Review of the westing game

The object of the game is to find the murderer of Sam Westing, who's alleged to be living among them, which raises the stakes and paranoia significantly. Cunning, greed, and deductive reasoning infect the game, making everyone a suspect and nobody worthy of trust. There are twists, turns, and stunning revelations, the final great triumph of the mysterious and eccentric millionaire Samuel W. Compelling and convoluted from the start, this gripping mystery never takes its foot off the gas pedal.

Every scene contains confounding clues, the reveal at the end is satisfying, and the writing is excellent throughout. The characters are familiar but nuanced enough to seem authentic, and their often-uneasy interactions are a testament to the clash of cultures that occurs when people are thrown into unexpected intimacy with strangers. Readers won't want to put down this page-turner until they find the tantalizing answer to the million-dollar question: Who killed Sam Westing?

Families can talk about the slow but steady revelation of clues. When did you figure out the answer to the Westing game? How does the winner figure it out?

Why do you think Sam Westing paired the people the way he did? What does each heir contribute to the pair? What was Westing's goal in constructing this elaborate game as part of his will? Do you think he succeeded? Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners. See how we rate. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes when you use our links to make a purchase.

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The star rating reflects overall quality. Learn how we rate. Parents' Ultimate Guide to Support our work! The Westing Game. Popular with kids Parents recommend. Would-be heirs compete for a fortune in classic mystery. Ellen Raskin Mystery Rate book.

Read or buy. Based on 6 reviews. Based on 27 reviews. Get it now Searching for streaming and purchasing options Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free. Get it now on Searching for streaming and purchasing options Did we miss something on diversity?

Suggest an update The Westing Game. What a disaster! WhisperingBells 6 June I read the book in the 4th grade, loved it, because I "got" it, then regrettably only portions of the book stuck to my head over the years.

Last year in 7th grade, the book was a class assignment and I was excited, remembering how I loved it, and the fact that I forgot how most of it went made it fun to reread it, almost like it was for the first time. Now it is one of my favorite books. But enough about me What happened to Theo? He was my favorite character, and one essential to the plot due to his chess playing.

And Flora? She was Turtle's partner in the game! There were also other missing characters. But the plot, I can only take reviewers' words for it, because I have not seen the movie, and I have no desire to see it. Seeing other people's reviews, I don't think I can recommend this movie. Stick to the book, and you can't go wrong. Movies that are based on books are always worse than the book. So when the book sucks, what can you expect from the movie? I read the book The Westing Game in 7th grade.

It was boring and stupid. A couple days ago, I saw the movie on TV. Everything that was bad about the book, was ten times as worse here. Why did I waste two hours of my life watching this? I don't know. Don't make the same bad choice I did. Go watch Se7en or Reservoir Dogs. You'll thank me later. So I was curious that somebody made it into a movie. Well, forget the book -- it was incomprehensible and petty -- it talks down to people.

Not so the movie. It actually condenses the feelings and essence of the book and tells it in a fashion that makes it make sense.

Whatever weaknesses it has are a result of trying to stick to the horrible book. There are universally good performances, particularly Ashley Peldon and the funny Billy Morrisette. It has some beautiful photography, odd but effective angles and transitions. There's not much to watch with your kids out there, but this is one you can enjoy together. I just finished reading the Westing Game a couple years ago, and one day when I was searching on the IMDb for a completely different topic, this movie turned up.

I have not seen it, but by simply looking at the cast list, I know they did something wrong. How did they louse it up? Let me count the ways. Shame On Whoever Did This! The book was far better than this horible theatrical recreation.

I makes me wonder if anyone associated with the film has ever read the book. They dropped at least five key characters and then went on to destroy the other characters completly. While the beginning and the end of the movie may have been remotely simmiler to the book, the rest of the movie was a total loss.

The book was clevery written leaving you guessing up til the very end with every player intertwining around the others. I was sorley dissapointed, I could see no reason as to why anyone would want to turn such a good book into such a bad movie, It was a complete waste of time and money.

Do Not See This Film. Disgrace TributeToBob 25 August Ellen Raskin wrote an amazing novel that was smart, witty and unpredictable. This movie was a horrible disgrace to the book as many are. Only few movies can pull of books notice the word few and they are few few again! This is not one of them. Be advised This movie put me to sleep when I watched. I was watching it with my friend, and we both woke up about an hour after we started watching it and we both found out that the other one had fallen asleep.

Don't watch it. I mean this movie was just to confusing as is the book, now if you like confusing movies I say go for it, you may actually like it, but if I were you I would just avoid it, it is for sure to put anyone of simple mindedness to sleep. If you like movies that will scare you also this movie had one scary part that I can remember and if you like that watch it.

I hope anyone out there who watches it enjoys it more than I did, and the people who made this need to "Get A Clue". Some people on these boards apparently want to maintain their adolescence by believing what they read as children has value in the mature world.

I watched this with my daughter the day -- she liked the cover -- and realized that I'd read this when I was in school, a long time ago. I hated this when I was 14 -- too many characters, too many cute elements, such smarmy inside jokes.

The whole thing left a bitter taste in my mouth, one that I've been trying to erase for a long time. The movie finally did it.

Cute but not stupid, you never felt as if you were out of it because you didn't see what the point was. It never patronized or condescended.

It was truly liberating. Never mind comparisons to the book, which if you hated you'll love the movie and if you loved the book, you'll hate the movie -- twas ever thus; the movie itself was well acted, beautifully shot, cleverly designed and even done where I grew up in Milwaukee. All in all, excellent.

My daughter liked it too. She's 9. The Westing Game is timeless and charming; Raskin has written a brilliant whodunit mystery that features a myriad of memorable characters and an exciting plot.

This is my first re-read of The Westing Game in over ten years, and I still feel the same wonder and suspense as I did then. Six families have been selected to live in Sunset Towers, a luxurious apartment complex situated at the very edge of Westingtown near Lake Michigan.

With the death of Samuel W. Westing, the founder of Westing Paper Products, sixteen people among the families in Sunset Towers are named heirs.

In the frantic competition to find the murderer among them, the drastically different heirs also have to deal with their own personal conflicts. Things are not as they seem… Who will win the Westing game? The characters in The Westing Game are captivating and dimensional, and Raskin brings out each of their personalities and quirks splendidly. They also grew on each other; characters who clashed at the beginning of the story slowly resolved their differences, and the relationship dynamics of unlikely pairs is an aspect that I looked forward to, a kind of happily-ever-after in its own way.

Raskin also spun a brilliant tale of mystery and deception. Who were these people, these specially selected tenants? They were mothers and fathers and children. A dressmaker, a secretary, an inventor, a doctor, a judge. And, oh yes, one was a bookie, one was a burglar, one was a bomber, and one was a mistake. The Westing Game brings together many contrasting elements of light and dark, young and old, and good and bad — a subtle sense of discord that is unexpectedly satisfying.

It sounds like this would be a good pick—what do you think? Do you have any other suggestions? I think The Westing Game would be a great choice!