Oh. I really really enjoyed this book. It’s impossible not to fall in love with the entire cast of characters in this story, and the dynamic between them all is perfect. The conclusion absolutely got me, and was so well executed. Points were only taken away for it feeling redundant at parts.

I really enjoyed this book! This is the first book I've read from this author, but I have heard of his other works, especially "The House in the Cerulean Sea". I thought the humor throughout was delightful, and I'm a huge fan of quirky "found families" such as this story. A fun and heartwarming take on Pinocchio, I'll definitely pick up more from TJ Klune. The writing of this was also top-notch; it was just what I needed at the time of reading.

Thanks to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC!

Klune's books are amazing because they have quirky lovable characters, tremendous character growth that we can all identify with, and great found families that we all want to join. In the Lives of Puppets has all of these things. With strong Pinocchio and Wizard of Oz vibes, this takes me back to my childhood with all the whimsy. The cast of characters are amazing and I want to go live in their treehouses with them. But then their world gets turned upside down and I felt the story get less cozy in stead of more cozy. I enjoyed this one, but it wasn't my favorite Klune. It was a high bar though, so this is still pretty darn good!

In the Lives of Puppets does what Klune is a master at - looking at humanity’s flaws and reflecting them back at us through his writing, but in the most hopeful way.

I found this to be the funniest of his books, the cast of robots alongside human Victor make for the perfect sprinklings of humor during tense moments.

This is only my second book by TJ Klune and it will most definitely not be my last! Klune is phenomenal at world building and creates these fictional, fantastical worlds that just suck you in, with stories that take you on the most amazing adventures. In the Lives of Puppets is lifted up as a Pinnochio meets Swiss Family Robinson kind of story, but those comparisons don’t do this book justice.

I absolutely adored all the quirky, unique, and wonderful characters in this story. Victor Lawson is the anxious, asexual human in the story. He’s an inventor like his android father, Giovanni. Gio also has a heart, and he loves music and creating. But above all else, he loves his son. Vic often explores the scrap yards near their treehouse home, and since there are no other humans or robots around, he makes friends of his own. First we have Nurse Ratched, the sociopathic medial nurse robot who adds a lot of twisted humor to the story and had me laughing constantly! Then there’s Rambo, who is probably my favorite. He’s a wonderfully weird, anxious robot vacuum who loves his friends, and absolutely does not want to die. And then there’s Hap - the Hysterically Angry Puppet - who somehow, despite his designation becomes the final member of this quirky, love-filled family. This story reminds us that the best part of this messy, complicated thing called life is getting to share it with the ones we love, the ones who become our home.

This book is also a masterful story about humanity. Don’t let the fact that only one of the MC’s is actually human fool you. It’s a story about what it means to have a heart. The power of our emotional capacity as humans. Our ability to change. The importance of having the power to make our own decisions, to forge our own paths, to create our own destiny. This story is a reminder that humanity will be the cause of our own destruction. But we also have what we need to save us. All it takes is a heart. A little bravery. And a willingness to start over.

This was an interesting take on Pinocchio.

(Spoiler) I love that Gio was able to create human life (still not sure exactly how he did it) and that Vic had to spend his life hiding from the robots that annihilated the human race.

I love nurse RATCHED and Rambo. Rambo is slightly neurotic and nurse RATCHED is slightly demented but together they provide some great comic relief.

The book was a little slow at times but was a great read overall.

I usually love this author's books, but In the Lives of Puppets didn't wow me the way I expected. While some characters are delightful, the plot meanders and gets lost in a quest and endless musings on humanity and connection.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy, but this wasn’t really for me. This was fine overall. Way too long for what it was, and felt very repetitive at times. The same tropes were also in your face and beat over the head all throughout the book. The humor from the sidekick characters is really what kept me going, otherwise this would have been a DNF.

After loving the House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door, I was super excited to get an ARC of In the Lives of Puppets!

I loved all of the characters but especially Rambo. How can you not love Rambo? The found family as always is wonderful and the humour was fantastic.

Can we also take a moment to appreciate the cover art?

