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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated The Westing Game in Books

Dec 13, 2020

The Westing Game

Ellen Raskin | 2004 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Young Adult (YA)

8.1

(7 Ratings)

Book Rating

While looking for my next read, I came across The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. I had never heard of it before, but the synopsis sounded interesting. I decided to give it a read, and I'm glad I did.

Sixteen people all move into Sam Westing's apartment building after receiving a letter inviting them to move in. They are the only tenants in the building. Little do they know that they were picked to play in a game where they could potentially win a lot of money. However, they must play hard to win if they want to inherit millions even if the game may be dangerous.

I didn't realize it while reading The Westing Game, but this book is considered middle grade fiction. The way it is written, I think every age group would enjoy it. It's a fun and easy read. The plot flows smoothly, and the story progresses with ease. Each page is filled with mystery. I found myself guessing who was the murderer and which person would figure out the clues to inherit Sam Westing's inheritance. I will say that The Westing Game's mystery had me stumped. I never could guess who was who which made me love this book even more. This book is chock full of mystery and intrigue. It will leave you scratching your head as you read it trying to figure out who killed Sam Westing. There's plenty of plot twists, and just when you think you have figured everything out, you will find out how wrong your guess was. I've never read a book that stumped me so much while trying to figure out everything! However, by the end of the book, everything is revealed. All questions are answered, and the author lets us know how each character got on in life. One minor annoyance (and I believe it's a personal thing) was that the writing seemed a little choppy to me in how it was written. Maybe it is just that style, but I found it a bit peculiar. However, that didn't take away my interest in the story that much.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game. I enjoyed the diversity of the characters in the book. I do wish there was a bit more backstory for each of the characters though. It's not that they didn't feel fleshed out because they did, but I would have enjoyed learning more about each one of them a bit more before they moved in to Westing's apartment building. I enjoyed Turtle's character the most. Although she was often looked over, her determination to prove herself was admirable. I like how, despite her young age, she threw herself into Sam Westing's game. Sydelle was my least favorite character. It wasn't because she wasn't written well, quite the opposite. I just found her personality annoying. I kept hoping she was somehow be kicked out. Even though she wasn't mentioned as much, I really liked Madame Hoo. I enjoyed her scenes and her personality on the pages she was mentioned in.

Trigger warnings for The Westing Game include minor violence, death, suicide, drinking, and minor racism from one of the characters.

With it's mysterious plot and interesting cast of characters, The Westing Game is one of those books that you will love reading while trying to figure out its plot. It will keep you on your toes at all times! I would definitely recommend The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin to those aged 13+ who are after an unpredictable and well written mystery novel.

Kudos

Darren (1599 KP) rated Thirteen Days (2000) in Movies

Aug 26, 2019

Thirteen Days (2000)

2000 | Drama, History, Thriller

6.3

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Verdict: History Lesson

Story: Thirteen Days starts like a normal day in the Kennedy administration, his assistant Kenny O’Donnell (Costner) joins the President John F Kennedy (Greenwood), his brother Robert F Kennedy (Culp) and advisers from every side for an emergency meeting.
The meeting is called to discuss the appearance of nuclear warheads in Cuba, believing Russia are moving to a closer position which could destroy large parts of America in minutes. What follows in Kenny trying to help JFK make the smartest decision, despite how many different people are advising with multiply options, all leading to one of the most intense stand offs in military history.

Thoughts on Thirteen Days

Characters – Kenny O’Donnell is the assistant advisor to the President, he gives him advice which would see him make decisions which would support the image of the President and the country instead of agree with the fast track answers which would see America go to war, he is the man that people turn to if they are not prepared to challenge the President’s decisions. President John F Kennedy is the man in the middle of the situation, the man that needs to make the final decision after taking on all the advice from his experts, he wants to remain in control of the situation to the best of his ability. Robert F Kennedy is one of the men advising his brother, he knows how John thinks and knows how the help him make the right decisions to remain calm and in control. We do have plenty of different advisors who are trying to offer a plan to what could make this stand off end quicker.
Performances – Kevin Costner is always entertaining to watch in a political movie, this is no different as he plays the pivot to everything going on. Bruce Greenwood as the President is great to watch through the film, with the whole cast looking like they would have been the people they are playing.
Story – The story here follows the events around the Cuba Mission Crisis, from the point of view of the Americans. This does break down to be a political thriller that does keep us on edge as we see all the potential ideas that were thrown out which could have seen the world in a different place if different outcomes had been used, while this is a 2 hour story, we only focus on the different ideas, which is interesting to see. Each person could have their own agenda which could show the mindset of the public during the events. We could have more intense moments, but it just doesn’t really do that much more, which doesn’t display just how dangerous the event could have been.
History – This is a big historical moment and it does show how the people in power were put on panic station when the events started to unfold.
Settings – The film uses the political settings for the most part, which does show us just how the people stayed together through the events of the crisis.

Scene of the Movie – Putting the Admiral in his place.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We could have had more intense sequences.
Final Thoughts – This is an interesting look at one of the biggest stand offs in modern history, we do see how it could have gone very differently and how everything unfolded.

Overall: Interesting look at history.