The thing is though, the “game” is not the expected “game of mystery”. 2) makes the reader hyper aware of every single dew tail in order to guess who is who. 1) it sets the tone of the novel: an often playful tone that disguises really thought-provoking, darker topics. Barney Northrup had rented one of the apartments to the wrong person. And, oh yes, one was a bookie, one was a burglar, one was a bomber, and one was a mistake. A dressmaker, a secretary, an inventor, a doctor, a judge. They were mothers and fathers and children. Right at the beginning of the book we are regaled by the author with this tasty morsel of foreshadowing about the people who will take part on the game: Did the mystery execution work for you? Why or why not?Īna: Yes, it did, but maybe not for obvious reasons. Let’s talk specifically about mystery/game elements. The Westing Game is an elaborately constructed mystery, in which sixteen guests are first cleverly talked into leasing spaces in a particular, peculiar apartment building, then are invited as heirs to the Westing fortune – provided they can correctly answer the challenge put forward in Westing’s will. In short summation: I very much enjoyed The Westing Game very much, it surprised me in the best way, and I am so glad I read it. Of course, this opens up plenty of thought-provoking questions…but I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s not that the content or writing is advanced, but rather the style feels incongruous with current MG and more in-tune with the literary mystery market. In fact, as Ana and I have been discussing, we were both taken aback because if this book was published today… well, I’m not entirely sure it would be marketed or placed in the MG section. When I started this book, I was completely surprised by the tone of the novel, the complexity of the mystery, and the awesomeness of the characters. Thea’s Take: I had no idea what to expect when The Westing Game was voted this month’s readalong pick – I’ve heard of this book before, I know it has won the Newbery Award, and I’ve seen it in the middle grade section of my local bookstore. Bonus point for featuring what I can only consider one of THE best children protagonists of all time: the one and only Turtle Wexler. The more I think about it, the more I love it. I loved the mystery and the way the narrative was build but I loved above all, how this is a character book and a story of personhood and identity and I loved the way that each and every character has a memorable arc or at least a memorable moment. A book that is a puzzle and a puzzle that is really, about people, and only works if you pay careful attention to the smallest of the details. When an eccentric millionaire dies mysteriously, sixteen very unlikely people are gathered together for the reading of the will…and what a will it is!Īna’s Take: Considering the cries of happiness we heard when The Westing Game was chosen for the readalong, I was expecting it to be at least, a very good book. This month’s OSW Readalong pick is The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.įor every readalong book, we’ll structure this a little bit differently than our usual Joint Review fare – first, we’ll give our (brief!) opinions regarding the book, then we’ll tackle some discussion questions. In March 2013, we asked YOU for your favorite old school suggestions – and the response was so overwhelmingly awesome, we decided to compile a goodreads shelf, an ongoing database, AND a monthly readalong/book club. What better way to snap out of a reading fugue than to take a mini-vacation into the past? We came up with the idea towards the end of 2012, when both Ana and Thea were feeling exhausted from the never-ending inundation of New and Shiny (and often over-hyped) books. Old School Wednesdays is a weekly Book Smuggler feature.
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