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A review by inkhearted
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
4.0
An eclectic group of people discover they are heirs to an eccentric millionaire's fortune...if they solve his murder first. As they scurry to solve the clues left for them, they realize every one of them has something to hide, and Sam Westing hid more secrets than anyone.
This was one of my favorite books from my childhood, and on a recent reread with my kids, it (for the most part) held up well. In my mind, Turtle Wexler is up there with one of the great characters in children's literature. As I've said in other reviews, these days it seems like everyone is trying to recreate the Westing Game magic with puzzle-filled mysteries and eccentric wealthy people leaving challenges behind them, but Raskin is one of the very best. Somehow she takes a collection of odd duck characters who seem to be mostly dislikable and to have nothing in common and manages to make you care about them and get them to care about each other without changing much about who they are or making it feel the least bit treacly. In a way it's the most baffling bit of sleight of hand in The Westing Game. Also, she is an author that understood to give kids credit not to talk down or water things down for them. This is a book with a lot of adults in it, that centers on a murder, but a good story is a good story. It captivated my middle grader now exactly as it did for me years ago.
I'm docking a star only because I feel like the portrayal of Mrs. Hoo feels rooted in stereotypes and her portrayal doesn't age well. Although the older Wexlers (particularly Grace) are lampooned at every opportunity for *their* assumptions about the Hoos, from their own perspectives as upper class entitled white ding-dongs, it's still uncomfortable for a contemporary reader. Mrs. Hoo might play up certain things because she and her husband are well aware of the assumptions of their customers, and they are quietly having the last laugh. That is implied more than once--but in these days where we've seen how quickly Asian stereotypes can turn to Asian hate and even violence, it creates unnecessary friction for readers.
This was one of my favorite books from my childhood, and on a recent reread with my kids, it (for the most part) held up well. In my mind, Turtle Wexler is up there with one of the great characters in children's literature. As I've said in other reviews, these days it seems like everyone is trying to recreate the Westing Game magic with puzzle-filled mysteries and eccentric wealthy people leaving challenges behind them, but Raskin is one of the very best. Somehow she takes a collection of odd duck characters who seem to be mostly dislikable and to have nothing in common and manages to make you care about them and get them to care about each other without changing much about who they are or making it feel the least bit treacly. In a way it's the most baffling bit of sleight of hand in The Westing Game. Also, she is an author that understood to give kids credit not to talk down or water things down for them. This is a book with a lot of adults in it, that centers on a murder, but a good story is a good story. It captivated my middle grader now exactly as it did for me years ago.
I'm docking a star only because I feel like the portrayal of Mrs. Hoo feels rooted in stereotypes and her portrayal doesn't age well. Although the older Wexlers (particularly Grace) are lampooned at every opportunity for *their* assumptions about the Hoos, from their own perspectives as upper class entitled white ding-dongs, it's still uncomfortable for a contemporary reader. Mrs. Hoo might play up certain things because she and her husband are well aware of the assumptions of their customers, and they are quietly having the last laugh. That is implied more than once--but in these days where we've seen how quickly Asian stereotypes can turn to Asian hate and even violence, it creates unnecessary friction for readers.