The Westing Game

by Ellen Raskin

I read this book for my f2f book group, for the Newbery Challenge and the Book Awards Challenge. Whew - three with one book!

It's a fun little mystery written for reading levels 4-12. I was a bit confused for the first half of the book. Maybe I was trying to make more out of it than I should have, or tried to keep track of all the bits and pieces of clues. Once I stopped doing that and just let the book unfold, I enjoyed it more.

"The game is "Who Killed Sam Westing" and the winner receives his estate, worth millions. Sixteen people, all residents of Sunset Towers --- an apartment building on Lake Michigan --- are named as heirs to the fortune. They are split into eight unusual pairs and given clues to solving the murder. Through snowstorms, power failures and bombs they play the game, leading to deception and intrigue. Everyone is a suspect, no one is ever who he or she seems to be, and no one except the reader has all the answers (and sometimes not even then). Don't forget Sam Westing's most important instruction to the heirs: "It's not what you have, but what you don't have, that counts."

After twenty-five years, THE WESTING GAME --- written by the late beloved author Ellen Raskin and winner of the 1978 Newbery Award --- is still remarkable for its diverse, interesting characters, its plot twists, and an ending that no one inside or outside the novel could predict. Woven into the mystery are insights into family relations, dishonesty, courage and finding a sense of self. The absurdities of plot lend a humorous air but never distract from the story. There is something new to be found with every reading, from clues to connections between characters." from a review by Carlie Webber at teenreads.com

I liked this book and found it to be very clever. It's satisfying to be familiar with books that receive awards and also, those that are discussed often.

Bones

by Jan Burke

I've discovered another author that I am going to want to read more of her work. This book runs along the same lines as a Dean Koontz book. Lots of intrigue and a heart-thumping pace. Sometimes the line between a cozy mystery and a regular mystery is vague and hard to define. No question about this book - It is NOT a cozy.

This is book 5 or 6 in the Irene Kelly mystery series. I've already got the first in the series mooched and it's on its way. Irene is a journalist included as part of an expedition to find the bones of a woman murder 4 years earlier. Also in the group is the murderer. Right at the first the reader knows who the murderer is and so does everyone in the group. He has made a plea bargain for a life sentence, instead of a death sentence, if he will show them the grave.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was the number of characters. I wasn't the only one having trouble keeping everybody straight, another person who had checked out this book before me had written the names of all the people on the investigative team on the back blank page. Oh, he/she had also blackened out the 8-10 bad swear words in the book!

I liked the suspense and a couple of unexpected twists and even though I figured out the accomplice long before the end, I still enjoyed reading to see if I was correct. I think Jan Burke is a good writer and look forward to reading more in this series.

Dancing for Joy

I can't believe it. I won a book from dear, sweet Stephanie from the blog, Stephaie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic. I love her blog. Not only does she read interesting books and does a great job of reviewing them, but she has a beautiful layout. The bright turquoise and purple against the black background are snazzy looking. You need to step over there and check out her blog if you aren't already a regular visitor.

Onto the book I won. It's an ARC that Stephanie has read and rated 4.5 out of 5 stars. The book is by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. Its a young adult novel about a 16-yr-old girl who gets marked to become a vampyre. It'll work great as an RIP selection. I read Stephanie's review to my 18-yr-old daughter and she's excited to read it, too.

A big thanks to Stephanie's son, Chad, for pulling out my name. Another big thanks to Stephanie.

Unread Authors Challenge

I was on vacation when Sycorax Pine announced her Unread Authors Challenge. It runs from September 2007 through February 2008. The Challenge is to read 6 books by authors you have never read before. There are so many books on my shelves by authors I haven't read yet, so I should be able to do this and read some of the books glaring at me. I've decided to read books by 6 different authors.

1. Lily Dale: Awakening by Wendy Corsi Staub
2. Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia McKillip
3. Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
4. Random PassageBy Bernice Morgan
5. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Morrell by Susanna Clarke
6. Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston

To find out what others are reading check out the blog Sycorax Pine made just for this blog. It's called Unread Authors.

Reading the Author Challenge

Another delightful challenge which I am looking forward to is sponsored by Verbivore at Icurable Logophilia.

• The rules are to choose one author and read at least 3 books by that author.
• The time period is between Sep. and Dec. 2007
  

I'm choosing to read more books by John Dunning, the author of the Cliff Janeway series. Earlier in the year I read the first in the series, Booked to Die. I liked it so much that I shared it with my mother and brother and they have both read 3 more in the series. Not to be outdone, I need to catch up! So my 3 books will be...
1. The Bookman's Wake
2. The Bookman's Promise
3. The Sign of the Book