Pink Poogle Toy Forum

And I had to reread it 3 times to finally understand every point

Oh yeah! I remember reading that so long ago... maybe it was 6th grade? I liked it a lot at that age. The twists were awesome; plus there was so much mysterious humor in it. Good times.

I've never heard of it before... What is it about?

Same here...care to give a description?

Or at least most of us. They forced it upon us in language arts class last year. Ugh. It really wasn't that bad, but I really don't go for things so... thin... Oh well. It was the best of all the short books I've read so far in my lifetime, for sure.

You know how you shouldn't judge a book by its cover? You also shouldn't by its thickness.

The Westing Game is so good because it is so dense. The amount that Ellen Raskin is able to pack into approximately 185 pages (give or take 20 depending on print size and edition) is absolutely astonishing. Her ability to get everything said in the barest minimum of words creates the driving pace of the mystery and makes the book a real page-turner. I think I had read it 3 or 4 times before 8th grade because I could pick it up and read it in between larger works that weren't necessarily always as good. Often times in rating works of literature, we do give preference to "larger" books, equating number of pages with complexity of thought and characterization. This equation is not necessarily true, and authors like Raskin prove it by creating small gems that contain as much information as their thicker counterpoints without any of the filler.

For those asking for a short explanation, The Westing Game is a mystery. The characters are invited to the reading of a will and must solve "The Westing Game," in order to claim their inheritance. The reader becomes actively involved with solving the puzzle, making it a truly engrossing work. It won the Newberry (the American Library Association's award for best young adult/children's literature) in 1979 and has been a staple of curriculums ever since.

I put upon it as what many teachers think as holes.

They want to use the book for teaching, but a majority has read it

The westing game, is described simply, and suspensely as well in Wolftrackers Post.

Its a short book, it may be a bit hard to understand, but is actually a straightforward path in the fog

Ooh, that sounds so interesting to me. *Must find one!*

I loved that book. The main character Turtle was just so interesting, and it had so many interesting plot twists...There's nothing like a mansion going up in flames/fireworks(?) in the end. ^^

That was a great book! I should read it again......

Now that I think about it, you're right, it was a very in-depth book, and thickness never really matters. It's just thinner books tend to get me nervous, because I tend to get obsessed with books I'm reading, and I like to know everything there is to know.
(My first post being an example that I tend to critique things badly if they are required reading/I'm having a horrible day.^^;;)

If I recall, it wasn't that long of a book. Perhaps I read the abridged version, if there is one?
We never were made to read it in school, and I never would have learned of it if a friend weren't reading it. I didn't realize it was so popular; it looked like all the other chapter books I read in elementary school.

Aw, I remember that book! I can barely remember what it was about - all I know is that I absolutely loved it! I also liked another book by Ellen Raskin.. can't remember what it was called.. something like "The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I mean Noel)".. or something like that! Yeah. I remember it was hilarious though, since there was this boy and a girl who told people they used to be Siamese twins.. but that's the only thing that sticks out for some reason.

The second best book I ever had to read in a class.

I actually never gave back the school my copy.

I have loved The Westing Game for years, and I still read it over again every couple of months. There is always something new that I spot. It's really amazing, how something so tiny can say so much.......