Mason Stark is a thirteen-year-old cadet from the Academy for Earth Space Command. He and seventeen of his fellow cadets have boarded the SS Egypt for a short voyage - just enough for the cadets to log their requisite space hours. Mason's sister serves aboard the ship and the two of them can't help playing practical jokes on each other, but Mason's come at a bad time - in front of the captain just as a real danger approaches.

The Tremists, an alien race that's been at war with Earth for over half a century, attacks the SS Egypt on its routine cruise. The Egypt's captain orders the cadets to hide in safety, being that they aren't yet trained for conflict. But no one was ready for the surprise attack and the captain and most of the crew are either killed or captured in the fray - only the hiding cadets are currently safe.

The group of teens appoint Mason as their temporary leader and they set out to take back the ship (if possible) and notify the ESC of what has happened. What they don't understand, is why the Tremists would bother attacking a ship with a bunch of cadets aboard. But then the answer is revealed to them ... the Egypt is transporting a weapon that could turn the tide of war in humanity's favor.

This is clearly a middle-grade reader, based on the age of the protagonists and the high level of action and the sibling practical jokes. It's definitely exciting and nearly every age-appropriate reader can put themselves in Mason's shoes.

But for all the action and excitement, there's really not much to this story - it is almost embarrassingly simple and nothing here is particularly original.

Author Dan Krokos knows how to keep the reader turning pages with all the action and he certainly understands what appeals to middle school age readers but this is the sort of book that provides temporary enjoyment but most readers won't remember much after the reading.

Adult readers may find this a bit hard to enjoy. While it's a minor point, I was annoyed by constantly seeing the acronym for Earth Space Command. Every time I saw ESC I read it as "Escape Key". Maybe younger readers won't make that connection as easily as I did?

Overall, the book is fine. Not great, not terrible.

Looking for a good book? If The Planet Thieves by Dan Krokos gets a child to read and enjoy a book ... GREAT! But it's not on my list of books to recommend for younger readers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The story started out great: A space ship full of a regular crew and a team of cadets getting their first chance to go into space is attacked by an alien enemy. This enemy has refused all attempts at contact in the past, and seems bent only on destroying humanity. The writing seemed realistic and exciting at this point.

Then, maybe 40% into the book, we learned the cadets were all 8-13 years old. That made me frowny, as their actions thus far seemed very mature and experienced -- I would have bought them in the 18-22 range, with all the schooling and ground-training a crew getting ready to go into space would have by that point.

Then every single adult on the ship was killed, and these children had to take over the ship. Based on one single class about how all Earth spaceships work, these 8-13 year olds were not just successfully able to fly the ship, they took it into battle.

Up until this point in the book's history, no one had won a fight against the aliens. These kids beat a boarding party of more than a dozen of them...

Mason lives on the USS Egypt with his sister Susan as an ESC Cadet after the death of his parents. When Tremists (an alien race hostile to humans) attack the ship, the captain is killed, his sister is taken hostage, and Commander Lockwood is so gravely injured that he puts Mason in charge. Tom, the captain's son, is a bit put out, but knows that the cadets must take back the ship if there is any hope of defeating the Tremists. They have been fighting with the ESC over the habitable planet Nori-Blue. When they board the Egypt, their goal is to steal a large "gate" which collapses space and makes travel faster. Once they get the gate, they use it to transport Earth nearer to their planet! Mason realizes that his friend Merrin is actually a Tremist when the Tremist King insists that she's his daughter... and after he sees under the Tremist uniform and realizes that Merrin's violet colored hair and eyes do make her look just like them. A hostage exchange (Susan for Merrin) is arranged, to be conducted on the neutral planet of Nori-Blue. Once there, the cadets realize that Nori-Blue, thought to be uninhabited, is not. Secrets about the past of both the humans and Tremists are revealed. The ending is full of lots of twists, and I don't want to ruin the suspense!
Strengths: This is classic, action-packed science fiction. Travel around in space, deal with hostile aliens, travel to new planets where there are even more dangers, figure out that the aliens are not that different from us. Have cool weapons, used judiciously, and add children in charge-- awesome! There is even a jet pack at one point. Still not understanding how it's 2013, phones can send pictures, and I STILL don't have a jet pack!
Weaknesses: Hmmm... can't think of much. Of course it stretches credulity to have the cadets in charge of the ship, but when everyone else is captured or disabled, what can you do?