It was definitely a little slow going at parts but overall I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for this copy!

While this book was certainly wholesome and mostly fun to read (nurse Ratched and Rambo have my heart), I was a bit disappointed.
I would recommend In the Lives of Puppets to anyone who enjoys a wholesome story with atmospheric writing, humorous dialogue, lovely (and not-so-lovely) robots with feelings, a writing style that is easy to read and a diverse cast of characters (ace rep). If you’ve read and loved other books by this author, check it out (it is, however, a bit more dark then the popular books The house in the cerulean sea and Under the whispering door).

I had high expectations, since I loved The house in the cerulean sea and Under the whispering door, and, well, In the lives of puppets wasn’t as good as I hoped it’d be.
The beginning of this book got me very excited. Nurse Ratched and Rambo and Vic are so funny together. The place they lived in was described very atmospherically and I love that. But after <spoiler> the house burned down and they began walking </spoiler>, it started to get boring. While the stakes where somewhat higher then in Thithcs and Utwd, it didn’t entertain me enough. I’m not sure why. The banter between the main characters made up for it sometimes though.
I think the romance wasn’t that good. This is probably on me, but I just found the robot-human thing a bit... uncomfortable? Even though I suppose it’s sort of the point of the book that humans and robots can be happy together? I don’t know. They still had cute moments (so much holding hands!). And ace representation!
Also, I’m not a big fan of sci-fi in general, so that’s also one of the reasons why I like this book less. The conversations between the characters are written really well though, so that was fun to read.
<spoiler> The ending was a bit cheesy in my opinion. Very predictable. But I actually didn’t mind that much, I feel like a happy ending is fitting for this book (same goes for Thithcs and Utwd. I do like happy endings sometimes). </spoiler>
I’m honestly sad, I had hoped I would be as excited about this books as I am about the others, but oh well. It was an okay book.
Thank you NetGalley!

I've had this ARC for quite some time and I've been meaning to catch up on writing my reviews! Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC. It was an absolute joy to read!

Klune is one of my favorites and again he does not disappoint with In the Lives of Puppets!

Klune's writing style always feels imensely comforting to me no matter the topic matter he discusses. He brings so much humanity and heart to a little group of robots. My heart bursts with ALL the emotions. I cried many queer tears.

I've been hand-selling Klune's Under the Whispering Door since it released and each "hand-sell" always involved a very special, often emotional genuine conversation along with it. I've connected to so many strangers through his stories and I look forward to more heartfelt conversations with people when discussing In the Lives of Puppets!

5 Stars!

I never thought I would consider a Roomba vacuum to be one of my favorite characters in a book, but here we are. TJ Klune's characters are what makes his stories shine,

The whimsical sci-fi world building, heart-warming characters, and found family embarking on an epic journey to save one of their own, all combined to make one powerful adventure that had me laughing, crying, and wanting more at the end.

Oh my heart! A queer retelling of the fable Pinocchio? It's something only TJ Klune would think of and manage to pull off brilliantly.

In the Lives of Puppets tells the story of three robots--fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, Nurse Ratched, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention, Rambo. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They're a family, hidden and safe. But he day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled "HAP," he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio-a past spent hunting humans.

The robots Nurse Ratched (Registered Automaton to Care, Heal, Educate and Drill) is an absolute hoot with her sarcastic wit, and little Rambo with his insecurities will win your heart. Gio is the wise and intelligent AI inventor who created the very human Victor. And HAP (Hysterically Angry Puppet) is the robot Vic brings back to life. When Gio is kidnapped and tears out his heart, the others know they must bring him back - but at what cost? To me, their adventure is akin to the Wizard of Oz, as well as Pinocchio's journey. It even reminds me of the Transformers/Terminator movies where the machines take over - or attempt to take over - the world.

This is such a warm, big-hearted story not unlike Klune's other recent books. It explores themes of the human quest for knowledge and advancement in AI technology, but at what risk. Yet it's also imbued with a sense of family and what it means to love one another.

Be sure to add this to your TBR today!

