I'm so sorry to say that I just didn't get on with this book. I was really excited for the concept, because I love the Peter Pan story. But I don't think the characters or the setting/situation was set up well enough and I lost interest fairly quickly. I needed to know why this world was different from any other dystopian world and I just didn't get that. 
Such a shame that this didn't work out, I think the idea was fab and I praise the diversity in the characters. For me, I just needed to connect with the plot more.

Lost Boy, Found Boy is science-fiction fairytale-retelling with an extremely interesting concept, but falls over a little bit in its execution.

There are some really great LGBTQIA+ inclusions - various characters identify as trans, non-binary, asexual, lesbian and bisexual - and the biggest shame is that the story is not long enough to spend any time developing these relationships further, because they’re utterly fascinating to read.

While most of the characters aren’t all that well-developed, I did like some of the typical ‘Peter Pan’ traits that Peter retained, including a child-like frustration with his world and the fact that he takes his frustrations out on everyone around him, being unable to cope with them himself.

For the most part, while I loved the idea, I found the world building to be lacking substantial depth in order to fully understand the world that these characters inhabit, which in turn is made more difficult to understand because the characters also find themselves immersed within a computer program.

Overall, great concept, I just wish it had been a little more fleshed out on the page. 2.75 stars.

Well, this was a fun read! Unfortunately this book does lack a lot of worldbuilding and the characters are kinda flat. I still enjoyed reading it though, even though it left me with a lot of questions. Let's start out with the things I liked:

- Peter is trans and in love with Mir, who's non-binary. Peter also refers to them as their enbyfriend!
- Tinkerbell is an asexual lesbian computer interface and in love with Gwen, who is based on Wendy
- Hook is a bisexual cyborg (though I do have one problem with how this was written but I'll get to that)
- Two of the Lost Boys are in love with each other!
- Hook is a part of the squad!!
- It was fun to see how the original tale was woven into this
- Peter is such a soft boy for Mir??
- It's a really quick read

Now as for things I didn't like/felt the book could improve on...

- I have NO CLUE about the world this is set in. It's clearly a futuristic world, and as they talk about 'old Earth' I think it's a different planet? But I have no idea. There's also a war going on, but that's barely touched upon. I don't know why there's a war or who they're fighting. Also: I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW NEVERLAND WORKS I DON'T KNOW IF I'M STUPID OR WHAT. So basically Peter has a dream about Neverland and then decides to make it real. It's VR but it's also real?? They're actually taken to Neverland?? How does this work help maybe I'm just overthinking it too much but for a while I thought it was all virtual reality because Peter puts on a VR helmet?? Did that helmet transport him to the world he coded?? And then it turned out he was really there?? MUCH CONFUSION

- The characters are unfortunately really flat. They only have a few characteristsics, though in case of The Lost Boys they pretty much have none? New characters kept appearing without really developing the previous ones, and the Lost Boys are suddenly there and barely get any screen time. Hook is a cyborg through experiments but?? We don't know why or what exactly happened

- The plot is really, really rushed, which also leads to a lot of telling instead of showing. For example we don't see Gwen and Peter falling out. There's a time skip where it's already happened because Peter starts to get really frustrated and takes that out on the others, but I wish we could've seen that happen

- So there's nothing to indicate that Hook is bisexual in the book, though since this is an ARC that may change. It's clear that he's not straight, but if it weren't from the author's bio on Goodreads I wouldn't have known that he's supposed to be bisexual, which is a real shame.

- Tink and Gwen are cute but we don't really see them develop as a couple, which makes me so sad

Basically this book has A LOT of potential. If the book had been longer, developed the plot, characters and the relationships more - this would have been a really, really great book. It's such a fun take on Peter Pan and there's a lot of LGBTQIAP+ rep. I definitely have hope for this author's next works.

I think the core idea of this book is insanely interesting, however it wasn't well executed. I'm going to try to remain as spoiler-free as possible.

Nothing is really explained. I have no idea when it takes place or where it takes place. I have no idea how old the two main characters are. I thought they were in their early teens, but although the author never stated their age, it seemed that wasn't quite the case. It's confusing because they don't act like they're older than 13 to be honest. It takes place in a dystopian world and there's a war going on, but it's never said what the war was about. I don't even understand how much time lasped in a single scene. It seemed to jump around very quickly. I wasn't sure if it'd been minutes or even days.

There is a background romantic relationship between a robot and a human. I just... What? What?

I wasn't that much of a fan of the writing. There were quite a few run-on sentences and grammar mistakes. Things were described... oddly. I dunno how someone can have a "sarcastic body" or be a "dehydrated mess", or have "crisp green eyes". I didn't see the characters develop throughout the story. I didn't see the characters bonding and becoming friends. It was mentioned as if it had been there along, but it wasn't. There weren't any subplots or really any stakes. It was extremely straightforward. 

This was a really fast read, and this is coming from someone who is a slow reader. Near the end I started to care about characters, and by the end I mean in chapter 11 out of 12. 

There's a lot more that I want to add, but I don't have my notes with me. I might end up adding it in later.

