Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game was the 58th Newbery winning book and the award’s first mystery. Set in southern Wisconsin along Lake Michigan (Milwaukee perhaps?), 16 people move into an apartment complex and are each invited to prove that he or she is the true heir to their wealthy next door neighbor by discovering which one of the other would-be heirs was his murderer. The contest involves word puzzles and clues, and the book as a whole has lots of characters and back stories, pseudonyms and disguises. If you’re not interested yet, with the book’s Uncle Sam and fireworks motifs, it would be a great summer read around the 4th of July.
What I liked. You just can’t beat a mystery for a good ending full of reveals. This book’s ending was so satisfying, with the entire (and rather large) cast of characters experiencing growth, gaining friends, and receiving fresh chances. You’d think since I love a good ending that I would be crazy for mysteries, but usually I find the murder bits of murder-mysteries too gory and the unreliability of the characters (someone is, probably multiple people are, lying!) too frustrating. So usually, I like stories to have elements of mystery more than just being a straight genre mystery. But this makes me wonder if perhaps I just need to read middle grade mysteries!
What was interesting and similarity to other Newbery winners. I thought the Southern-Wisconsin, Lake Michigan setting was so great with the lake and the snow storms. There have been a couple other Newbery winners set in Wisconsin: Caddy Woodlawn and Thimble Summer. As far as books with similar theme and tone, there really, other than The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, aren’t a lot of Newberies with this playful tone and mystery to solve. (It does remind me a little of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl or a classic Agatha Christy.)
What were some limitations. I think this is also just part of a mystery, but honestly, parts of the beginning of the book were confusing. There were a lot of characters; sometimes it was difficult to keep them straight. But if you just kept reading, it all came together and the characters became more of themselves as their separate mysterious pasts were revealed. It all made sense in the end. The other slightly strange choice was that even though Ellen Raskin is mainly an illustrator, and the cover of the book has great illustrations of each character, the book itself didn’t have any illustrations. I’m not sure how publishers decide what middle grade books get illustrations (and I’m sure it’s changed over the last 30 + years), but I would have liked to see her wonderful illustrations throughout the book.
What it teaches me as a writer. This book made me ponder when readers will put up with being a little bit confused. I think the pay-off of a good ending will often cover over a multitude of sins, but I think the little reveals along the way before the final ones keep readers engaged in a mystery even if there are details that would really only make sense on a second read. This book does seem to be one that people enjoy reading again and again. I think as long as the author is not confused, the world makes sense even if things are left out to preserve the mystery. Mostly, readers will go along for the ride.
Have you read The Westing Game? What are your favorite mystery books ? (Any other solid middle-grade mysteries I should know about?)
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