In the Lives of Puppets is my third read for TJ Klune. Since I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door, I had high expectations for this one. Klune does a fantastic job at creating the found family aspect that feels like a warm hug. This story followed the pattern of the other two where there were a ton of interesting elements that made me want to keep reading, but the found family part stood out the most. This novel has elements of a retelling of Pinocchio mixed with Wall-E, The Wizard of Oz, and many others that seem to have some influence. The story begins with android inventor Giovanni Lawson who, through a series of events, adopts a human boy named Victor (Vic). Together in their house also live a robot named Nurse R.A.T.C.H.E.D. (Registered Automation to Care, Heal, Educate, and Drill) and cleaner, Rambo. When Vic brings home an android named H.A.P (Hysterically Angry Puppet), a chain of events leads to Gio being taken and Vic sets out on an adventure.

As Victor is an asexual younger (I believe he was in his early 20s) human who grew up isolated among robots, it was interesting to see him navigate the world on his search for Gio. While the androids come along for the journey, there was a fun mix of personalities among the machines and human. The adventure to the City of Electric Dreams is slower and focuses a lot on the characters. The characters have distinct personalities, and I loved their banter. The humor in the story hits many different notes where I can see some of it not being for every type of reader. There were some moments where the humor does not land with me, but I did enjoy it overall. The characters in this story take a bit to build and connect with me, as a reader, where I did not find them captivating right away. They did grow on me a lot by the end, though, and I love how their connections developed.

The sole human in this novel provides a good thought experiment about how they fit into an android world and there are great explorations into how the androids may have some humanity. This was all well done while keeping the focus on the main group. The story had great emotion integrated into the writing and I loved each character’s journey. The side characters do sometimes steal the show away from Vic, but I do love that the main plot retains focus. Since I loved Klune’s other two novels, it was difficult not to compare them. This one does not quite surpass the other two but is still a great novel and keeps me being a fan of Klune’s work. Overall, I look forward to reading more from him in the future!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Tor Books, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

TJ Klune does it again, an absolute beautiful masterpiece. This may have been my favorite one yet. I laughed, I cried, my heart broke, my heart was full... such a vast array of emotions transpired throughout.

The premise and the world that Klune created was fantastic, as always. Wonderful themes of adventure, found family, freedom and love... which Klune is a master of, are spectacularly done in this book.

The BEST PART OF ALL, is of course, the characters. From Vic, a curious, loving human (also cheers to the asexual rep), Nurse Ratched, an absolute sociopath yet sarcastic and caring nurse robot, HAP, a robot the gang found and brought back to life from the scrap yard, and my favorite, Rambo the Roomba who is a eager lil cleaner and lovable friend. THE CHARACTERS, were everything. I would read stories and stories and stories just to hear their banter. Klune has a way of creating characters that make them feel like friends.

This book was fantastic and I look forward to reading everything Klune puts out (and the back log of course). One of my favorite books of 2024.

Much has been made (especially in the advance publicity) of IN THE LIVES OF PUPPET's connection to Pinocchio. In fact, author T.J. Klune alludes to it and incudes several quotes from the Carlo Collodi 1883 novel THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO in his section introductions. The connection is an easy one to make, and could be seen as a re-telling/spin on the fantasy tale of a man-made puppet (Pinocchio) raised by humans. In Klute's version this becomes a dystopian fantasy/science-fiction world in which a human (Victor) is raised by androids/robots (the puppets).

While there are other similarities and homages to the Pinocchio novel throughout the story, readers may also find an equal number of connections to THE WIZARD OF OZ, SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON and THE MATRIX. More importantly, and a rewarding reason to even read this novel, is the bigger connection between the two. Both THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO and IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS serve as a metaphor of the human condition.

What makes Klune's novel work is the rich characterization on display, a trademark of his other work - - charming, heartwarming, funny, and often bittersweet. This story of a 21-year old human surrounded by machines considers the question at the heart/premise - - - what does it mean to be human? In the telling, there is much to reveal about human connections, forgiveness, father-son relations and unconventional love.

