There are some books as a kid you have as assigned reading. Then there’s the books that everyone seems to be reading. Back in the ancient times when Duran Duran was just trying to break the American market, Ronald Reagan was our lord and master and Dallas ruled the airwaves (aka the early 1980s or Damn I’m Getting OLD) the book jammed in the backpacks of the Thornapple Elementary School fifth grader was Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game.

Sixteen people, all living in or having connections to the luxury Sunset Towers on the shores of Lake Michigan, find out they are heirs to the fabulous Westing Paper Products fortune. But there’s a twist. The sixteen heirs are split up into eight teams each trying to solve the puzzle of who killed the late Sam Westing. Winner gets the $200 million Westing fortune.  Each team has four clues written on pieces of Westing paper towels.

Right away the adventure starts. The teams seem to be made up of people who have little in common with each other. Only one team was sensible enough to take notes about the will. The other seven teams want those notes. And a peek at the other clues. But as the teams try to puzzle out the clues, Sunset Towers becomes rocked by a blizzard that leaves the residents snowbound. And to make matters worse, there is a thief AND a bomber prowling around.

For the youngster (and the adult) Raksin’s sharp writing keeps you on your toes. (One character gives her position/profession as none but another heir thinks she wrote down nun). Things aren’t all Mary Sue and sweet. Heck (SPOILER ALERT!!! ALARM ALARM ALARM SPOILER ALERT) Angela being the bomber comes as a shock even when re-reading The Westing Game as an adult. Another writer would have made the bomber more obvious. The Angela that emerges at the end of The Westing Game has a lot more in common with a Fay Weldon character than your typical children’s book.

Back in my day (cue wavery old lady voice with the implied “Git Off Mah Lawn You Rowdy Youngins’!”) The Westing Game wasn’t required reading. Now it’s bound to be on your average elementary/middle school summer reading list. But remember just because a book is required reading doesn’t mean it isn’t a gem!