TJ Klune has done it again. He’s created another beautiful story filled with magic, love, found family and his trademark humour.

In The Lives of Puppets takes place in a future world where there are seemingly no humans. I like to think of it as Pinocchio meets Wall-E meets Terminator. It centres around Victor, and his family of (hilarious) robots. There’s Rambo, a vacuum with major anxiety; Nurse Ratched, a slightly sociopathic robot whose purpose is to care, heal and…drill; and Gio, a creator whom Victor calls Dad.

One day, while Vic, Rambo and Nurse Ratched go to the scrapyard for materials, they discover a decommissioned male-presenting (and slightly swoon worthy) robot. Vic decides to bring the robot home and try to revive it, despite not knowing what its purpose is. The robot is successfully revived, and the trio name him Hap - for Hysterically Angry Puppet. I’ll let you read the book to see exactly why.

Unfortunately, the process of reviving Hap set off a chain of events that lead to disaster - and the loss of Gio. Vic and his merry band of robots set off on an epic adventure to rescue Gio, their patriarch.

In The Lives of Puppets made me laugh, cry, reflect, and warmed my heart. It reflects the state of our society in the most novel of ways, while making us think and laugh. It questions what love, humanity and free will truly are, making you understand that your will - your choices - are really up to you. And that any consequences are yours, as is the choice to be brave.

I highly, highly recommend In the Lives of Puppets. In my opinion, it’s one of TJ Klune’s best, and will leave you with a smile on your face, and in your heart.

Thank you Tor Books and NetGalley for the ARC e-book and audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

TJ Klune has a brilliant mind. There is no denying that he possesses one of the most amazing imaginations of writers in our time. He can take a seemingly mundane concept and turn it on it's head, bringing to life a story that no one would see coming. In the Lives of Puppets is a perfect example of Klune's imagination running wild, taking a simple idea and turning it on it's head.

Victor is being raised by Gio, a robot. He lives in a tree house in the middle of the woods with his other robot friends Rambo (a vacuum) and Nurse Ratched (a medical robot). They spend their days building and creating. One day, a machine comes and takes Gio, Victor's father, away, so the cast of characters go on a dangerous quest to find him and bring him back.

While the world, the story, and the cast of characters were very interesting and unique, I found it really difficult to connect to beginning of the story. Nurse Ratched and Rambo really are the saving grace of this story, because their one liners and sense of humor was easy to hear in my head. Victor, however, was flat and cold. I think, if I hadn't been a fan of TJ Klune from previous novels, I might have stopped reading. I found myself not caring how the story ended, but because I have loved other books by this author I pushed myself to continue. I will still want to read his future books as well. I hope other readers enjoy Puppets, it just wasn't for me.

In the Lives of Puppets is such a unique sci-fi story. Set in a dystopian time where A.I. has taken over the world, it contains elements of found family (my favorite!) and cozy romance.

As always, Klune delivers an emotional and heartwarming story with wonderful characters. From the slightly sociopathic Nurse Ratched to the anxious vaccuum bot, Rambo, the characters are what make this story. Nurse Ratched was a particular favorite of mine, making me laugh out loud on several occasions. The humor was honestly the best part of the book!

While I enjoyed the story, I personally had trouble connecting with the main character, Vic. I also found it difficult to buy into a human-robot romance. While I found the ending to be a bit sad, some might find it to be full of hope and potential.

Overall, I found the premise of this book to be an interesting one. Once again, T.J. Klune delivers a quirky story of love and acceptance.

I didn't love it. It took me absolute ages to finish and I had to sit myself down and force myself towards the end. I have enjoyed Klune's other books so far, but this one just didn't do it for me. I was bored through quite a bit of it. The characters were amusing but I didn't feel a connection with any of them. The story was unique, but somehow it didn't pull me in. I suspect lots of people will like it fine, but just not for me.

