Once again I’ve had my heart utterly destroyed and stitched back together one piece at a time by TJ Klune. In The Lives of Puppets reminds readers the meaning of life—of humanity and our choices, loyalty—in all shapes and sizes, and love—and the complexity of loving others despite their deep flaws. I loved to learn about Victor and each of his robot companions, and the whimsical mechanic world that surrounds them, and I loved the dialogue they share.

I laughed, I cried, and I loved. I can’t ask for more than that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this title.

Overall story would be closer to 3.5 but rounded up because the writing is beautiful as always with a Klune book.

"Humanity was lost, and lonely. I don't think they even realized just how lonely they were... but they hated as much as they loved. They feared what they didn't understand."

"Gio says that self-worth isn't measured by what others think, but what you think about yourself."

This is such a tough review to write because I adore TJ's books and writing style. And I was instantly hooked with Puppets until about 40% of the way through where I felt like I got stuck in perpetual muck. It picked up again a little bit but then got weird (which is saying something for a book about sentient robots), then picked up again, then got sad, then ended in a way that felt very unfinished?

What I loved:
- Found family
- Asexual representation
- Sociopathic yet caring robot named Nurse Ratched
- Rambo is all his perfection
- Themes of redemption
- TJ's words and those small impactful quotes littered throughout
- A queer hopeful ending (Idk if I could call it a happy ending per se but there is definitely hope)

What I struggled with:
- I have too many questions left at the end of the book despite it's size. What happened to the Electric City and the entirety of the robot empire? Without direction to improve will they just fall back into their old systems? Are there really no other humans on earth? Is there a plan to bring humans back?
- I really hated the part with the Coachman. Idk why but this did not vibe with me and I felt really uneasy about the whole thing. I'm sure that was intentional, but it also felt like it could have been left out?
- I didn't feel very connected to Vic? Though I felt very connected to Nurse Ratched and Rambo. Even Hap and Gio had good development
- The end felt a little disordered, an unfinished. It just felt like pieces were littered on the ground and you're picking them up, reading a snip, and trying to piece together some sort of ending.

If you're a die-hard Klune fan, it's definitely worth the read. And I think it would lend itself much better to an audiobook narration than traditional reading. Thank you NetGalley and Tor Books for an eARC for review.

4.5 stars. Now, I may be among the few who wasn't really happy with Mr. Klune first two big market books. They were good, but, for me at least, they didn't pack the punch I know he can achieve. However, I knew within the first couple of pages that this book, despite my lack of interest in Pinocchio, was the T. J. Klune I loved. Quirky, funny (in that "irritating those in your immediate surrounds with sudden eruptions of laughter" kind of way), smart, and real. Like life, it will hurt you and make you smile, you will fall in love and it will be the greatest and hardest thing you've done. Bravo, Mr. Klune, and thank you again.

The unconditional and complex nature of love is TJ Klune at his best. But, the melancholy of humanity is something that he has crafted with even more intentionality book after book. I went into In The Lives Of Puppets with high expectations. After watching the Guillermo Del Toro film Pinocchio, and as a fan of Walle, this book seemed like the perfect nexus point between my interests. It did not disappoint.
Victor Lawson is a human boy raised by robots. He lives in the woods with his machine father Giovanni, and his two best friends Nurse Ratched and Rambo the Roomba. When Gio is kidnapped by the robot authority, Victor must set out on a quest to find his father, and more importantly, find himself and his own definitions of love and humanity. The cast of characters is endearing, hilarious, sad, kind, sadistic, and everything in between. Klune masterfully crafts these characters in a way that lives in the uncanny value between man and machine. I loved this book. I loved the complex and uncomfortable feelings it engendered. But most importantly, I love the questions I am left pondering. I can't wait to share this with my students.

What an absolutely beautiful story of love and acceptance. This book made me laugh, cry, question and ponder some touching and truly poignant themes. I can't say reading the description that this is normally a storyline that would catch my eye, but I'm so happy to have ventured out of my comfort zone to experience this thoughtful story. The character interactions were fun, the overall premise was unique and many parts made me feel quite introspective. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

4.5⭐️

I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, and Under the Whispering Door so much. So I absolutely squealed in excitement when I was approved for this wonderful Queer retelling of The Adventures of Pinocchio.

Blurb: In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots--fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They're a family, hidden and safe.

Another absolute winner from TJ Klune! His writing and characters are *chefs kiss* perfection. My love for Nurse Ratched, Rambo, and Vic, was indescribable. It was serious insta-love for this trio. They had me LOL so many times with their outstanding banter.

This compelling and unique story takes you along on a beautiful journey that is filled with so much humor, love, and the exploration of what makes us who we are. I felt an absolute rollercoaster of emotions. Everything develops at an ideal pace to keep you fully engaged. I will admit that I got lost a little in the Sci-Fi aspects, but that’s just me as I don’t normally read much of that genre. However, I have quickly learned, if Klune writes it, I will be reading it.

What I loved;
🤖 Found Family
🤖 Diverse Representation
🤖 Witty Humor
🤖 Adventure

In the Lives of Puppets publishes 4/25 and I would absolutely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and it did not disappoint. I can’t wait to do a reread with the audiobook!

A lovely and heartwarming tale with unforgettable characters, as is the standard with TJ Klune! It's more similar in vibe to Cerulean Sea and Whispering Door. One day, I hope to see TJ return to something along the lines of his Green Creek series.

Klune's latest has many of the features that have made his first two books so popular: a winsome, optimistic worldview, quirky characters expertly delineated, with and humor. His descriptions are delicious. Unfortunately this book, a future dystopia that draws inspiration from Disney's Pinocchio, bogs down about halfway through. So light on his feet in the earlier part of the story, he seems to bog down when it comes to describing depravity, cynicism and vice. I felt a stronger editorial hand could have done this book a lot of good.