There's also a chilling reminder/warning of the limitations/dangers inherent in artificial intelligence. In this future world, the robots/androids have become smarter and somewhat more human-like, have decided that humans are too flawed to continue to exist, and exterminate them. Victor may be the only survivor, which makes his origins and upbringing even more ironic. The new order (The Authority) seems to have adopted the worst of human tendencies, made all the more awful by their lack of heart/empathy/emotion.

Those familiar with Collodi's novel may have fun spotting the Pinocchio homages: The symbol of the Authority is a fox and cat (important characters in Collodi's Pinocchio). Their airship is named The Terrible Dogfish (the aquatic creature that swallows Gepetto and Pinocchio). A Fairy plays a major role in Pinocchio's transformation, and the Blue Fairy makes it possible for Victor to seek the resolution he is after in the final chapters.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for an digital advance review copy.

TJ Klune continues to knock it out of the park, and this new novel is no exception! His characters are vivid, and this novel ponders the meaning of life and how robots and humans coexist. TJ is truly a genius, and every new release gets a wild cheer from me!

This story is told in third person and follows Victor, who was raised by Gio, an inventor. Victor is a tinkerer and excels at taking broken things that others have scrapped and putting them back together. Their world is dominated by robots and the Authority. This story had more of a dystopian Sci-Fi feel rather than fantasy to me.

I loved the characters especially the ones pieced together by Victor: Rambo the vacuum who is wowed by every tiny detail in the world but also afraid of it and Nurse Ratched, a medical robotic nurse who has a macabre sense of humor and is obsessed with drilling. We follow this group as Victor finds an android that still has a bit of life and succeeds in adding HAP to his merry band of companions despite his mysterious, nefarious past. When Gio is taken by the Authority, the group heads off on a quest to get him back and journeys out of their compound in the trees into a new and scary world.

The camaraderie between these characters and their discoveries of both beauty and horror in the world outside their bubble really made this book for me. Filled with concepts of found family, love and the power to make your own choices in life, I thought this story was absolutely delightful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

Happy publication day to this masterpiece! I have loved every one of this author's books and I simply devoured this one. It is a queer retelling of the Adventures of Pinocchio with quirky characters that will steal your heart, break it and then put it back together again.

The characterization in this book is what really made it for me. I loved all of the characters and their love and loyalty for one another. One of my favorite characters was Nurse Ratched. Her witty humor and jabs at Rambo were downright hilarious at times. I loved her mothering instinct toward Victor.

Even if your genre is not normally sci-fi, I urge you to try this one. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much you will enjoy the lovely adventure between the pages of this book. You will laugh, possibly cry and then feel so much love an contentment at the end. Simply beautiful!

Special thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

As usual with this line of books from the author, this was a wonderful book about the families that people make. In this case, it's about a man, the amusing robots who raised him, and a robot he chooses to save.

There was a lot of humor in this novel. Much of this humor involved the two robots that helped to raise Victor, although Victor's interactions leaned toward humor as well. It also tended towards sad, which should be no surprise. These two elements balanced fairly well in the novel.

I was a little surprised by the links to Pinocchio, but I did enjoy how the author weaved that story through one about robots. I also enjoyed the ace rep, which was also unexpected.

All in all, a great addition to this quirky line of books by T.J. Klune.

In this fanciful retelling of Pinocchio, a baby is shoved into Gio's arms as his parents flee, the mother promising to return for him when it's safer. But as the years pass, it's clear that no one is coming back for baby Victor. He loves his father, and his companions Nurse Ratched and Rambo. He f0llow's in Giovanni's footsteps, learning about the robots that now rule the planet, scavenging the dump nearby for new parts and any robots that can be salvaged with Gio's help. Then, one day, Vic finds a new android in almost perfect condition, and that find changed all of their lives forever. Gio is taken by a group of identical andriods and now Vic, his friends, and Hap (the rescued android) must travel to the City of Electric Dreams to rescue him.

