It is a Pinocchio re-telling! I enjoyed the premise and definitely the writing.This story was a charming examination of humanity. I wasn't sure I would even like a book about robots, because it's so far from what I usually read but I'm so glad I had the chance to read it. I loved it. It has all the emotional depth and character development, something to be expected from this author.

n The Lives of Puppets is the first book I’ve read by TJ Klune, which is probably a little shocking considering the buzz generated by his previous books, particularly The House On the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door. I’m going to remedy that going forward, as I absolutely loved this novel.

What exactly is In The Lives of Puppets about? Glad you asked! In broad strokes, it’s about a human boy, Vic, who lives in a remote forest in a collection of eccentric treehouses with three robots—a nurse machine whose words are sharper than the drill she’s aching to use; a vacuum machine who is seeking love and acceptance with alarming enthusiasm; and an inventor android who is a father figure for Vic. This group spends their time living, inventing, and scavenging useful things, including another robot, from a massive, mysterious salvage yard. Then the robot overlords who rule the land discover their secret existence, sending them on a perilous journey of survival and discovery.

Did I mention In The Lives of Puppets is an imaginative, heartfelt reimagining of Pinocchio, with a little bit of Wall-E thrown in for good measure?

If that’s all the story was, it would be an excellent read. However, it’s in the small strokes, the fine details, that In The Lives of Puppets truly sings. It’s about the importance of found family, and the power of loyalty and love. It’s a tender, sensitive exploration of Ace and LGBTQ representation. Perhaps most surprisingly to me, it’s laugh-out-loud funny. The robots, particularly the nurse machine, are hilariously sarcastic.

Klune is a wonderful writer—evocative and playful, yet with a surprising edge. In The Lives of Puppets tugged at my heartstrings and pulled me forward on waves of emotion and excitement. I was happy to be along for the ride every step of the way.

TJ Klune knows how to tell a story filled with humor and so much heart. Robots really aren't my thing and I personally struggled with their human actions and responses while also being reminded they are machines without emotions. As my husband likes to say "that sounds like a you problem, April" and it definitely is. LOL This might not be my favorite Klune book however it is still a really good story and worth the read.

I'm really disappointed, but this book was just not for me. I read it for a book challenge prompt "A modern retelling of a classic" (Pinocchio) I did like the vacuum robot and the nurse robot reminded me of a darker version of Baymax from Big Hero Six. But I must admit, I was glad when the book was over 😬 The characters didn't pull at my heart strings. I wasn't super invested in the outcome. And it was unnecessarily vulgar. I also wasn't the biggest fan of House in the Cerulean Sea, which I also listened to, so it might just be that this author/narrator aren't for me.

I have been loving TJ Klune’s work lately, and this one did not disappoint!
I got hooked on his stories after reading the extraordinaries, and then house on the cerulean sea… and honestly, the stories are what draw me in. Each one of TJ’s stories have a new element of magical realism that feels so fresh and original, He is partially good at cozy fantasy, and though this is still quite different from his other stories, it still holds that same story telling abilities.
TJ also has a special ability to write found family stories, and I really felt that with Gio and the robots in this one as well.

Quick and Dirty⁣
-found family ⁣
-hysterically funny at times ⁣
-LGBTQIA+ representation⁣
-magical realism meets sci-fi meets dystopian future⁣
⁣
Thoughts ⁣
Well, as you can see above I adored this book. This book is perfect for anyone who loved the sci-fi films of the 80s or who fondly remembers Rosie from The Jetsons. It’s clever, witty, heartbreaking, and hopeful all at the same time, in other words, it’s what we’ve come to expect from Klune. I am a fan girl for sure and will read whatever he writes, but I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But if you enjoyed Under the Whispering Door you’ll enjoy this as there are similar themes. Life, death, relationships, self-discovery, and grief all play a role in this novel, so don’t be fooled by the many one-liners. It packs a big punch! I think this is my second fav after Cerulean Sea, which says a lot because I loved Under the Whispering Door. Read it and let me know what you think!

Victor Lawson, a human, lives with his father, Giovanni, and his two robot sidekicks. When Victor uncovers a robot called “HAP”, it sets in motion events from the past and leads to the kidnapping of his father. Victor vows to save his father, even if it means exposing himself to the Authority and risking his life.

This was a whimsical, philosophical book that centres around human vs machine conflict and the found family trope. It was emotional and hopeful, while also funny and ridiculous. I particularly enjoyed the banter between Rambo and Nurse Ratched. There were some parts that were a bit slow or sort of repetitive, but overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I rated this a 3 star only because of Nurse Ratched and Rambo, also the audiobook narrator. Otherwise I would have rated it lower.