I had no idea what to expect but had my fingers crossed the story would be as compelling as my imagination made it seem. I love TJ Klune's writing, I think he's a phenomenal storyteller, but sometimes his stories just aren't for me. And that's okay! It is because I know he's such a great author that I keep trying his books-- I WANT to enjoy them! I'm thrilled that this one was a total winner.

I liked everything about this story - the characters, the themes of loneliness and making connections (as well as some others I won't spoil), the journey, and the humor. It's sometimes dark which is probably my favorite type. The found family vibe was lovely and the metaphors had me nodding my head in agreement. I'm always impressed with this author's ability to write an engaging story that focuses on deeper issues while using so much humor and lighthearted fun.

I pre-ordered the audiobook and I'm hoping the performance will kick my experience up a notch. Huge thanks to the author and publisher for the ARC (and yes these opinions are my own).

TJ Klune is always an imaginative author with great writing. He brings these characters to life. You will laugh, cry, and connect with each of them. I did not enjoy this one as much as House in the Cerulean Sea, but would still recommend it to those who enjoyed that one. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy.

This was my first time reading anything by TJ Klune and the universe building, the incredibly unique and loveable characters in this dystopian robots living world simply blew me away. I will 100% be picking up more books by this author and heavily recommend this title!

A sci-fi dystopian retelling of Pinocchio that somehow perfectly captures the magic of the original story without being so similar it was boring. The retelling elements honestly feel more like little Easter eggs scattered throughout this original and wholly unique story.
Victor is different from the rest of his family - the only human in a found family of machines kind of different. In the Lives of Puppets introduces us to Rambo, the delightfully neurotic robotic vacuum; Nurse Ratched, the nurse bot who is only slightly sociopathic; and Gio, the creator, Victor's father who has raised him his entire life.
Victor loves going on adventures with his friends, especially in search of any parts they may find useful. But one day, Victor locates a machine whose very existence will risk undoing everything he knows about his family and humanity as a whole.

Run if you have to. No dallying. No drilling (unless it is deemed necessary). And above all else, be brave.

"In the Lives of Puppets" by TJ Klune is hands-down one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. Not since "The House in the Cerulean Sea" have I fallen so in love with a book's characters. Part "Pinocchio" and part "The Wizard of Oz," this book is so good that you forget where you are while reading it. The real world ceases to exist. I was no longer sitting in my living room, but was transported to the forest, to the scrapyard, to a City of Electric Dreams unlike any city I've ever imagined before. The characters are so enchanting that you can't help but laugh and cry and love right along with them. This is a book that will stay with me for quite some time and that I will return to over and over whenever I need to be reminded that hope and love really do exist.

I love Klune's writing style and the way he shows me what is happening instead of just telling me. His writing is rich and descriptive, creating vivid characters that come completely to life. This book was so much fun to read and its moments of tenderness touched my soul. Klune has an amazing gift and his books are a gift to us all.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. It is absolute perfection. All the stars.

Anyone who is a fan of Klune’s particular brand of saccharine found-family storytelling will absolutely find a literary home in this new addition. A retelling of the classic tale ‘Pinocchio’, this story is heartwarming with just enough heart-wrenching thrown in to make the resolution feel worth it.

If you've ever thought "There's no way that I would be interested in reading a book about a world in the future where robots are the norm and humans are almost extinct", you would be wrong. "In The Lives Of Puppets" defied every expectation I had and those that I didn't even know that I had.

Victor Lawson is aware of the fact that his family is unconventional. His dad is a robot, he's a human, and his best friends are a robot vacuum and an obsolete robot nurse. Hidden deep in the forest, Victor is mostly content, although at the edges of his mind he feels that there is more out there in the world for him. When he finds a robot called HAP in a junk pile it quickly becomes evident that his life is about to change, and when the robot authorities are inadvertently alerted to the fact that a human lives amongst them, Victor's unusual journey to the City of Electric Dreams begins.

Filled with heart, wisdom, and humour, "In the Lives of Puppets" proves that there is no family as important as our "chosen family". This book had me laughing out loud, sighing wistfully, and already anticipating whatever Klune comes up with next.