I really love how TJ Klune flipped the script on the Pinocchio story--instead of Pinocchio wanting to be a real boy, he is one, and everyone around him is a "puppet". It's a distant future where everyone on the planwhile I et now is some sort of robot, and humans have been hunted to near extinction after almost destroying the planet.
It's a wonderfully told story, with the usual elements we love to find in a TJ Klune story--Vic himself is ace and attracted to men. Nurse Ratched is his wise cracking sidekick, keeping Vic grounded, Rambo is almost puppy-like as a little Roomba, cleaning and acting like a curious 5 year old. Hap is mysterious, almost dangerous, with a past that could harm all of them.
I really enjoyed this book, it's just so easy to lose yourself in the world that Klune has created.

Happy pub day to In the Lives of Puppets! I am a huge fan of TJ Klune, so when I received this ARC, I couldn’t wait to get started! Similar to House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door (two of my all time favorite books), In the Lives of Puppets features loveable characters on a unique quest. This book felt like a dystopian version of Pinnochio and Wizard of Oz. I was hooked from the first chapter and I am still thinking about it weeks later. I can already tell this will be one of my top books of 2023!

Thank you NetGalley and TOR Publishing Group for this eARC!

“Sometimes, it’s the smallest things that can change everything when you least expect it.”

Like the fairy tales of old, "In the Lives of Puppets" is a cautionary tale, a riveting exploration of humanity’s legacy through the eyes of a young inventor who is determined to rescue the missing part of the only family he’s ever known.

Klune never fails to bring together an endearing found family to love that’s made up of unique, quirky parts. I enjoyed getting to know all the characters we meet throughout the story.

Victor may be the odd man out, but he’s an integral piece that holds this family together. Vic is a sweet soul and brilliant inventor with a deep capacity to love. My heart broke for him and the riot of emotions he felt during and following Gio’s abduction. For the anguish, anger, and disorientation as his whole world was torn asunder. Vic experiences an existential crisis that forces him to reconsider his small world that suddenly becomes exponentially bigger as well as wonder what it really means to be human.

Gio kind of reminds me of Arthur ("The House in the Cerulean Sea") and Hugo ("Under the Whispering Door"): compassionate, understanding, and accepting of everyone. Exhibiting a quiet demeanor and insightful view of humanity. In light of his dark past, Gio’s character proposes important questions about life, choice, and forgiveness.

Hap is also a perplexing character to ponder over. Like Gio, his past is equally dark and in stark contrast to the “new life” Vic gives him rather than what he’d been programmed to be. His character is quite comical and easily adapts as new information is presented. All in all, a Hysterically Angry Puppet indeed!

Nurse Ratched is like the older sibling teasing their younger siblings just because. She’s a practical and brazen nursing unit with a penchant for dark humor. But she balances out the family so well that it’s hard to imagine it without her.

Rambo is an adorable and precious anxiety-ridden vacuum cleaner. He made me smile so much. I loved when he made a "Wolfsong" reference during his exciting discovery of an epic and awesome pinecone. That truly made my day.

"In the Lives of Puppets" is so much more than you could ever imagine that suggests a consolidated effort to do better for the one home we have and all who will eventually inhabit it. It seems like a plausible outcome - powerfully and passionately told in an accessible way - of what happens when kindness, compassion, and empathy are superseded by greed, hatred, and self-interest.

Vic’s journey was challenging and thought-provoking, alleviated by humorously frank dialogue exchanges and scenes. The story is kind of left open-ended. Uncertain but hopeful nonetheless. Overall, "In the Lives of Puppets" is sincerely a remarkable read.

Thanks again Tor Books and NetGalley for the eARC to read in exchange for an honest review!

I am rather late to the T.J. Klune party, having just read The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door last year. But he is already an auto-buy author for me, and I plan on devouring his back catalog soon. Wolfsong is on my shelf waiting for me, despite me always saying (like ALWAYS always) that shifter/werewolf stuff is not for me. But I'm excited to dive into that one because I know Klune's beautiful writing will transcend that genre bias I have and I will be all in for the entire series.

