My Favorite Book of All-Time

When I am asked what my favorite movie(s) of all-time are, I naturally respond with The Star Wars Trilogy. When asked about my favorite book of all-time, I reply with The Westing Game.

The mere fact that I am writing an epinion on The Westing Game is a testament to how engaging the book was. I read this book well over a decade ago, and have read it countless times since then; each time is still enjoyable for me.

Without getting too bogged down in the details of the book, the basic premise of the book is that rich Sam Westing has died, and has left his fortune to 16 heirs. The catch is that they must participate in a manipulative, deceptive game to catch the murderer of Sam Westing.

The book plays upon some of the most basic of human emotions and instincts. Greed, and the susbsequent deception and conniving that follows, is used masterfully in the characters in the book, while still maintaining the book's status as a child's book. The characters are also very well-developed, each with his/her nuances and personality.

Sound interesting? It is. This book, superbly written by Ellen Raskin, won the Newberry Award in 1979 (I think). The book is extremely suspenseful and often leaves the reader wanting more. I would highly recommend this book for parents to give to their children. In the hi-tech age, where video games, the internet, and television dominate a child's attention and imagination, good reads are far and few between. This book will immediately grab the child's attention and open them up to a new genre of books. For me, I became highly interested in mystery and suspense novels after reading The Westing Game.

There are some rather mature subjects that are involved in The Westing Game, and may not be appropriate for everyone. But the book is set at a farily easy reading level, and the approach of these subjects is tasteful so I can comfortably say that anyone over the age of 8 can read this book.