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k_shimer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Suicide
Minor: Medical content, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Dementia, Alcoholism, Blood, and Death of parent
coris's review against another edition
3.75
Moderate: Racism, Antisemitism, Ableism, and Injury/Injury detail
hedyharper's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, and Car accident
lovesarahmae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
...
My stands-the-test-of-time run has run out. The Westing Game, a favorite of past generations, has perhaps run its course. The plot is semi-solid: the mystery is deep, the premise of competeting to find a killer, and win the inheritance holds up. It could be adapted into a fun limited series or movie, but so many of the characterizations are woefully outdated. I loved this book as a kid, but kids today are going to be uncomfortable with the language, protrayl of women, Asians, and the disabled. Do not recommend for 2023.
Moderate: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, and Racism
cristine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Torture, Death, Ableism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, and Chronic illness
chrisljm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Sexism, and Murder
Minor: Violence, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Medical content, and Self harm
kstericker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Racism, and Ableism
readerette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It's clever and the characters end up with a decent amount of depth for such a short story. I did figure out the mystery before the reveal, but that didn't detract from the fun of the book for me.
I was watching closely the actions toward the characters of color and characters with disabilities, but as far as I could tell, any racist/ableist remarks were discernible as such (as in, they showed that some of the white characters were racist, and others were ableist, which was the author's point with those characters). The r-word is used a few times.
I did find the whole setup just a little ridiculous, which is where my reduced rating comes from. There really did seem to be some intent to punish with the "game" that Westing created, and when I found out the initial intended victim of the punishment, I got confused because other context suggested they didn't deserve to be punished at all (including my understanding that Westing wouldn't have thought so either). Maybe I just missed something...
Definitely worth a read for anyone who enjoys relatively lighthearted mysteries where you slowly put together the clues with the characters.
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Ableism, Alcohol, Death, and Racism
poirot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Ableism, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism and Sexism