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Title: Not just for teenagers
Review: I was a bit hesitant in picking up Balance of Trade, because it looked from the jacket like it was intended as a "young adult" novel, and (no longer qualifying for that designation) I was concerned that it would be a bit simplistic for my tastes. I need not have worried. It falls into the great SF tradition of novels that do not sacrifice emotional depth or plot complexity merely because the hero is not yet full-grown. While the book does indeed qualify as a "coming of age" novel, it is not written simplisticly, nor is the young protagonist portrayed as a fool--he knows how much he doesn't know, and when he makes mistakes, he does so intelligently. The story is enriched by a number of mysteries, only some of which are resolved by the end. I am hoping that this is not stand-alone, and that there will be follow-up novels in this series
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