I’m typically not a fan of the ‘cozy’fantasy’ subgenre, but Klune’s last two books, The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door both hold special places in my heart for the themes they carry (read my reviews for House and Door. So Klune’s next addition to this genre was a highly anticipated read for me. Doubly so because there’s robots. Unfortunately, while the same heartwarming messages were there, they were bogged down by So. Many. Sex. Jokes.

Look. I’m not a prude. My ao3 browsing history will vouch for that. But when you have characters making the same five juvenile sex jokes, every single page, the story quickly detours from cozy fantasy with coming-of-age themes to ‘high school boys locker room. I’m aware of (although not acquainted with) Klune’s other body of work, where these kinds of jokes are significantly more prevalent. And while I’m happy for the author that he’s been able to bridge the gap between his niches, I do sincerely believe this book would have been much stronger had his editor curbed him back.

Sex jokes aside, I was surprised to find myself split on the characters. I typically love robot characters and one of my favorite themes is ‘robots reconciling the concept of being human with their lack of humanity”. Hap, the stuttering murderbot our MC Vic uncovers, is the perfect example of this. Hap additionally has to reconcile the part where he spent his past life straight-up murdering humans. Some of his scenes with Vic are incredibly powerful and moving, highlighting Klune’s strengths in playing with the reader’s emotions.

Nurse Ratched, a sadistic drilling nurse bot, and Rambo, the tragically misnamed neurotic cleaning Roomba, were easily my least two favorites. They each felt like caricatures of characters, regularly reminding the reader of their epithets with some snappy comment or joke that often derailed a more serious conversation. Not so coincidentally, these two were the instigators of the majority of the sex jokes.

For me, both the story itself and the world were mostly fine, if somewhat rushed and underdeveloped. Really, I felt the issues went hand in hand. The scope of the worldbuilding is so expansive compared to the other works and no one part felt adequately dwelled upon, except for maybe the forest tree home that Vic grows up in. As a consequence, many of the plot points feel rushed or handwaved, giving the climaxes less weight because they don’t feel as earned.

Overall, I rate this book a 2/5. I was incredibly excited for Klune’s next book, so the let down was all the more disappointing. A glut of sex jokes ruined the story for me, and I wasn’t particularly thrilled on the characters either. The overall concept was fantastic, but the execution felt subpar.

A wonderful story with bits and pieces that will remind you of other stories, yet it's so original that you'll immediately start reading it for a second time when you finish the first. The bits and pieces description fit most of the characters too, as they are robots, or android humans, whatever you want to call them. But as they interact with the sole human in the story, the bits and pieces become a whole that you'll come to recognize and care for. If I had to find a comparison, I'd say this is a hybrid Wizard of Oz. The "family" will quickly learn that there really is no place like home.

This book took me forever to read. I felt I needed to slowly savor it. It has so many profound insights and amazing thought invoking quotes. I really loved the relationships. Rambo and Nurse Ratched were my favorite characters. I'm glad I purchased the book because I will definitely be doing a re-read.

IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS by TJ Klune is available now! What to expect when you read a Klune book: a creative whimsical world, witty banter, and the most lovable characters. In this one, he creates such endearing and funny characters that you will be laughing out loud and giving them your own heart by the end.

Throughout this adventurous story, you’ll meet the last human on earth, an anxious vacuum, a historically angry puppet learning to love, and a snarky nurse robot. Nurse Ratched is one of my most favorite characters of all time and found this slightly psychotic robot to be the most relatable. Maybe because I’m a nurse or maybe because I have to engage my own empathy protocol on a regular basis. 😂 I love how fierce she is and how she is loving and loyal to her found family.

In the Lives of Puppets is a Pinocchio retelling of a human, Vic, and his built robots and wooden heart. I got Wizard of Oz vibes as Vic and the rest of the gang set off to find Vic’s father. This is very much a story of how to love and be loved, friendships, and courage. I highly recommend all of TJ Klune’s books if you love your heart to feel warm and happy and you love to laugh and cry and have all the feels.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an ELC and to Tor Books for sending a finished copy for @mystery.book.club!

