My Opinion of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

For English class, I read The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. This book won the Newbery Medal, and to me, was one of the greatest books I’ve ever read. The Westing Game is a novel that incorporates murder, clues, riddles, and a mystery within a few hundred pages. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend because it is filled with suspense and tension. Page after page, the reader will become more interested in the novel and desire to know the resolution. Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger that basically forces the reader to continue reading and to come a few steps closer to solving the mystery. The genius plot will fascinate anyone, and is definitely a book that everyone should read. The book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is most similar to my book because they both contain unbelievable twists and turns that renders the reader speechless. As in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, people and objects are not who or what they seem. Just like how Dr. Jekyll is actually Mr. Hyde, there is a character in The Westing Game that is disguised as someone else. Throughout the book, I got more into the book, and read more often. As the book progressed, I felt more attached to the characters and pictured what I would do if I was in their place. The characters in The Westing Game were all stated in a will of a millionaire paper company owner, Samuel Westing. The 16 individuals all had different unknown relations to him, and were told that within them, was the murderer of Samuel Westing. The characters were paired up and given a clue to find the murderer. The winner would win 200 million dollars and get Westing’s successful paper company. Ellen Raskin did a great job of portraying the feelings and dilemmas that the characters encountered as they tried to decipher the clues. If I was given a choice as to what to read next, I would definitely choose another mystery book. I wouldn’t necessarily choose to read a book by Ellen Raskin, but any mystery book author, such as Agatha Christie. Overall, The Westing Game was a great book, and I recommend it to everyone.