How can I make this query work?

[XTSR]

So I have made a query to retrieve some results in the database we made for the project but it only returns results when I only search for the first name, it doesn't retrieve results when I search for a last name or a complete name.

 

Disclaimer: I am a novice in PHP and Mysql

 

Here is the query:

 "SELECT * FROM tblparents WHERE strFirstName LIKE '%{$strSearchMe}%' OR strLastName LIKE '%{$strSearchMe}%'"

[requinix]

The query certainly seems reasonable. What is the query after inserting the values? What if you run it manually?