But anyway, back to In the Lives of Puppets. I've also always said that sci-fi/fantasy is not my thing, but now I add, "unless it's T.J. Klune." Are we noticing a pattern here? Basically, I will read anything this man writes and I will love it and it will sit in my heart and take up permanent residence there. Klune crafts the most delightful characters and tackles big themes with a deft hand.

In the Lives of Puppets gives us Pinocchio vibes mixed with a little Swiss Family Robinson and a splash of Wall-E. The plot brings us on a quest in the vein of The Wizard of Oz, with our main character travelling to a distant land with three friends in search of "home"." In Dorothy's case home was Kansas, but here home is not a place, but a person. And as is always the case with Klune, the heart of this story lies with its characters:

Nurse Ratched – she's crass, sarcastic, a little sociopathic, and a pure delight. In other words, she's who I want to be when I grow up.

Rambo – a sweet little neurotic vacuum with no brain/mouth filter and a love for everyone and I want him to come live with me now.

Hap – a big, broody lug of an android, wiped clean of his violent past programming and now devoted to protecting his found family.

Gio – Vic's android father, wise and loving but hiding many secrets.

Vic – the lone human in this band of misfits, struggling with the knowledge that his life is not what he thought it was, but knowing the power of a heart.

This book gets all the stars from me, and is destined to be one of my favorites of 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Tor Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What are the rules?
- Stick together,
- Run if we have to,
- No dallying,
- No drilling,
- and above all else, be brave.

How do I even write a review for this sweet, hilarious, whimsical story? I’m going to try, but sorry if this review is all over the place. Frankly, being all over the place matches the vibe of this book.

First, I’d say DO NOT read the summary. It gives way too much away! I went in blind and was enamored with this story.

This story starts off with a bang. We are immediately thrust into this eccentric tale by meeting the gang and seeing their interactions.

The gang consists of:

Victor: a human child who was left in the care of a robot when his parents had to flee in danger, he is an inventor.

Gio: a robot inventor, and the father of Victor, who taught Victor everything he knows.

Nurse Ratched: A machine from human hospitals whose primary function is to “provide medical care”, I put that in quotes because she largely just says sexual innuendos and threatens everyone, but she is a delight.

Rambo: he’s a roomba and has such a pure robot soul 🥹

Hap: Hysterically Angry Puppet, that’s all you need to know… for now. He comes in later in the story.

These characters all live in the forest and end up going on a mission to find Gio after he is captured. I’ll leave the summary at that.

I LOVED these characters. I think what made me love them more is that the narrator, Daniel Henning, absolutely brought them to life. This audiobook was such an enjoyable adventure that made me laugh until I saw tears.

I was initially confused by this story and the way it just jumped into the characters interacting with each other, but once I got to know everyone I was hooked. I did feel that this book was largely humorous dialogue, and sometimes I felt like there was too much and he was trying too hard to fit in as much humor/innuendos that he could, but that’s a small criticism.

There is some romance in this book, and if you’ve read any books by this author before I think you can detect it pretty early on. 🥰 the way he writes romance is so wholesome and always makes my heart beat a little faster.

This story is the kind that will stay with you. It will make you feel like a little kid reading a bedtime story (but more mature) and it will make you swoon, make you laugh, and will make you cry. The word I keep circling back to is sweet, because it was, and the adventure this unlikely group of friends go on was written so uniquely and vividly. T.J. Klune IS magic.

I’m giving this a 4 ⭐️ rating overall only because the plot did start a bit too abruptly, the story was very long with a huge amount of dialogue, and the ending (although appropriate) didn’t satisfy me as much as I had hoped it would. I wanted a happier ending and more closure. I really would have liked to have seen an epilogue.

This book publishes tomorrow, April 25, 2023, and I STRONGLY suggest getting both the text and audiobook. The narration is truly something special to experience, and the writing is stunning.