What makes us human? What makes us more than the base we are created to be? TJ Klune asks these questions and more in the fantastical dystopian adventure, In the Lives of Puppets. This book is inspired by Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio, but there are bits of Frankenstein, Wall-E, and more, brought together and added upon by Klune’s unique voice and characters.

In a strange home built among the trees lives a unique family: inventor android Giovanni Lawson, an anxiety-ridden vacuum named Rambo, sadistic medical robot Nurse Ratched, and Victor Lawson, a human inventor. When Vic discovers an android among the scrap yards, he brings him back to life. HAP (or Hysterically Angry Puppet) has a past hunting humans, but can he be more than his programming? When Gio is taken by the Authority, Vic, Hap, Rambo, and Nurse Ratched must venture far beyond the forest and rely on each other to survive.

Klune weaves in love in all its forms in this book. Love can be pure and it can be horribly complex, filled with strings. Questions of forgiveness, redemption, and what makes us human, alive, and more than our parts rise over and over again. There’s a lot to like about In the Lives of Puppets. For all its points of inspiration it still feels like a unique book and the world building is top-notch. The characters are all complicated and well-drawn; I defy anyone to read this and not fall in love with Rambo, the chatty, utterly endearing vacuum I wish were real because I’d want to adopt him. The adventures our protagonists take reveal the characters complexities and I’d hate to spoil the journey of discovery by talking about it to much. That being said, as much as I enjoyed the individual parts of In the Lives of Puppets, I struggled with putting a rating on the story. I have loved other books of Klune’s and have been dazzled by his prose and characters. This book wasn’t as engaging as some of his others; in fact, it was quite slow and I had no trouble putting it down. The world was well-drawn but didn’t suck me in the way other worlds of his have (perhaps because of all the references to other works) and that was hard for me to forget.

Even though it wasn’t the most compelling of Klune’s work for me, I still overall recommend In the Lives of Puppets. The message is strong and well-delivered, the characters endearing, and the story overall beautiful and bittersweet.

In the Lives of Puppets is a beautifully weird, heartwarming (but also heartbreaking) book about accepting yourself, familial bonds, and what it means to be human. As a TJ Klune fan who has read all of his newer releases and several of his backlist books, I had a feeling I was going to like this one, but I was not prepared for how much. This book took me by surprise in the best way and put me through an emotional roller coaster. I loved every second of it.

If you haven’t heard much about In the Lives of Puppets, it’s a story loosely inspired by Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio, with ties to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as well. Klune expertly weaves in details and homages to these original works while keeping his story entirely original.

Additionally, the world building was excellent! Since this book is set in a dystopian world, there’s a lot going on that we might not be familiar with, but there’s never any info dumping about it. Instead, everything is revealed through the characters’ experiences and actions, keeping it easy to follow along with. The word choice when describing the world also enhanced the experience with the book. I had a vivid picture of this world in my mind and never had any issues understanding new concepts, even if they weren’t explained in full detail, which is how I prefer world building. Also, I don’t know how else to describe this, but I just loved the vibe from In the Lives of Puppets. Some stories are excellent at expressing a certain feeling or mood, and this one was no different. I’m not even sure what it was, but I loved it all the same.

Not only was the world building incredible, but the plot was engaging and the pacing was perfect, with a great mix of action-packed, tension filled moments, interspersed with quieter ones between the characters. Never once did I find myself bored or wondering when the next scene would start. I was engrossed the entire time, constantly trying to put all of the pieces of the plot’s puzzle together. While sometimes I thought I knew where the story was headed, it would throw me for a loop just to let me know that I did not, in fact, know everything about it. It was a lot of fun, actually!

Even though I absolutely adored the plot and world building, it was the characters and their relationships that truly made this book shine. Every single character was instrumental to the plot with a vibrant personality that could stand on their own from the others. We had Rambo, the loving and anxious vacuum cleaner who would do anything for his loved ones; Nurse Ratched, the sociopathic nurse android who was sassy and sarcastic and wouldn’t take anything from anyone, especially if they tried to hurt those she loved; Hap, the Hysterically Angry Puppet who was a bit of a grump but with a soft and protective side he only showed to those he trusted; Giovanni, the inventive creator who was filled with empathy, regret, sadness, and happiness all at the same time, who just wanted to be with his family; and then of course, there was Victor.

