This review was originally published in slightly different form at BDSM Book Reviews.
Note: This book is a bit of a departure from the books I normally review. You have been warned!
“Lost Boi” reimagines the classic tale of “Peter Pan” in kinky queer terms. Pan is a biological woman with a strong male identity - a boi. He is the unquestioned leader of the lost bois, a group of homeless youth Pan has found on the streets and brought to Neverland, which is really just an abandoned warehouse in which they are squatters. Pan and his bois live in a fluid and polyamorous relationship in which he is the Sir. Yes, Pan can make his bois fly, in the BDSM sense, and that is a big part of the hold he has over them. Pan lives in the moment, in a world in which there are no rules and the worst thing any of his bois can do is grow up.
The lost bois are on friendly terms with the mermaids, a group of femme prostitutes who live in an hold house which sits in the middle of the Lagoon. Of course, there has to be a Captain Hook and his pirates. Hook is an old school leather-man who believes in the rules, good form, and all that. Hook and Pan are sworn enemies who do battle (scenes) frequently. While Pan may allow Hook to top him, he has never submitted to Hook. Perhaps because of this, there’s more between the two than any of the lost bois can understand.
No retelling of “Peter Pan” would be complete without the crocodile, which in this version is a term interchangeable between heroin and the woman who deals in it. Oh, and Tinkerbell? She is Pan’s pet pigeon.
As related by our narrator, Tootles, things begin to change when Pan meets Wendi, a grrl whose stories captivate the boi. He convinces Wendi to return with him to Neverland and become mommy to all the lost bois. However, things don’t work out exactly as planned, and Wendi’s arrival changes things forever for Pan and the lost bois.
It’s rather surprising how well the classic children’s story adapts itself to this kinky story line. You may find yourself looking back at other childhood favorites to see what hidden secrets they might hold. In many ways, “Lost Boi” is a more realistic book than the one that inspired it. It’s easy to imagine a group of homeless youths banding together, squatting in an abandoned warehouse, and creating a world, however imaginary, that was better than the one that put them on the streets. Pan is still an over-the-top character, but his charisma and charm are entirely believable.
While BDSM is clearly a big part of what attracts the bois to Pan and holds the group together, there are no explicit descriptions of the scenes they play out together, or with the pirates. Tootles gives us enough information to get a fair idea of what goes on, but without much detail. He suggests things can be a bit extreme, but it’s left up to your imagination to decide just how far things go. Given this, the sting factor of the book is low, but it is a good story with a very imaginative concept.
“Lost Boi” will be published on April 14, 2015 and may be pre-ordered (or ordered after publication date) from Amazon