kids could have had more time with the restroom pass, but instead I hoarded that thing and sat on the white raised seat I think I first read The Westing Game in third or fourth grade.
Other kids could have had more time with the restroom pass, but instead I hoarded that thing and sat on the white raised seat reading away. I loved Turtle, the girl with the braids that beg to be pulled. I braided my hair like Turtle's and liked whirling around and using them as weapons against boys coming in for the kisschase win.
Which was a good development because a couple of years earlier I bit Rashad Ware when he lumbered towards me for a smooch. I told my parents that I didn't bite him; just was running with my mouth open and happened to want to close it when his arm showed up Back to the book. Still, years later, in love with Turtle, only the mother in me now has room to love Flora Baumbach, hair braider, as well. And Mrs.
So, still in love with the book. The whizzbang puzzle mystery abides, only the clues are not as mysterious and I did wish that purple waves meant something really, really sinister and twisted. But that's just my maturity showing. So great to be grown up. This was a sister book club pick. My youngest sister had never read it; apparently, an epic fail in my big sister job on that one.
But, it's good to see that I did well enough a job that she knew to find it herself and suggest it for book club. I've helped raise a responsible adult. Even if she liked Crow, the woman in black. My middle sister took a long time, too long of a time, to read this book.
But she finished, liked it, and all is well. This would be a great family read aloud book. But, to stop my eldest from reading ahead I would have to hide it really well. Maybe even have clues. And a wax dummy dead body! Long live the Westing Game.
Aug 03, mark monday rated it really liked it Shelves: inbetweenworld. I just want to cut to the chase: the last three chapters, over the course of about nine pages, are some of the most moving I've read in a book written for kids. I would have loved to have known her. I particularly enjoyed the diversity of its cast, the cleverness of its puzzles, the sardonic humor, why the scar happened and what it means, and especially mean little Turtle and her deepening friendship with the woman she decides to call Baba.
View all 10 comments. Dec 20, Wendy Darling rated it it was amazing Shelves: tmg-classic-readalongs , favorites-all-time , middle-grade , mystery-traditional , read , heroines-butt-kicking , favorite-ya.
A well-written, twisty puzzle of a mystery, filled with fantastic clues, unforgettable characters, and countless red herrings. Turtle Wexler will always be a hero to me. View all 21 comments. Dec 20, Gene rated it liked it Shelves: crime-and-mystery. A group read with my pantaloonless buddies. Sixteen very different people were invited to reading of a will of multi-millionaire Samuel W. The guy stated he would be killed and whoever finds the murderer would get all his fortune.
He provided the participants or players as Westing called them with different clues to help, but in my humble opinion they only provided additional confusion. The Westing Game Webquest. Search this site. A Murder Mystery Webquest. Beginning 1 Developing 2 Accomplished 3 Exemplary 4 Score Stated Objective or Performance Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting a beginning level of performance. Student can share information on what a stock is, how a stock makes money, or loses money for people.
Student uses 1 creative example to explain their view. Persuasive Brochure. Student can make a basic brochure with some information about Westington. No effort is made to persuade travelers to come to Westingtown. Student makes a basic brohure and the brochure has some information about the benefits of Westingtown. Little effort is presented to persuade travelers to come to Westingtown.
Student makes a brochure and the brochure has key information about the benefits of Westingtown. Effort in terms of language and phrases are made to persuade travelers to come to Westingtown. Student makes a enticing brochure and the brochure has key information about the benefits of Westingtown.
The student uses specific language and phrases to persuade travelers to come to Westingtown. Word Wall. Student makes no effort to record more than 1 word for every two chapters in their word wall journal, that they are unfamiliar with. Student only posts 5 or fewer words on the class word wall. No cluster map for each of the top ten words a student is learning is included.
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