Victor’s character means so much to me, and I can’t tell you how insanely happy it makes me that he even exists. Victor is asexual, which is done sooo well! Additionally to that, though, it’s not stated on the page that Victor’s autistic, but he has sensory issues, trouble with emotional regulation, social interactions, and eye contact, all of which are traits of being autistic. It’s also stated several times that Victor “processes” things differently, which many autistic people do. As someone who is autistic, I really saw myself in his character, and it made me tear up at points that Victor was allowed to be the hero of his story, while still having sensory difficulties among other things along the way. The other characters knew this was part of him and helped him through it, which is something I wish more people would do. If more neurodivergent people had accommodations, we’d be able to thrive more than we’re allowed to in this neurotypical world.

Watching Victor’s journey, seeing him have the troubles he did, still overcoming all that he did, and by the end still being his authentic self, means more to me than I can ever say. Victor wasn’t cured (which he shouldn’t have to be!), and he still got to have his happy ending. Too often in fiction neurodivergent characters are “cured” by the end, and everything they’ve dealt with is suddenly gone. The fact that this didn’t happen to Victor is incredible. I love his character so, so much and I seriously can’t tell you how overjoyed I am to see someone like him in a book this big.

Now that I’m done rambling about that (sorry, haha! It’s something I’m really passionate about), I need to talk about the relationships! First of all, Victor’s bond with his father, Giovanni was so sweet. Even though they went through their ups and downs, and even though their trust was tried, their bond held through it all. Victor and Giovanni might not be related by blood, but they are family through and through. I also *adored* the dynamic between Victor, Hap, Rambo, and Nurse Ratched. These four had me cracking up! At one point I was reading in public and had to put it down because I was laughing too much and was getting weird looks. I loved these dorks. They made my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

And finally, I need to talk about the relationship that had be bawling my eyes out (thanks TJ Klune…). Victor and Hap. These two!!! Hap was so protective of Victor, but the same can be said of Victor with Hap. They both wanted to protect each other, and while they weren’t aware of their deeper feelings at first, they both knew they cared for the other a lot. Watching their relationship grow was so wholesome. It was the slowest of burns, which is my *favorite,* and I love the fact that it developed without much physical attraction. Since Victor is asexual, we get to see the purely romantic side of their relationship (which as someone on the ace spectrum myself, I prefer to read about). Their interactions were tender and sweet, and I could not handle it.

I will never forgive TJ Klune for what he did with the ending, but at the same time, I loved every part of In the Lives of Puppets and can’t be mad about it either.

If you haven’t read In the Lives of Puppets or if it’s not on your TBR, do it!! You won’t regret it.

✨ Review ✨ In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune; Narrated by Daniel Henning

A queer retelling of Pinocchio, also with lots of Wizard of Oz, Swiss Family Robinson, Wall-E, and A Wrinkle in Time connections as well, that is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud!

The audio brings SO much to this book. Even though it had just a single narrator, had a full-cast feel. The audio made it so much more fun, and it really brought the robots to life! Nurse Rached and Rambo, two of the robots, particularly brought the laughs to this book!

In this book, Victor is the only human (a flip on Pinocchio as the only puppet among a cast of "real-life" characters), and his "dad" Gio is a robot, bringing a fun twist to this classic story.

The book did drag a little in the second half, and the travel adventure part of the book feels like it could have been tightened up a bit.

Overall, a super fun read, one that you won't regret listening to!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.75 stars)
Genre: sci-fi/fantasy, queer retelling
Setting: fantasy, dystopian world
Reminds me of: Pinocchio, Wizard of Oz, Swiss Family Robinson, Wall-E, and A Wrinkle in Time
Pub Date: out now

Read this if you like:
⭕️ hilarious robots in dystopian worlds
⭕️ queer retellings of classic stories
⭕️ excellent audio narration

Thanks to Tor Books, Macmillan Audio and #netgalley for advanced e-copies of this book!