Book Review: The Westing Game

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Have you read this book? If you haven't, you really should. It comes highly recommended from me and it's a Newberry Award winner. Besides, it's a short read, I think it's under 100 pages, but you'll love it.

Synopsis: Westing Town is a town started by the millionaire Sam Westing who made his fortune through Westing's Paper Products. After he dies, he selects sixteen people at random to become his heir, one's a bomber, one's a thief, one's a bookie and one's a mistake. The book focuses mostly on thirteen-year-old Turtle Wexler, a smart and inventive girl who kicks shins out of self-defense when someone touches her braid. The book is filled with schemes, funny dialogs, mystery and songs. The ending is something that you probably won't expect. So this review doesn't get tiresome, I'm making a little list of the heirs and what they're like.

Grace Wexler: Turtle and Angela's mom, she thinks she's an interior designer, has a head for business and only eyes for Angela. She pretty much lets Turtle roam free.

Jake Wexler: Married to Grace, loves his daughters and wife and is a foot doctor.

 Angela Wexler: 21 years old, often referred to as the pretty one. She wants to go to school and be a doctor but her mother wants to get married to Dr. Denton Deere.


Turtle Wexler: 13 years old, is interested in the stock market and plays the game well. finds a motherly figure in Flora Baumbach.

Dr. Denton  Deere: Intern, probably in his late twenties. He's a workaholic but has a good heart. 

Flora Baumbach: Dress maker, her daughter died. She loves Turtle and is very sweet to her and to everyone.


James Shin Hoo: Doug's dad, he's mad a Westing because he think that he stole his idea for disposable paper diapers and numerous other things. He has a failing business, owning a Chinese Restaurant.

Sun Lin Hoo: James's second wife from China, hard speaks any English.

Doug Hoo: Age 18, track runner.

Theo Theodorakis: Age 18, wants to be a writer.

Christos Theordorakis: Age 15, about three years ago he got a disease which left him in a wheelchair.


Sydelle Pulaski: She wants to get attention and does very interesting things to get it.

Judge J.J Ford: The only black female judge, very smart. Sam Westing paid for her education.

Sandy McSouthers: The doorman who was fired by Westing himself when he worked in the paper mill.


Otis Amber: The daft delivery boy who is 63.


Bertha Erica Crow: The cleaning woman




Good things: Angela is very sweet to everyone even when they aren't really considerate of her, as is Mrs. Baumbach. Turtle covers for her sister on one very large occasion. There really is hardly any language in the book and it's a good read with good characters and nice people.

Bad things: The description given by Otis Amber and Sandy McSouthers or Westing's death is kind of creepy. Turtle is rude at times, as are many other characters.

Notes on the writing: It's well written and gives you just enough information not to feel lost in the story. A lot of things happen but they aren't bogged down in detail. The characters a well developed without being over developed.

Things to watch out for: In one scene, Jake and Grace go out for drinks together after a fight and return to a meeting late with Grace drunk.
"We lost track of time." Jake explains, it turns out that they were toasting good times, three wine bottles full.


Ratings: *****(5) *****(5). It's that good.
Age Group: 7ish and up.
Should you read it?: YES!!! Go read it now!