Review by literaturejuggle - The Westing Game

literaturejuggle 's review for:

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

3.75

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

There's a fun mystery here where a bunch of characters have a word game / riddle to figure out in order to win an inheritance which seems to almost ask the reader to play along. However the story is more interested in how the characters grow and bond than on the solution to the mystery. So much so that having now finished the book, I did not totally understand what was going on. I understand the answers to the riddles but what that actually means, as in, why was any of this happening and was there an inheritance, I really don't get. During the finale, the youngest character, presumably because this is a children's book, suddenly becomes the main focus of the novel but up until this point it has been an ensemble so that felt quite jarring. Overall, quite a weird read.

Content Warnings