In the end, I really think this would have been better as a longer novel. This seems more like a detailed outline. I would have noped out of it pretty early on, but I wanted to see it through to the end.

Lost Boy, Found Boy is a science fiction reimagining of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan where Neverland is a computer program, and Tinker Bell, its interface. In Mir and Peter’s world, boys are snatched from their pods and enlisted into the army to fight in a dangerous battle against an unknown foe. Little did Peter know, Mir volunteered to join because those who are chosen are given the ability to fly. In order to save Mir from the dangers of battle, Peter creates Neverland, a place where Mir will be able to fly without jeopardizing Mir’s safety. But Neverland is more than what Peter imagined. Suddenly, the island takes on a life of its own, and its interface, Tinker Bell begins to open portals to the outside world. As Neverland’s population grows, Mir is nowhere to be found. As the island begins to develop, Tinker Bell becomes overloaded with data. Will Peter be able to find Mir and keep his island alive? 
This was a rather odd version of Peter Pan that infuses artificial intelligence and technology into a strange mixture. When I first began reading, the opening completely hooked me in. Boys are placed in pods for their safety as the oxygen is cut off for the night. The boys fear being branded and subsequently chosen to enter into the war. The dystopian setting blended with science fiction had me sold.  But, as the story went on, I found myself disconnected from the events with very little satisfaction when I reached the conclusion. I do believe the writing itself has great potential. The problem was in the execution.
As this novella is rather short, there really isn’t a great amount of character development or plot to encompass the entire storyline. The storyline would have fared better if Peter and Mir’s characters were a little more fleshed out.  I also wished I knew more about the war Mir decides to join. For instance, who are they fighting? Why are children/young adults chosen? Why does Mir want to fly so much even if it means that Mir might die as a result? I have no clue, and I will never know.
The secondary characters seemed to be just “there” without any real purpose. When James (Hook) was introduced into the story, I figured “it’s about time there was a villain.”  James is a half-human and half-robot who used to fight in the war. He has lost all sense of his identity, and his entire personality seems to be focused around his jealousy of Mir. In the end, it seemed as if he was only there to reinforce that this is a retelling of Peter Pan. Character with a hook? check. Honestly, this novella probably wouldn’t be readable if the reader had never heard of Peter Pan. While this is highly unlikely since Peter Pan is a well-known novel that has been adapted into various mediums many times. Yet, when a well-known story is retold, the story should be able to speak for itself without mooching off the original.
All in all, I was disappointed by Lost Boy, Found Boy. The idea of Neverland being a computer generated setting was very intriguing, but the overall world-building and lack of personality in the characters made this novella incomplete. I would recommend this book to those who are looking for representations of LGBTQ characters or are looking for a non-binary character.
*I received Lost Boy, Found Boy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was not really my cup of tea if I have to be honest. The idea was great; trans Peter Pan in futuristic, dystopian setting. Polish' writing is also excellent, she's a good storyteller.

However, I thought it was too short. It's a world that could've done with more detail and more world building. Overall it felt a little rushed.

Not my favorite retellings, the writing wasn’t my favorite but I loved the idea. I gave it 3/5 stars because I loved the idea of the story just wasn’t a huge fan in how it was written.

**Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read an eARC of Lost Boy, Found Boy in exchange for an honest review! Don’t punch me too hard, kay?** 

Lost Boy, Found Boy is a LGBT/nonbinary novella set in the futuristic/alternate world of Peter Pan. Peter Pan’s lover, Mir, has been sent to fight in a war. Therefore, to keep Mir with him, Peter programs “Neverland” so that Mir can, in essence, escape the war. They get to both have their cake.

Or at least, that’s how it started.

I have/have had LGBT friends but never have I met a nonbinary person. So admittedly, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into.

Firstly, Jenn Polish has an excellent command of English in her writing. Her words flowed and ebbed, painting a clear picture that allowed me to easily follow. Compared to the other books I have read lately, I was really excited to read such rich words! The world building also makes me imagine a bit of a futuristic London, or at least how I would think it’d look like.

I really have nothing to complain about; Peter and Mir’s relationship seems to be really interesting. However, I have to admit that I’m having a hard time with understanding/keeping up with Peter’s gender change and Mir’s gender. 

I think part of this goes with me growing up always having Peter portrayed as a straight boy. I can understand the transgender concept with Peter but for me personally, it was hard for my brain to sort through that.

I especially had a hard time with the pronoun “they” being used to describe Mir. Again, I’m aware that for nonbinary people, they may choose to use “they” instead of “he/she”. But my brain still had a difficult time registering that “they” was referring to Mir. For a while there, I thought it was a typo. Or that Mir was two people, not one. 

So I would say this. If you are looking for a well-written LGBT/nonbinary Peter Pan retelling, stop everything and start reading Lost Boy, Found Boy. However, don’t feel bad if you end up getting confused like me! Haha!

Until next time!

DNF  I got to about 25% of the way through this book and I was so very confused. I didn't really know what was happening and I feel like everything could have been set up better.

