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.

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. Now you’ll just have to read it for yourself to understand why.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. And which character, I wondered, did Searles most relate to? Parker. She then spent a year and a half revising. In 2008 Searles came up with The Lost Planet concept, and in 2010 she tried to write 1000 words a day. It then took her two years to write the first 100 pages.

That’s not hard to imagine when you learn that the idea for a space story was first planted in her mind in 2006. The Lost Planet actually took her four years to write, but the good news is that the second book in this series has already been written! “Writing a book,” according to Searles, “is like putting lots of puzzle pieces into the right spot, with lots of re-writing.” In fact she said her original outline for the novel changed so much since she had her first idea for the story. She told me that she’s been writing since she was six years old. I asked Searles about when she began writing. So, if you’ve got a child who thrives on the science fiction genre that’s packed with action and adventure as well as interesting characters such as assorted aliens, a mysterious benefactor, and a Federation-like organization, then this is the book for them. The story unfolds in the course of a week in which Chase, without giving any spoilers, learns some unusual stuff about himself. Chase soon meets Parker and though they start off fighting, the boys realize they need to take care of each other. Together Chase and Parker meet an android named Mia who becomes a huge help to them in this fast-paced, sci-fi adventure. Readers will be introduced to Chase Garrety, a 13-year-old boy who wakes up on another planet with a head wound.

I met this friendly and imaginative debut fiction author earlier in the year at a local event sponsored by Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse where Searles read from her book and explained its premise. The Lost Planet ( Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, $15.99, Ages 9-13 ) is the first novel in a series by Venice, CA author Rachel Searles. The Lost Planet by Rachel Searles, Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, 2014.