I changed schools in 7th grade, and I can remember going to “Reading” class (in retrospect, how weird that we had a “reading” class!) on the first day. The teacher explained that the class was in the middle of a big project in which they had to read a book and then do all sorts of activities on it. Then she gave me the two choices: The Westing Game (which she’d described as “challenging”), and a novelization of Charles in Charge. I’M NOT EVEN KIDDING. I picked The Westing Game without knowing anything about it. (Later I discovered to my horror that I couldn’t see a single other person in the class reading it. And that will tell you a lot about the Lakeland school system.) Anyway, I LOVED the book. I thought Turtle was so cool, and I wanted to be just like her. I also developed a secret lasting desire to learn shorthand, because I was sure it would come in SUPER HANDY someday. I didn’t figure the mystery out ahead of time though, but then again I never do. I really need to re-read it one of these days…
Important Note
This site features content going all the way back to 2000. The posts you’ll read reflect my views and writing style at the time. While I have gone back to clean up a few of them, I think it’s important not to sanitise too much. This site is a record of who I am and how I’ve grown. Any blog post written years ago may not reflect who I am today, nor how I would write about the same topic today.
Comments
3 responses to “The Westing Game”
Oh my goodness. I read that one too, with the same comment from my elementary school librarian about it being challenging. My friend Vanessa and I sat up in my bedroom for hours with notebooks going one chapter at a time, taking notes, and discussing what was happening. It was so painstaking that I don’t remember actually finishing it, though I think of it every so often and think I ought to find another copy of it too.
This was one of my favorites, too! I just added it to my Bookins the other day, remembering that I need to read it again. I hope it will still be cool upon re-reading.
A novelization of Charles in Charge, huh? WOW. I’d love to see the associated activities for that one! My seventh grade English class didn’t have a choice, as we were all assigned The Westing Game, but I absolutely loved it. I actually read it again a couple of years ago and am happy to report that it is still awesome after all these years!