So Lost Boy, Found Boy is written by Jenn Polish, and is set to be published on 19 March 2018. It’s a novelette of about 21K words and will cost $2.99 on  NineStarPress.com . Now that I have all that technical stuff out of the way I just want to rave about this book. I am a queer individual and its sometimes really really hard to find representation in books- but not in this one. It was such a smooth read, and I finished it within a day of receiving it. I loved the twist on the classic Peter Pan story, the worldbuilding, the characters- everything. The world building was just enough as to not deter from the main story- but also give the reader enough to truly picture everything. Though I wish there was a tad bit more of background, as I found myself slightly lost at the beginning, honestly it isn’t necessary. Again I loved this book, and at the low price of $2.99 I think it’s a total steal and I highly suggest that you read it.

Overall, this book does a great retelling of Peter Pan. The sci-fi setting fits.
What I personally needed to get used to was the singular use of ”they”. Which after two or three pages felt just as natural as seeing Peter and Mir interact.

The book is shorter than I thought it would be and I flew through it in about 1.5 hours. What it did have going for it was the incredible addition of the Interface and the sort programming it showed in the book. This made it all the more real.

The themes I remember being present in Peter Pan were clearly in this adaptation as well. Albeit in a slightly different format.

Jenn Polish’s writing style is fluid, smooth and paints a good picture. I love that the nonbinary and trans representation were what they were supposed to be. Who they were as characters and not what they were.

In conclusion, this book is well worth the read, but it is definitely not for everyone.
It took me about 5 pages to get into the flow of it. I will be looking into Jenn Polish’s other work as this retelling entertained me greatly.

This book was extremely short. Which I wasn't expecting. I would have liked it to have been longer

I'm not really into fantasy, but I couldn't resist giving this retelling of Peter Pan a try. Technology plus a dystopian feel? That sounds more like sci-fi to me, the kind of book I reach for!

Polish holds true to many of the original Peter Pan character representations and themes, but I wish it hadn't been quite as obvious as it was. Maybe in a longer work there would have been time to allow the reader to figure it out on their own. This was a fast, page-turner kind of read, but it also bordered on feeling rushed. I would have loved a longer book with more detail and more background. I had a lot of questions about the world that were never addressed, which was frustrating since I enjoyed the premise so much.

The loveliness of Polish's writing style was a refreshing contrast to the harshness of the world. And their trans and nonbinary representations were fantastic. It's something you notice right away, then forget because it feels so natural and perfect. You just can't beat #ownvoices stories.

3.5 stars

‘Lost Boy, Found Boy’ is a short work of science fiction loosely based upon characters from ‘Peter Pan.’  Author Polish has included familiar character names and elements, while adding an original plot and making some changes to the characters.

We start off with Peter and his enbyfriend Mir.  Circumstances are vague, but the story clearly takes place in the future, after Earth is no longer habitable, oxygen is hard to come by, and a war is being fought.  Peter wakes one morning to learn that Mir has volunteered for the war effort, desperately wanting to fly.  Peter, master programmer and hacker that he is, copes with Mir’s leaving by creating a virtual world in which their physical bodies can safely inhabit.  Peter thinks he’s programed the interface in such a way that not only would he and Mir be able to fly in this created space, Neverland, but also that Mir’s memory would be altered to forget leaving Peter to join the war.  Peter wants nothing more than to be reunited with his paramour and for the pair to be left alone together.

Peter’s overestimation of his programming abilities causes some issues.  First a cyborg with a hook shows up, a boy with some flesh left, but whose veins have been replaced with wires by the war effort.  Then Gwen shows up, and names the interface Tinker Bell, after the noises it/she makes when communicating.  Then Gwen and Tink seem to grow close, and Hook seems to have a crush on Peter.  As Peter urges Tink on to find the correct human companion, Mir, Tink brings in Jon, Michael, Nibs, and Slightly; boys lost to the war effort who all seem to have memory issues upon entering Neverland through Tink’s portal.  One last desperate attempt brings Mir to Peter, at the height of memory problems and interface overloads.

Will Mir and Peter remember each other and get to live happily ever after?  Will Tink overload and send all the children back to the horrible war?  Find out on March 19th.

I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book.  All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

I feel like this book is a great idea but kind of failed in the overall execution. 

“Lost Boy, Found Boy”, tells the story of Peter a boy desperate to save his love Mir from war and uses his programming skills to make their secret hideaway a bit bigger turning it into Neverland, an island filled with whatever his mind can think up, but when a few new faces make their way onto the island with problems of their own Peter is forced to make a decision that could destroy Neverland once and for all and take Mir’s love for him with it. 

The futuristic take on the Peter Pan story was really cool and I liked seeing a bit of the coding mixed in among the dialogue, however, there was a lot of things I was confused on and I’m not sure if it’s intentionally ambiguous in order to keep the book short and to the point but I really think this concept would have benefited with a few more chapters just to explain how these people ended up where they were and what the war is in order to fully explain the overall need to create something separate. I get the slight nod to the original story as an overreaching theme but I still think a bit more exposition could have gone a long way. 

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**