Thank you so much NetGalley, T.J. Klune, Tor books, and Macmillan Audio for this amazing ARC/ALC in exchange for my honest opinion. 🫶🏻

This is the first book I read by this author. I love retellings/re-imaginings of fairy tales and folklore, so I was intrigued as this is supposed to be a re-imagining of sorts of Pinocchio, and while I enjoyed the book, I didn't LOVE it, like I was expecting to.

Overall, I enjoyed most of the characters. Nurse Ratchet was by far my favorite, while Rambo I just found annoying. The book itself was fine, but pacing seem to lag sometimes, and I kept finding myself having to put the book down and then picking it back up a day or so later. While the writing is great and I found myself chuckling a good portion, I think there's a lot going on in the story (killer cyborgs, kidnappers, a whale!) it was hard to fully enjoy the book. While it was not 100% my cup of tea, I know that this will be a 5 stars for others.

TJ Klune’s fans will immediately recognize "In the Lives of Puppets" as a signature piece in his overall body of work. The voice, the characters, and the themes of this story manifest the messages he’s addressed in past novels, and they do so with snark and quirky banter as well as a Manic Pixie Dream Bot named Rambo—a scene stealer if there ever was one—and a robot, Nurse Ratched, who exceeds her namesake in the psychopathy department but, somehow, still manages to charm and delight at the same time. But there are deeper wells of emotion to be plumbed too. Navigating the questions, and even consequences, of what makes us human—the heart, the soul, a conscience, family, friendships, love, loyalty, all of the above—moved me in unexpected ways.

This story is credited as a reimagining of "The Adventures of Pinocchio", but I couldn’t help seeing shades of "The Wizard of Oz" and perhaps even a passing nod to "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" thrown in for good measure. Giovanni Lawson is an inventor with a secret past who is valiantly attempting to make peace with it through his son, Victor, a human living amongst AI in an enchanting bit of forest apart from the outside world. Gio’s secrets will eventually out, though, much to Vic’s shock and heartache. And it’s the android HAP, who Vic found and rescued from the Scrap Yard, and reanimated, that will accompany Vic, Rambo, and Nurse Ratched on a perilous journey into the outside world to recover what was lost to them.

Along the way, readers will watch Vic influence the world, not only because of who he is but because of those who believe in him. He is the central cog in a steadfast machine around which the story and characters revolve. There is also perhaps the greatest unanswerable question posed in the end: is love inherently selfish, or is it the sharpest, most benevolent edge in our arsenal of emotions? Klune confronts sacrifice, death and, more distinctively, what it means to be alive. This story is rife with compassion and kindness and kinship expressed unabashedly.

While it would be inaccurate to say "In the Lives of Puppets" is a perfect book—there are points in the journey that ambled when I wanted them to run—I will always be open to the messages TJ Klune conveys through characters who make me laugh and cry all in the same story.

I absolutely adored the eclectic cast of characters and thought they worked so well together. Vic's exasperation was everything, but he never asked them to be anything but what they were. Despite their antics, he always simply allows them to be so wholly themselves, never asking them to change but only ever carefully nudging them to be their shining selves. In the end, that seems to be what they love most about one another.

There was a bit of a lull in the middle, but I felt it more than recovered from it with the ending. As a book about all different types of love, it truly covers them wonderfully. Parental, platonic, romanic. All the ways in which a person can be someone to you and the way they irrevocably change your life. I absolutely adored this book and highly recommend it! (also I cried a lot)

In the Lives of Puppets- 5⭐️s this was essentially Pinocchio but with Robots and some LGBTQ romance. It was lovely and heart warming, nurse ratched had me laughing out loud. This wasn’t as heavy a read as his last book but I really really loved this one. So far TJ Klune is 3 for 3 with 5 star books. Easily my favorite author and I will just forever buy his books. Be sure to grab it today it’s worth a read!
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I’m not going to lie when I heard that this was a Pinocchio retelling with robots I was a little nervous. Pinnochio freaks me out a little bit. And robots taking over the world has always been a fear of mine. So that already had me hesitant. This book however is a really creative retelling it’s more wholesome than creepy (though it still has those elements). But as with a lot of TJ Klunes stories it’s very sweet.
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I didn’t love this as much as I have loved his other books. I wasn’t as attached to Vic and Hap and I wanted to be. Honestly, Nurse Ratched and Rambo steal the show. A sarcastic version of Rosie from the Jetsons and a tiny vacuum with WALL·E vibes, how could they not? It was just the story that wasn’t it for me. I enjoyed the world building, and the relationship between father and son and well as the found family of both human and robot. I just don’t know if this was the book for me. I’m sure many others will love it but something was missing for me.

