The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

I really wanted to like The Westing Game, but I must admit that I was disappointed. 

The story revolves around the sixteen heirs to the Samuel Westing fortune and their hunt for Mr. Westing's killer. The heirs, who all live in the same apartment building, have some connection to the multi-millionaire but no one knows exactly what that connection is. The heirs work in pairs to unravel clues provided by Westing himself. The winner of the game inherits his two hundred million dollar estate. Not bad!

This mystery, a 1979 Newbery Medal winner by Ellen Raskin, has a young protagonist, clever clues, amusing characters, a couple of red herrings, bombs, blizzards and fireworks. There is also some clever word play. 

So what's not to like, you might ask?

For one thing, it is a difficult book to read.  Ms. Raskin many times fails to identify which character is speaking or acting which baffled me and I spent a lot of time rereading a paragraph or section trying to figure out who was saying or doing what. 

Although each character's personality, position, and quirks are well presented in the book, with sixteen of them - plus a few others thrown in for good measure - it is difficult to keep up with them all. I made a list and referred to it often until I got more familiar with them.

Three or four explosions happen in the story, but even after the identity of the bomber is revealed, the reader is offered no explanation or motive for the actions.

To add to the confusion, each chapter is made up of snippets of conversation or action so there isn't much flow. I was jerked from place to another in the narrative - such as it is. And this was written in an age before our minds were totally fragmented by the digital revolution!

I really can't imagine that this book would hold the interest of a young reader. I was determined to get through to the end, but my interest pretty much flagged at about the half-way mark. I continued reading out of sheer stubbornness, not because I was engaged with the plot or characters.

As to the denouement, I don't feel very confident in the solution presented to 'the game.' Even after reading summaries and reviews on line, I am still not convinced. Does the conclusion really make sense? I cannot say for sure.

In Which the Young People Solve the Mystery

I love a mystery and have spent many long hours reveling in the revelation of clues and blithely stepping over bodies in the library.

I got my start with Nancy Drew, the fearless amateur sleuth whose adventures I followed growing up. And I even managed to help solve a few mysteries with the Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe.

So I enjoyed reading the recommendations on the Huffington Post website by Jordan B. Neilson "The 15 Greatest Kid Detectives" (here). 

 

The Great Cake Mystery (and we love cake!) features the young Precious Ramatswe's first case involving missing pastries from her school. Precious, who as an adult founded the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is the creation of Alexander McCall Smith. She is one of my favorite detectives. Although this book is written for ages 5-7, it would be enjoyable to take a peek at how Mma Ramatswe got her start.

Others that sound amusing are:

Chasing Vermeer (ages 10-12) by Blue Balliett which has sixth graders Petra and Calder tracking down a missing painting by the artist. It promises puzzles and twists and even more clues included in the illustrations by Brett Helquist.

The Westing Game (ages 10-13) by Ellen Raskin is a 1979 Newbery Award winner and introduces Turtle Wexler as the solver of the riddle proposed by an eccentric millionaire.

There are also Lemony Snicket; the updated Nancy Drew Diaries; Cam Jansen and her photographic memory; the sharp-witted Red Blazer girls of St. Veronica's; and, two sisters who carry on the work of their descendants The Brothers Grimm, who, as it turns out, were detectives themselves. Who knew?

Any of these might be a nice change from adult sleuthing and I am pretty sure gore and guts will be missing. At least I would hope so.