The Lost Planet by Rachel Searles (review)

When thirteen-year-old Chase Garrety suddenly appears within the well-fortified walls of an isolated compound on the planet Trucon, he has a blaster wound to the back of his head and no memory of his name, his life before, or how he got there. Things get even more complicated when the compound’s only other resident, the friendly but petulant fourteen-year-old Parker Mason, tricks him into an unauthorized trip to a nearby moon, and the boys inadvertently survive Trucon’s total destruction as a result. Suddenly they are being chased by intergalactic Federation Fleet soldiers, dragged into dangerous, illegal deals with underground crime lords, and rescued by an alien who may be the terrorist responsible for Trucon’s demise. Desperate to save themselves and uncover the truth of Chase’s past, they instead discover a vast conspiracy that could make them enemies of the Federation itself. A rollicking space adventure in the spirit of classic juvenile science fiction from Heinlein and Hoover, this fast-paced novel will keep readers on the edge of their seats from page one. Chase and Parker are amusing, likable, authentically realized teenage boys, as likely to put their foot in their mouth as to save the day with unexpected courage. Strongly crafted alien worlds, discordant alien races, and often unsound space vehicles only add to the overall sense of strange and dangerous fun. Perfect for readers ready to graduate from Colville’s My Teacher series and Star Trek and Star Wars fans who want a middle-grade adventure of their own, this novel will have readers jetting across space itself for probable sequels.