The Westing Game (Be Classic) (Paperback)
Staff Reviews
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
When millionaire paper mogul Samuel Westing dies, the eccentric tenants of Sunset Towers are called to a reading of his will. The will puts them into pairs to solve puzzles, and the pair who solves the puzzles will inherit Westing's empire. Turtle, a thirteen year old girl who lives in the building starts seeing other mysteries too. How did the residents of Sunset Towers all know Sam Westing? Why are they put in those particular pairs? Who really was Samuel Westing? This is the perfect book for a kid who likes puzzles or mysteries.
I read this book when I was younger, and I remember sitting there, drawing out connections and solving the mysteries myself on little pieces of paper, along with the story. The characters within The Westing Game are diverse, hilarious, and all quirky in their own little way. This book is also one of those great middle reader novels for reading aloud to younger kids, and adults will enjoy it just as much!
A highly inventive mystery begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of the very stranger will of the very read Samuel W. Westing. They could become millionaires, depending on how they play a game. All they have to do is find the answer - but the answer to what? The Westing game is tricky and dangerous, but the heirs play on - through blizzards, burglaries, and bombings, Sam Westing may be dead ... but that won't stop him from playing one last game!
Winner of the Newbery Medal
Winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award
An ALA Notable Book
A School Library Journal One Hundred Books That Shaped the Century
"A supersharp mystery...confoundingly clever, and very funny." —Booklist, starred review
"Great fun for those who enjoy illusion, word play, or sleight of hand." —The New York Times Book Review
"A fascinating medley of word games, disguises, multiple aliases, and subterfuges—a demanding but rewarding book." —The Horn Book
She was the author of several other novels, including Newbery Honor-winning Figgs & Phantoms, The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel), and The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues. She was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1979 for The Westing Game. She also wrote and illustrated many picture books and was an accomplished graphic artist. She designed dust jackets for dozens of books, including the first edition of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic A Wrinkle In Time. Ms. Raskin died at the age of fifty-six on August 8, 1984, in New York City.
Her books are wildly imaginative, but nonetheless touch on the autobiographical. Although Ellen Raskin was never rich, she always had hope – if only the stock market had played the game.
Mac Barnett is a New York Times bestselling author of more than forty books for children, including the Jack early reader series and the Terrible Two middle-grade series and several beloved picture books, including: Extra Yarn and Sam & Dave Dig a Hole. His picture books have won many prizes, including two Caldecott Honors, three E. B. White Read Aloud Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature in Award in China, and the Premio Orbil in Italy. Mac lives in Oakland, California.
* "A supersharp mystery...confoundingly clever, and very funny." —Booklist, starred review
"Great fun for those who enjoy illusion, word play, or sleight of hand."—The New York Times Book Review
"A fascinating medley of word games, disguises, multiple aliases, and subterfuges—a demanding but rewarding book."—The Horn Book