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.