Book Review: The Stolen Moon by Rachel Searles

After the events detailed in THE LOST PLANET, Chase Garrity and his friend Parker are now living on the starship Kuyddestor. He has been reunited with his younger sister, but she’s not proving easy to get along with. Which is doubly frustrating for Chase since he is suffering from severe amnesia, and remembers nothing of his life prior to the events of the previous book. His sister, on the other hand, remembers their parents, family outings, birthdays, and all the things Chase wishes he could recall. But their time on the starship is about to get even more interesting as the captain has been called upon to moderate a territory dispute between two rival planets. What seems like a fairly straight-forward mission goes dreadfully awry. Things are not as they seem, and it soon becomes apparent to Chase and his friends that not everyone can be trusted. Our heroes find themselves on strange planets with stranger inhabitants, confronted with vicious creatures, and working against the odds to save the lives of those they care about.

I’ll start by saying if you enjoyed THE LOST PLANET, you’ll enjoy this sequel. It’s another pacy, action-packed Middle Grade story that hits all the right notes for that age group. As an adult I enjoyed it, so I’m confident that my 11-year-old self would have eaten this up. One thing in particular Rachel does well is to leave each chapter with a cliff-hanger. They’re not always edge-of-the-seat, but she manages to draw you into the story and keep you turning pages.

You don’t normally expect a lot of heavy concepts in Middle Grade, especially with adventure stories such as this, but Rachel shows respect for her young audience by not shying away from issues of identity and trust, and even going into some of the political and tactical intrigues at play. Chase’s issues with his little sister, the squabbles, the pouting, and the underlying concern for one another resonate, I’m sure, with everyone who has grown up with a younger sibling. There’s even some jealousy as a new girl enters their circle of friends and seems to hit it off with Parker, much to Chase’s chagrin. With a Middle Grade novel, clearly the kids take center stage, but Rachel’s adult characters are not just Mary Sues, fulfilling expected stereotypes. They are real characters with attitudes and stories of their own, some Chase gets along with, and others not so much.

Oh, and the cover is awesome. It’s by Jason Chan who did the cover for the first book, and I love his style–especially fitting for this series.

To sum up: a great Middle Grade read. Very family-friendly. Full of thoughtful dialog, action, and conflict. I highly recommend it. I read an Advance Reader Copy of the book; it’s due for publication in January 2015. That gives you time to read the first one if you haven’t already.

I’m sorry if this review isn’t too detailed. It’s always hard reviewing a second or third book in a series without giving away spoilers to those who haven’t read the first. Hopefully I’ve at least given you a good idea of what to expect.