Victor lives with his father, Gio, in a series of tree houses in a forest adjacent to a scrap yard. He enjoys seeing what the scrap yard has to offer, but it is dangerous. Several machines guard it from outside interference. He already found a vaccum which he repaired and named "Rambo" and a robot nurse called Nurse Ratched (Ratched is actually the initials for Registered Automaton to Care, Heal, Educate, and Drill). One day while in the scrap yard, Victor finds an android that seems to still be alive. Unfortunately, by the time he removes everything on top of it, it is no longer functioning, but he takes it home to his lab to tinker with it. Eventually, he is able to repair everything but the battery that makes it work. He takes a heart he made in case his father needs it (Gio is an android, too) and puts a few drops of blood in and the android comes to life. The android doesn't know who he is or what his purpose is, but he has some initials on his body HAP, so that is what Victor, Rambo, and Nurse Ratched call him. Nurse Ratched also calls him Hysterically Angry Puppet since he is very grumpy. When Gio sees what Victor has done, he is upset since Gio built HAP originally as a human destroyer (HARP stands for Human Annihilation Response Protocol) and Victor is a human. Some government androids realize that HAP is alive and that there may be a human around, so Gio makes everyone go into a safe room. The government androids take Gio back to the City of Electric Dreams and destroy his heart. When Victor and his friends emerge from the safe room Gio is gone and the tree houses have been destroyed. They they go on a quest to rescue Gio.

This is not my usual type of story (not big into Sci Fi), but I had read another T. J. Klune book and wanted to read this. The robot friends are very funny (shades of MST3K). Many reviews say this is a modern day Pinocchio. I can see this as Gio creates Victor (he is already a "real" boy) and there is a workshop/lab for tinkering. I really enjoyed it.

I was so excited when I saw this on NetGalley because TJ Klune is one of my favorite authors. He writes with such emotion and humor, you often find yourself laughing while dabbing your eyes. While In the Lives of Puppets had similar qualities it didn’t move me in quite the same way.
Deep in the forest sometime in the future, when humans are extinct, lives a family of robots. Gio, an inventor; Nurse Ratched, a nurse; and Rambo, a little vacuum. Living with these robots is Vic, Gio’s greatest invention to date- a human. While exploring one day, Vic finds a broken robot and brings it home to fix up, unaware that this robot’s purpose was to annihilate humans. Vic knows he can get Hap to see he has a choice about who he is.
I found the theme of this to be very deep. It’s a great look at humanity; does anyone really have a choice to be different than what we have been told we are?
I was actually wary to read this, as much as I love TJ Klune, because I hate puppets. I was thrilled to realize the word puppets is solely used as a metaphor.
This didn’t move me quite as much as The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door. While I found the theme to be deep and thought provoking, I didn’t feel as deep a connection to the characters as I have with the other books. That being said, it is written just as beautifully as the others and the majority of the characters are just as deep. I think any fan of TJ Klune will enjoy this, but if you’ve never read his books before don’t start with this one. Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the advanced copy. This hits shelves on April 25th.

This was a lovely reimagining of Pinocchio. Set in the not too distant dystopian future, robots have taken over the entire world, with the exception of one young man - Victor. The story was so beautifully written and touchingly tied together with themes that are pertinent today. I loved the way that the author was able to bring in many different ideas and concepts that one would not have expected from Pinocchio. The character development of what were essentially robots was wonderful, and the characters really came to life. The fact that a robot named Rambo existed was hilarious and also a wonderful play on words with Roomba, etc. I would recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed writings from this author before, although it seems to be a big departure from the type of writings they have offered before. Highly recommend!

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ah this was enjoyable. Definite vibes of Pinocchio, but if you're going to name you're main character Victor and then have him making people (or machines in this case), I'm gonna be thinking along a Frankenstein vibe.

The reader learns very quickly that Victor is a human living in the forest and surrounded by machines that he has built over the years. He has no contact with other humans. And, from what we see, he doesn't seem upset by this. The combination of soft forest setting with human and machine relationships made me think of A Psalm for the Wild-Built, but then it went down a deeply different corridor.

I particularly liked the bits where the Pinocchio story was revisioned to fit into this world. The machine others ride around on is whale shaped and called the Terrible Dogfish. I would have laughed out loud there had it not been for the scariness of the moment for the characters.

Our rag tag bunch then go on a journey to see the Blue Fairy, also a robot in this futuristic world. We realise that as soon as they leave the forest.

Anything more than that, I feel, is going to be too big of a spoiler to include in here. This book was filled with T.J.'s usual charm and sweet characters meshed with intriguing plot. I'd definitely say this is unlike the other two fantasy novels he's recently released.

I've loved TJ Klune's THITCS and UTWD so I was so excited to read ITLOP. In perfect Klune fashion this story is heartfelt with a great father/son relationship dynamic. The quirky and cute side characters were stars. The anxiety riddled Rambo and sociopath Nurse Rarchet were great and unique. I loved the take on what makes us feel and love. The middle section of this story really dragged for me. I found my brain tuning out. I didn't feel a strong emotional connection to the main characters either. Pinocchio has never been a favorite story of mine and this didn't really change that. I ended up giving this 3.5 stars.

4.25 stars

If you're familiar with TJ Klune's work, you'll know he excels at creating a world with incredibly lovable characters in a story that will tug on your heartstrings until you finish the book and have gone through an entire box of tissues. While this book didn't garner many tears from me, it still had that quintessential Klune vibe that keeps me coming back to every new release.

In the forest, far away from anything else, we have the world's most unlikely family. There's Gio (an android inventor), Nurse Ratched (a sadistically humorous medical machine), Rambo (an anxiety ridden, lovable vacuum) and then Victor - our main character and the only human in the bunch. One day Victor salvages a decommissioned android from the Scrap Yards and returns home to try and revitalize him. This triggers a series of events that will have Victor and his family venturing out of their forest on maybe the world's most important rescue mission.

What makes this book is its characters and dialogue. I loved this group so much and the found family vibes are SO STRONG, which I think is exactly why I love reading Klune's books. If you're looking for a sci-fi adventure that reads like a love letter to what makes us human, you have to read In the Lives of Puppets.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
1 like

Pinocchio meets the robot apocalypse but make it an MM romance

I loved everything about this. The characters were hilarious and deep despite being mostly robots. The concept was fresh, and the story was engaging.

Slower paced but only because I really wanted to immerse myself in the setting.

A cozy, whimsical quest adventure story with blood and violence.

Read this book if you want to go on an adventure with lovable characters.
Read this book if you want to laugh, but also have big feelings.
Read this book if you want to fill your friend/family chat with beautiful, funny and witty quotes.

This book introduces us to an unconventional family who live in treehouses deep in the forest. The father figure, Gio, is a high-tech android who has rebelled against his programing and left society to live deep in the woods. He is tasked with raising a human boy, Victor, who we meet at the age of 20. We're also introduced to Vic's two best friends, both robots who are fiercely protective (and unwittingly hilarious). Victor is in the process of fixing an android he discovered in a scrap yard when the father is taken by 'the authority'. Together, Vic, along with his three robot companions, journey against all odds to get Gio back.

If you loved TJ Klune's other books, this one takes his writing to the next level. You'll still get amazing character development and feel like a you're being hugged, but you'll also get bitten. The pacing is great, the adventure moves quickly and hits all the right beats. The writing is beautiful, clear and accessible. I can't stop recommending this to everyone I know. Next time I'm hiking deep in the forest I'll be looking for Vic and Hap.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for an advanced reader copy.

This book is best read deep in the forest, surrounded by butterflies.

I don't know how TJ Klune continues to do it, but his character work is supurb. He made me love and care for a group of misfit robots and their one human companion! This, like his other works, are just was cozy. There are stakes and hard hitting themes, but in the end, it feels like a warm hug of a book