Honestly, I am taken aback and in complete awe of how much I absolutely loved this book.
I didn’t know if I would and being that I haven’t read any of TJ Klune’s works prior to this, I wasn’t sure how much I would vibe with his writing style so I was nervous going into this but good god. I have never been so happy to be wrong in my life.
In The Lives of Puppets is a Pinnochio retelling with a twist. Rather than our main character be Pinnochio, a puppet in a world of humans, we’re introduced to Vic, a human in a world of robots.

Vic is raised by his humanoid android father who much like Gepetto in Pinnochio, is an inventor. He helps and teaches Vic what he knows, eventually helping Vic bring Nurse Ratched (a robot nurse who is literally a sociopath) and Rambo (a sweet, wholesome, cinnamon roll vacuum) back to life. Vic uses his talent to then fix up another humanoid android in secret and days after Hap is brought back to life, Vic’s whole world turns upside down. Vic, Nurse Ratched, Rambo, and Hap go on a mission to save Gio after he discovered by the Authorities to work on a new mission.

Vic, Nurse Ratched, Rambo, and Hap are forced to leave the only home they’ve ever known to try to save Gio and the story just picks up from there but my absolute favorite thing about this book is the relationship between the four of them. Nurse Ratched had me audibly laughing multiple times, Rambo being painfully adorable but also frustrating, Hap learning and growing emotionally and Vic, leading his found family and being so brave in a world that is completely foreign to him.

In The Lives of Puppets is a phenomenal retelling, including a nonbinary Blue Fairy, the concept of a conscious, that one random kidnapping and forced labor scene, a reference to donkey ears and of course, the iconic whale. But beyond being an amazing retelling, Klune nailed the found family trope so perfectly. I truly felt like all the characters were my friends too and the growth in each character was amazing.

There are so many more things I could say about this but tldr: it’s absolutely amazing and actually such a sweet story.

TJ DOES IT AGAIN!!!!

TJ’s character development skills are insane (in the best of ways of course) and his books always find a way to completely surprise me. I find that with TJ, you truly cannot judge a book by the cover. You may think you know what this book will entail, but I bet you are 1000% incorrect.

Like I’ve said previously, his books make me want to be a better person and do better. He joins quirky, unique, and hilarious characters with an even more unique storyline to break your heart and mend it together at the same time. This story had me sitting on the edge of my seat, getting teary eyed, and laughing out loud on multiple occasions. And wow there are just so many plot twists in this one!! It truly is such a unique novel and does not even compare to his others as well. But wow. Just wow. If I could even try to explain without giving anything away, think Tarzan meets I, Robot meets Swiss Family Robinson meets Pinocchio.

But I loved this book, it felt like one wild ride, and I truly kept rooting for these nonfictional characters I felt connected with (pun intended).

I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley.
Though not as soft as HITCS, In the Lives of Puppets is still a loving look at what it means to be human, even if you are a robot. As the only human in his family, Victor has still always felt loved. He has his father and his two best friends, Nurse Ratchet and Rambo, and has never needed more. However, finding and fixing a new android friend from the scrap yard sets off a chain reaction that leads them on an epic quest.
This story is full of love, adventure, danger, and is laugh out loud funny. The characters are amazing, and the dialogue is witty. This hybrid of Pinocchio meets Wall-E manages to take my very least favorite story (Pinocchio) and make it better. With themes of forgiveness and choice, it is poignant and sweet enough to make me cry a little, while also giving me the compulsion to hug a vacuum.
This may not quite be a warm hug, but it is a loving fist bump, and it deserves a chance. You can choose it.