A fly-ahead boy pilots a Fly-ahead - his own tiny Space ship, that scouts out ahead of the main ship, to make sure Space is safe. Only a child can fit in the Fly-ahead, because it is very small - to save fuel, and to be a tiny target in times of danger.
Mark is travelling with his family across Space. Out of nothing their ship is coming apart, and then, when things get even worse, everyone is saved, everyone except him, by a large ship that just happens to be there. Something is not right. He is left alone in Space, to die. His time is running out, the air is turning poison, but the big ship isn't going to save him - they are using him as bait, to trap a little scout ship when it answers his distress beacon. Mark's adventures begin.
The Fly-ahead Boy is a childhood adventure story, and the first book in the Alito series.
The second Alito book is The Boy Made of Shining Happiness. Also by this author The Gift of Destruction.