This book I had high hopes for but it honestly was a big fat reminder of WHY I do not like the original or spin offs of Pinocchio. At times I just felt ick.

We’re there good messages at time? Yes, but other than that I just could not get past a lot of the sexual insinuation going on, just like the characters I felt utterly uncomfortable. It was like at times we were making things from Pinocchio that was disturbing okay? When it’s definitely not. I was grateful the characters were “smart enough” to pull the consent card or you can’t trick me. (Someone trying to get you to see their genitals or no consent to watch fornication)

This book had so much potential but it was not it for me. As I said at the beginning I really liked/loved the characters of Nurse Ratched and Rambo, their characters just were so fun. And the narrator for the audio did such a fantastic job with each character and their personalities. However that was all I liked personally.

In the Lives of Puppets is TJ Klune's futuristic rendition of Pinocchio. This is the 3 book I have read by Klune and while this is not my favorite one of the 3 (maybe because I never really like Pinocchio) Klune has peppered in such beautiful quotes about life, humanity, love and that is what makes this book worth the read. His writing flows so well, I will always be a fan. Thank you NetGalley for giving me this ARC.

I love Klune’s writing. There is just something so beautiful about it and I’m always pulled in from the very first page. I find myself rereading lines as there is just this deep eloquence. In the Lives of Puppets was no different.

It has a dystopian feel to it. I’ve read my fair share of dystopian novels and really enjoyed this one. It was heartbreaking but yet very hopeful. The characters were all very well developed and I felt like I personally knew them all. I enjoyed the humor Nurse Ratched and Rambo added to the story. I loved the meaning of friends and family and what you would do to save them.

There were a few things I didn’t like about this novel. It felt too long and I think some sections could have been pared down quite a bit. Also, the human-machine romance was a bit awkward for me but I do feel like it was heartfelt.

Overall I loved the story and the writing and definitely recommend this book!

Don't start here with Klune books unless you're already a huge fan. I'm 50/50 on likeability, I just keep seeing rave reviews about his work and then am a little disappointed when I read them.

Potential spoilers ahead!

In the Lives of Puppets was a slow start for me with not enough character delving. I would have liked to know more about Rambo and Ratched. It bothered me that their names were already characters that existed in the human world but the current world destroyed all humans and their memorabilia, so why are these two named what they are? I get Ratched, at least that's a book that could still exist but Rambo just seemed random. Also, why was Ratched so pervy? Where in the heck did she pick up that learned behavior, especially if Victor is asexual allegedly?

The book didn't pick up for me until they met the Blue Fairy. I did appreciate the ending, not super syrupy and tied in a bow - a little ambiguous and bittersweet. Overall a little too clunky for me, a Pinocchio retelling with Wizard of Oz vibes.

TJ Klune is a brilliant writer. Poignant storytelling that's well written, thought provoking, and heartfelt. The Lives of Puppets is unlike anything I've read before, emotional and engaging

This story reminds us of the power of hope, the necessity to look beyond the surface for the humanity of others, and that we can create and choose our family. A modern retelling of Pinocchio, this novel takes readers on twists and turns that will both feel like the story you know and nudge you to think about it in new ways. The cast of characters is sweet, funny, flawed, and lovable. You’ll be cheering for them throughout their adventure!

A lovely adventure into AI territory. Klune’s mastery of storytelling kept me reading until the end. Another book of his I will be handing out to folk.

DNF at 48%. I've been trying to get through this book for a few weeks. Putting it down and coming back to it hoping I will feel differently and have a change of heart. Unfortunately, I feel it's best I move on, because it isn't getting any better for me.

I fell in love with TJ Klune's Cerulean Sea book, thought the Whispering Door was okay, but this book fell flat for me, and I couldn't find near as much love or attachment to these characters. This book reminded me of The Wizard of Oz and I was excited about the Sci fi aspect with the dystopian world and robots. However, the writing felt too cheesy and almost too whimsical for me. Of the two books I mentioned plus this book, the general theme is kindness, which I love. Cerulean Sea was the warm hug we needed in 2020, but I don't know if it is just too played out and we need to shake things up with a different theme or what. I just found myself bored and disinterested while reading this book,sadly, and I decided to not force myself to finish reading it.

