THIS BOOK.

Gosh I loved this novel so. much. All the stars. TJ Klune can do no wrong!!! While I believe this is his simplest book yet, and didn't carry as big of a punch as his prior two novels, this book had great pacing and character development!

I've read the first two book by TJ Klune. This third story starts promising but doesn't deliver as the others. It has wonderfully created characters that you want to love (Victor, Gio, nurse Ratchett and rambo) but the story is trying too hard to fit in the elements on Pinocchio. It wanders during most of the first half and misses the connection the author typically builds with the characters. TJ Klune's first books tackled big complex topics - inclusivity and death - with ease. This topic seems to be lacking a focus. You start with a fixate on teenage sexuality and some rather crass innuendo references that I felt were misplaced and not needed. I didn't buy that the robot companions would have the knowledge they did on the human aspects of sex for pleasure to make the crass innuendos. Then you move to a lesson on what it is to be human and experience emotions. There are over tones of wizard of oz thrown in the middle and it just seems lost. I was disappointed with this one.

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In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune is the strangest reimagining of a fairy tale I think I’ve ever read, and honestly? I’m not sure if it completely works, which makes me a bit sad. The story sets up Victor who is the son of a robot named Gio. They live in a forest with Rambo, a little vacuum unit who is the fluffiest of cinnamon rolls, and Nurse Ratched who is off her treads. The family finds another robot in the Scrap Yards and put in back together only to have things go badly from there.

The characters in this, for the most part, are fantastic. TJ Klune’s strongest skill is characters and their dialogue. I found myself laughing out loud at a lot of lines, and I still swear Rambo must be protected at all costs. That was the strongest part for me, the other parts falling apart.

The setting felt barely sketched in. We know they live in the forest and we see a few other settings, but none of them felt very clear. The characters and dialogue seemed to be the only thing carrying this forward as he attempted to grasp at his themes. Forgiveness, humanity, worth, personhood, etc were all things the story hinted at. Sadly it didn’t feel like anything clear was stated, and if we followed some of the ideas he set before us to their ultimate conclusion… it got a little uncomfortable.

I think the breaking point for me was the point at which we’re expected to believe the romance between Victor and one of his robot companions, who we see in a flashback murder an untold amount of people, followed by a scene of him descending on a mother and her child. Victor wrestles with the idea of forgiving HAP (he has after all broken his programing in a way and no longer does these things) and ultimately still chooses him. This could entirely be me - I’ve lost children, I grapple with grief on a daily basis. I’m not sure if the imagery chosen could have been different and the idea conveyed better or if it this was just poorly constructed overall, but it fell apart. I also wonder at this idea of blanket forgiveness and how Klune has come under some fire in the recent past for his use of historical events for fictional story inspiration.

Not a winner for me, clearly. I did enjoy parts of this, and if you want to read it for the characters and dialogue I would 100% recommend it. Perhaps however don’t read too deeply in or it will fall apart.

This was my first TJ Klune book. After hearing the raves about his former books I gave this a try. Firstly, he is an excellent writer and reminiscent of Neil Gaimen. Even with the beautiful writing the subject matter failed to catch my attention. I’m sure others will devour this up but I think I’ll try his other novels.

TJ Klune is a masterful storyteller about found families and empathetic, lovely characters. I had so much anticipation for this title and it did not disappoint! The retelling of Pinoochio with a twist that only TJ Klune would have imagined. Highly recommend.

This one was not for me. I adored Klune’s first two books; House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door. I was so excited to get this arc and as I started reading, it felt like a chore to keep picking this back up. I read up to the 49% point and then finished with the audio once the book published. I’ve seen other reviews praising this book so I encourage you to seek many opinions before passing on this one. And I do have to say, in true Klune fashion, he writes the most endearing and oddly lovable characters that will make you laugh and cry. There are plenty of these characters in this book. Daniel Henning does a fantastic job on the audio so I highly recommend that.

Overall, it is a cute story that had its own charm which I genuinely enjoyed, but its not one that I will be revisiting.

This book is a masterpiece!!!! TJ Klune is one of the most brilliant authors out there and truly I devoured this book. A sci-fi Swiss Family Robinson family meets Wall-E with Pinocchio vibes? Like genius!

It was adventurous, queer, and just incredibly well done. I found myself constantly trying not to cry at times.

This was my second TJ Klune book and after being completely blown away by Cerulean Sea last year I couldn’t wait to read this ARC. In the Lives of Puppets is a futuristic Pinocchio retelling centering around a found family of robots and Vic, the human they’ve raised. When Vic, an inventor, salvages a robot named Hap, the world he has known begins to change. He learns the truth about his origins, his father’s past, and what it takes to fight for those you love.

This novel is fantastic. The beginning was a bit slow for me, but the deeper you get into the world of Victor and his family, the richer the story becomes. Every character is beautifully developed and their family dynamic is spot on. I love Nurse Ratched’s sarcasm, Gio’s fatherly love, and most of all Rambo’s humor and love of all things romantic. The relationship between Vic and Hap is heartwarming and genuine, developing despite the obstacles and differences they face.
And of course, I love all the references to our beautiful Oregon forests! 🌲

Thank you to @netgalley and @torbooks for the advanced copy, I highly recommend you pick this one up and follow Vic and his family on their extraordinary journey. Just follow these rules:

“Stick together.”
“Run if we have to.”
“No dallying.”
“No drilling.”
“And above all else, be brave!” 💚

I really loved this book. I thought it was a brilliant retelling of Pinocchio's story completely reimagined with androids and robots. However, many stories featuring androids and robots as characters can tend to have a cold feeling, but this book, with it idyllic woodland setting is just the opposite. The Swiss-Family-Robinson-style treehouses were quaint and the quiet of the woods and the life that Vic and Gio had built was calm and refreshing. When they got to the City of Electric Dreams, things became more frenetic and fast-paced. Klune's world-building is second to none. In each of the books of his that I've read, I've wanted to be in the story, where the action is happening. This one was no exception.

The character development was extraordinary, with all of the characters' flaws and strengths laid bare. There were no characters I didn't like, and I loved how all the pieces of the original story were woven throughout Klune's reimagining. A definite 5-star read for me.

TJ Klune’s latest novel In the Lives of Puppets is a queer retelling of the Pinocchio fairy tale and I don’t think I can even put into words just what a gem of a book it is.

The story follows Vic, the only human character in the book. Vic has been raised by three robots, and they are the only family he has ever known. Klune is a master when it comes to found families and Vic’s family is no exception to that. Giovanni Lawson (Gio), an inventor android, is the father figure in Vic’s life and Gio has Rambo and Nurse Ratched to assist him. Rambo is a little Roomba-style vacuum robot who has anxiety but who also just wants to be as helpful as possible. And then there’s Nurse Ratched, a medical android who often has very sadistic tendencies. (If you’ve read or watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, you know exactly what I’m talking about. This robot is very much like its human counterpart!). I really adored this little family. I loved the father-son vibe between Gio and Vic, and I also thought Rambo and Nurse Ratched were hilarious together since they fought and antagonized one another just like siblings.

In addition to loving the cast of characters, I also really enjoyed how creative and unique In the Lives of Puppets was even though it’s being billed as a retelling. When the story opens, Vic and his robot family have been living peacefully, hidden away in the forest, for years until Vic finds and salvages a decommissioned robot named Hap and learns that Hap and Vic have a shared and disturbing past that involved hunting humans. Things go from bad to worse when Hap accidentally alerts robots from their former lives to Gio’s location and Gio is kidnapped and taken back to his old lab in the City of Electric Dreams. Even though Vic hates that Gio kept his past a secret, he and the rest of his robot family are still determined to save Gio from being reprogrammed back to his former killing ways and so they set off on a dangerous rescue mission. Along the way, Vic realizes he is attracted to Hap but is conflicted since he also feels that Hap betrayed them. Can Vic get past those feelings for the sake of love? I don’t want to give anything away about their adventure, but it’s a wild ride!

As he did with The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door, Klune has created a world full of charming and whimsical characters that will steal your heart, all wrapped in a timely story that will leave you with plenty of food for thought about the relationship between humanity and machines.

The complexity of the writing and overall tone of the book felt like it should have been for a younger audience with all the poop jokes, however the sex jokes prevents it from being shelved in YA. Like his previous novel The House in the Cerulean Sea, the protagonist escapes the soul draining monotony of urban life for simpler existence in the forrest. The book was a fast and easy read filled with robot companions that bursting with personalities (sociopathic nurse robot and an anxiety ridden Roomba), however it is not a book that I will remember down the line. Recommended for anyone looking for queer, humorous sci-fi.

An interesting story leaning towards a reverse Pinocchio tale, where a elderly robot is forced to raise an abandoned human baby. he raises him to be a tinkerer, a builder of things. They are hidden from the rest of the world in a quaint forest tree-house setting with a cantankerous nurse bot and a lonely vacuum cleaner in need of love and attention. The foursome make a cozy family until the boy brings home an android to restore from the junkyard. When he is restored the android tells of the war to hunt and destroy humans. They are no longer safe.
I found this to be very slow to get into.

In the Lives of Puppets is a dystopian story where robots are in control. Where almost all the characters are robots, this book beautifully reflects the array of human complexity and emotions. What does it take to be a family, about being human, about being kind? The queer, Pinocchio inspired book was intelligent and funny (loved Nurse Ratched and Rambo), even a little corny, but in a fun way. There was some uneven pacing where some parts dragged on and other flew by. Overall, a really good read. My first by TJ Klune, but not my last.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and freely given.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune is a mashup of so many genres: sci-fi, fantasy, romance, fairy tales, LGBT, etc, but it really truly works. The main characters in the story are Giovanni (an inventor), Victor (Giovanni’s “son”), RAMBO (a sweet robot vacuum), Hap (a decommissioned, damaged android), and Nurse Ratched (a nurse robot, who is a sadistic, sarcastic, laugh out loud delight, and my favorite of all the characters). The book is ultimately about the family you are “born” into and the family you make along the way- and robots, so many robots!!. This modern day Pinocchio, Wizard of Oz, Swiss Family Robinson adventure is still, somehow, unlike anything you have ever read before and well worth the read. I am purposely avoiding including too many details, so as not to give anything away. Once you finish this book, go read The House in the Cerulean Sea, also by TJ Klun, which is absolute magic.

This book will be in my top 5 this year for sure. Klune did something with this story that touched that one string in my heart. I did not expect it to happen when starting with the ARC of this story, mostly because the author and I didn't see eye to eye every time. Of course here I had opinions. I swear, there were moments when I wanted Nurse Ratched (wink wink) to keep her promises and annihilate a little not-so-cute vacuum. But they are the best sidekicks one might ask for. Now to the main story.

The main character Victor, one day finds a discarded robot and decides against better judgment to fix it. This one decision breaks the whole Hell loose and becomes a coming-of-age tale. On his journey to make things right, we meet all kinds of entities. Each of them had a little spark of magic and personality that shined through dialogues. The main story was supposed to be a Pinocchio retelling, but I did not see it at all. Lucky for me because not only I found out about it after the fact, but also I truly dislike it. TJ Klune created his own story of journey, searching for love and loyalty. The end wrecked me big time without using tropes that usually melt me. I had the opportunity to read it and listen to it and then do both at the same time, and each gave me an amazing experience. I recommend it to anybody who likes cozy stories, stories that are deeper when you look, and stories about the future and robots.

I enjoyed this book a lot! I do think it missed the mark a little in the middle section - I found myself waiting for the pace to pick back up. I really liked all of the characters - Vic and Hap and Rambo and Nurse Ratched were fascinating and I loved their interactions with one another. There was so much heart in the beginning of this book, and SO much in the end, I just wish the middle had better pacing. Nitpicky, I know, but I did feel like I had to drag myself through the journey part of the book. Still, would definitely recommend it based solely on the characters and the emotions the end evoked in me.

A real boy helps build and transform the world, with his robot companions. This book was very good. It had so much charm and wit. Rambo and Nurse Ratched are hilarious with dark and twisty humor. Hap is haphazard and protective. Geo is the caring father we all wish we had. I enjoyed this book very much. If you love Pinocchio and also loved the 2001 movie A.I., you would enjoy this book. Klune’s books leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling every time.

This book was honestly incredible. I loved the humanity behind it. The characters are beautifully written, and the story is really beautiful and
Moving. I loved Rambo so much! This book is a true adventure and is filled with so much heart.

TJ Klune can do no wrong. All of his books are filled with so much heart - this one quite literally was filled with heart and the lengths a young human will go to restore the heart of the ones he loves. Somehow Klune can give robots/AI so much character - it’s phenomenal - inanimate objects that are full of life and humour. This book was so much fun to read, the world building was fantastic. I felt like I could clearly pictures each scene - as if I was dropped right into it and along for the journey. I can’t wait to see what Klune comes up with next!!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.