Spell the Month in Books – July

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews from the Stacks and occurs on the first Saturday of each month or maybe later. This month, I chose books I read when I was about sixth grade.

Just Dial a Number by Edith Maxwell (1971). I don’t think any teen who read this book ever forgot it:

“Someone tried to kill me,” Cathy gasped into the phone.

The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss, historical fiction set in WWII Holland

Title: The Upstairs Room
Author: Johanna Reiss
Publication: HarperCollins, paperback, originally published in 1972
Genre: Juvenile Historical Fiction
Setting: Holland, WWII

Description: Annie de Leeuw is the youngest of three sisters, living in Holland, not far from the German border. Her father is a cattle dealer, her mother an invalid, her sister Rachel teaches at a nursery school, and sister Sini is studying farming. But Annie’s family is Jewish and everyone is worried about the news from Poland where Hitler has invaded.

The House of Windjammer (Book Review)

Title: The House of Windjammer (Book 1)
Author: V. A. Richardson
Publication Information: Bloomsbury Hardcover, 2003
Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Plot: 17th Century Holland: the Windjammer family has been a prominent part of the Dutch community for generations and its shipping fleet is heavily invested in trade to the New World. When the shipwreck of four laden galleons causes financial disaster, 15-year-old Adam becomes the heir to the House of Windjammer with the overwhelming responsibility of saving the family fortune and reputation. He is hindered by his father’s enemy, the evil banker Hugo van Helsen, whose lovely daughter Jade may also be Adam’s enemy – or his only trusted ally in a city of treachery, danger and despair.

What I liked: I don’t object to books where the main character is a boy but Jade van Helsen is a more interesting character than Adam. Although the reader (perhaps more knowledgeable about these situations than Adam) wants to trust her, she has her own agenda and it is not completely clear if she is helping Adam because she likes him and recognizes her father’s villainy or whether she has her own agenda.