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

This book was everything lovers of Klune’s prior works will enjoy while being diverse in terms of plot, themes, and especially characters. This was an absolutely fantastic read that was both genuinely heartfelt and cataclysmically heartbreaking. I would recommend this book to anyone.

"We have a purpose, beyond our original programming. Perhaps it could be the same for him, though I highly doubt it."

In a strange home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots--fatherly inventor android Giovanni, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a vacuum desperate for attention. Victor, a human, lives there too. The day Vic salvages and repairs an android labelled "HAP," he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio-a past spent hunting humans. When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio's former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured. So together, the rest of Vic's assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

*sighs* Fine I guess let's talk about In the Lives of Puppets.

Have you ever read a book that is so mixed? That you have just as many good things to say about it as bad things, so you never really know how you feel about it because it was good!! But also it wasn't!! But also I enjoyed it!! But also it was annoying!! But still fun?? This is that book for me.

First of all, and maybe this is a me thing, but I don't think a post-apocalyptic book with evils robots ruling the world is ✨cozy✨

I enjoy post-apocalyptic stories and stories that question what it means to be human. What is humanity, and what makes someone human or not? But I guess I like them darker and more intense. Because this book was so filled with hopefulness and optimism that it bothered me.

I think I like T.J. Klune's writing more when it's filled with angst. Green Creek continues to be one of my favorite series of all time, and to this day, I haven't finished rereading it because it makes me sob every book.

To that point, and I feel like this is a very unpopular opinion, but I'm getting tired of these soft, SFF books that TJ is writing. Under the Whispering Door was my favorite of the "trilogy" but they all have such similar themes, characters, and romances that three books in, it just gets a little tiring instead of new and exciting.

Oh, and also, this did not hit for me emotionally. At all. I could tell from the writing that I probably should be sad and cry. But I didn't 🫣 In fact, I was annoyed. I rolled my eyes so hard I saw my brain.

That being said!! I still liked some of the book!

In typical Klune fashion, the found family and the humor were top-tier. The characters are all super charming. I don't think it's possible to read this book and not fall in love with Rambo, the vacuum cleaner with anxiety who loves hugs, and Nurse Ratched, the slightly psychopathic nurse that is secretly a softie.

I loved the way this retold Pinocchio. I'm not the biggest fan of the original story and its many versions, but I think this worked so well as a retelling!! It's familiar enough so you can recognize some of the points of the story, but it's different enough that it feels completely new and not just 'Pinocchio but Sci-Fi'. Also, I really enjoyed some of the Wizard of Oz elements which I didn't expect.

The queer rep was fantastic. We have an asexual main character who doesn't fall into the "ace robot" stereotype that Sci-Fi stories tend to have.

I'm excited for it to come out bc I'm desperately hoping that it's not only me that feels this way about it 🧍‍♂️

3.5 stars rounded up. This book was a good book, but not a book really for me. I enjoyed parts of it, but the main plot didn't grab me. T.J. Klune is very hit-or-miss for me (and when he hits, he hits hard), but strangely this was somewhere in the middle. It has a plot that sounds super cool when you explain it, but it took me a long time to finish it since I didn't quite care.

I did absolutely LOVE the side characters. Rambo and Nurse Ratchet made me laugh and love them. This is where the author's trademark humor shines through. I would read a whole book of just their shinaigans. Vic and HAP, on the other hand, were fine, just fine. Nothing really stood out to me about either of them or their relationship.

Maybe this book was a bit too sci-fi for me or something, but it was good, not great. The writing was as good as his previous books, but overall it wasn't for me.

In the middle of a forest lives a man who is not really a man, a robotic nurse with a sadistic steak, an eager to please vacuum, and a real boy name Victor. This odd compilation is a happy family full of their own understanding of love. When Vic rescues a new android to repair, it sparks a series of events which leads to adventure, questions of morality among machines, and the ever present feelings of love.

This was my first Klune novel, and I loved the whimsical nature of the story that felt both cozy and mysterious! Even with many nods to the story of Pinocchio, In The Lives of Puppets has a unique storyline and I really didn’t have any predictions for where the ending might lead.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Books, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

How does TJ Klune do it? How does he create these characters that you become so attached to, that you miss them when the book is over? There is a want of updates and check-ins. There is the wonder of how these characters are doing, what are they up to now? And for Klune to do it this time with ROBOTS? Come on.

TJ Klune is a unique voice of love and acceptance that the world needs and craves right now. His books feel like home and a grilled cheese cut diagonally. In the Lives of Robots is phenomenal. Nurse Ratched is a queen.