A review by readerette
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • 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

I read this book when I was a kid, and when I saw it on a "recommended reads" list the other day, I couldn't resist. I don't remember much about the first time I read it (other than liking it), but I enjoyed it this time.

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.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings