Community-created
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
by MonaA chapter-by-chapter deep dive into Ellen Raskin's Newbery-winning mystery — exploring what each character's moves reveal about human nature, and how Raskin pulled the strings behind the curtain to trick you, the reader, at every turn.
Library
The Game as a Mirror: What the Heirs Reveal About Us
Lesson 1
Who Moved Into Sunset Towers — and Who Arranged It
Sixteen strangers move into a brand-new tower in a single day — and their names were printed on the mailboxes before any of them said yes; so who is holding the guest list, and why?
StartLesson 2
The Will That Turned Neighbors Into Suspects
When smoke rises from a dead man's chimney, sixteen neighbors reveal their secrets through clenched jaws, dropped pins, and loaded silence—raising the question of how to read guilt without being fooled.
StartLesson 3
Pairs, Prejudice, and the Partners You Didn't Choose
Read Parts 7–9 first. What does it reveal about a person when they're forced to trust someone they'd never have picked?
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 4
The Many Faces of Grace Wexler
Read Parts 10–13 first. Grace wants to be an heiress more than anything. But look at what that wanting does to everyone around her.
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 5
Turtle's Kicks and Angela's Silence
Read Parts 10–15 first. Two sisters, two survival strategies. What is each one protecting — and from whom?
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 6
The Judge, the Doorman, and the Delivery Boy
Read Parts 14–18 first. Three characters who seem to be exactly what they appear. They are not.
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 7
Greed in the Game Room
Read Parts 19–23 first. With $200 million at stake, watch what people do when they think no one important is watching.
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 8
The Bomb, the Crutch, and the Shorthand Notebook
Read Parts 24–28 first. Three objects cause chaos in Sunset Towers. But what do they reveal about the people who own them?
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 9
Crow, Otis, and the Weight of the Past
Read Parts 29–35 first. The cleaning woman and the delivery boy look like background characters. Raskin put them there for a reason.
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 10
What Winning Really Costs
Read Parts 36–46 first. Turtle solves the game. But scan every heir — what did each one actually gain or lose, and is winning the same as being right?
Locked till you take the prior lessonHow Raskin Tricks You: The Craft Behind the Curtain
Lesson 11
The Salesman Who Never Existed
Start here — no extra reading needed. Before the game begins, a man named Barney Northrup sells everyone their apartments. He doesn't exist. How did Raskin hide that from you on page one?
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 12
Clues That Lie — and Why You Believed Them
Have Parts 8–12 fresh in mind. The clues look like riddles but work like traps. How does Raskin make you feel clever while leading you completely astray?
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 13
The Blizzard That Wasn't Just Weather
Have Parts 19–22 fresh in mind. Raskin didn't put a snowstorm in the book for atmosphere. It's doing structural work. What work, exactly?
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 14
Names, Initials, and the Identities Hiding in Plain Sight
Have the full cast in mind. Almost every name in this book is secretly working. Raskin was inspired by real puzzle-makers — find out who, and then crack the names yourself.
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 15
The Costume Party: Twins, Mirrors, and a Theme in Disguise
Have Parts 28–31 fresh in mind. Everyone dresses as someone else's twin. Raskin was making a point about identity she'd been building since page one — can you see it now?
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 16
The Missing Verb — and What You Overlooked Because of It
Have Parts 40–47 fresh in mind. The solution was in plain sight from the start. Raskin hid it using one of the oldest tricks in puzzle history — and it worked on almost every reader.
Locked till you take the prior lessonLesson 17
Reading the Reader: Raskin's Full Bag of Tricks
Read Parts 48–55 first. Now that the game is over, turn it around: what did Raskin do to your mind, and how did she learn to do it?
Locked till you take the prior lesson