The Westing Game (1978)

I definitely have some nostalgia goggles on a bit with this one but I just love this story so much. I've talked to a bunch of people about this book while re-reading it and almost every person I've talked to read it in elementary school and has really fond memories of it.

I first read this book in 4th or 5th grade and just loved. I remember flying through the book because I found it so engaging and I just had to know how it ended. Yes, this book at times may be a little over the top but I think that's one of the things that kept me reading as a child. Even now, I can appreciate the over-the-top nature of this book. Even though it might seem crazy at times, everything written just seemed so intentional to me. You could tell that Ellen Raskin put so much effort into planning out what this story was going to be and exactly how she wanted to write it. There are definitely flaws in this book, don't get me wrong, but this was just such an important book to me as a child and I still love it so much, so forgive me if I'm willing to overlook those issues.

I love going back and re-reading books I read when I was younger. Sometimes, like with this book, they're still really good, and sometimes I can't imagine why I liked it. Either way I love knowing that those books I read as a child helped me become a reader and continue reading to this day. Reading this makes me want to go back and re-read more of the books I know I read in elementary school just to so what kind of books I loved when I was a kid. ( )

The end made the entire book worth reading. ( )

The mystery was interesting, until it was revealed, and then... I'm not sure what happened. As I looked back at the book, it's skills and flaws, and the reading experience I wasn't really filled with good feelings. What can I say? I'm an oddball, I guess.

I suppose it has to do with the lack of emotional engagement that we have with the characters. It really reminded me, in a way, of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As hard as the mystery is, I prefer the others. ( )

Author Ellen Raskin sounded more interesting in the introduction by Ann Durell than almost all of her characters. Turtle Wexler was a hoot, but the rest were pretty flat, there were too many of them and their relationships to each other and magnate Sam Westing (making them heirs) took way too long to discern. Many reviewers have compared this to Agatha Christie, but I don't see it, except possibly for the book's basic premise. ( )

I loved that you had enough information to solve the mystery upon your first reading. Unlike Sherlock Holmes' mysteries, you could actually find the conclusion. Even if you didn't you found yourself immersed in the story. ( )