I wanted to love this book, but I could not get into it. I didn’t like the characters very much and felt like the world building could have been a lot better. I’m also not a fan of TJ Klune’s dialogue writing at all. It’s so cheesy and forced I just am not a fan. I also didn’t really love The House in the Cerulean Sea(although I did like it more than this one), so its probably a me issue. If you really love Klune’s other books I really think you will like this one too. His writing just doesn’t really work for me🤷🏽‍♀️

This was an easy 5 star read for me. I love TJ Klune's writing and how he's able to beautifully balance joy, hearbreak, laughter, and love while also telling incredible stories.I especially appreciate how he incorporates mental health into his books.

All of the characters in this book were wonderful and loveable and the found family aspect was *chef's kiss*. Nurse Ratched, Rambo, and Victor were such a beautiful trio with such real relationships- they love each other, pick on each other, get annoyed with each other. They fit together like a wonderful puzzle. Ratched had me laughing out loud, Rambo had me wanting to just snuggle him, and Victor had me thinking. As I mentioned, TJ Klune's approach to writing about mental health, especially anxiety, always works for me. This book was no exception.

I truly loved this spin on Pinocchio (and also got some real Wizard of Oz vibes)- the Blue Fairy? Perfect. The Coachman? Wonderful. Gio? Superb.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has previously enjoyed TJ KLune, loves found family, wants a heartwarming read (that will also break your heart but in lovely ways)

Overall, this was another great book by TJ Klune that I enjoyed. The character development was great and I would 100% die for Rambo! The found family and the love that the characters have for each other was so heartwarming. I did feel that their were slight pacing issues with the story. The beginning felt a little long, while the conflict resolution at the end felt rushed in my opinion. I gave this 4 stars though and would recommend to people who are looking for a fun, book about found family and fighting for your loved ones no matter what!

"What a strange existence we find ourselves in. I wouldn't change it for anything in the world."

I was elated to receive an early copy of 'In the Lives of Puppets' because I loved 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' and 'Under the Whispering Door' so much.

'In the Lives of Puppets' is a wonderfully crafted queer retelling of The Adventures of Pinocchio. IT WAS SOOOO SOOO GOOD!

The story begins with an android named Giovanni 'Gio' Lawson. Having escaped from the City of Electric Dreams, Giovanni is trying to lay low and avoid attention. By escaping into the forest, Giovanni decides to make a home for himself here. He begins building a home into the branches of a grove of trees.
In the forest, Giovanni spends his days and nights alone, tinkering, and building onto his beloved treehouse.

Then one day a couple appears with a human baby wrapped in rags, begging Giovanni to look after him.
Giovanni finds purpose in this baby and decides to raise this baby as his own son and call him Victor.

"But this man was his father. This man had raised him. This man who wasn't a man at all."

Giovanni and Victor live in the treehouse with Nurse Ratched, a sadistic and smart-mouthed nurse machine, and Rambo, a people-friendly vacuum who loves to clean up messes.

Now, Victor, age twenty-two, is following in his dad's footsteps. He loves repairing and salvaging materials from the scrap yard near the forest. When one day, he, Nurse Ratched, and Rambo, stumble upon a decommissioned and damaged android who they call Hap.
Victor, unable to leave Hap in his current state, takes Hap back to the treehouse to repair him unaware that doing so will threaten the secret lives Giovanni built for them in the forest.

Once Hap is repaired, he accidently alerts robots to the location of Gio's treehouse. Gio is captured and forced back to the City of Electric Dreams as his beloved treehouse is burned to the ground.


""And here, now, he said, "It hurts. Here." He pressed a hand to his chest as the tether jerked a final time. He was in his body once more, and it was dark and quiet inside. "Can you heal me?" Nurse Ratched said, "It is not physical, Victor. I cannot heal it.""

Victor, Hap, Nurse Ratched and Rambo set off to rescue Gio before he gets reprogrammed or decommissioned. On the way Victor must grapple with his growing feelings towards Hap, but also the consequences that leaving the forest will have on him. As they journey to the City of Electric Dreams, It's clear that machines have no room for humanity and that the robots have taken over what once was the human world. With humanity balancing on the fingertips of robots, Victor must decide if his love for Hap is worth the risk.

My Thoughts: I loved this one. TJ Klune has a way with words. This is my 3rd book by Klune and I am still obsessed with his ability to make you smile and laugh while also making you cry. They are so many emotions in this one. I mean, Nurse Ratcheds' quotes are enough to make you laugh, cry and say 'Yes, Queen!'

Klune's writing is filled with humor, heart and love. The plot, the characters (Nurse Ratched and Rambo are the best!) , and the overarching storyline were spectacular.

If you are looking for unique retelling, with diverse representation, adventure, romance, found families, and witty humor than look no further. Klune took a classic like Pinocchio and turned it into something even more spectacular (without the creepy nose-growing).

What is to be human when you are the only human? If you had to describe your feelings and desires to someone who has never experienced emotions, could you? Could you live in a world where you are hunted for just existing? What makes you human? These are all questions that TJ Klune explores through his newest book and the character of Victor, Vic. living with three robots, Vic’s family is a hodgepodge of beings connected as family. Full of love, truth, and the exploration of what makes us who we are, The adventure this found family takes to bring home one of their own will easily pull at your heartstrings. The details embedded beautifully in the building of this world and character development make fiction become fact and the reader feel like they are embarking on the journey with Vic, HAP, Rambo, and Nurse RATCHED. While the humor would occasionally be misplaced and the pacing not the greatest, the overall story telling makes this book stand out. the story combines elements of Pinocchio and the Wizard of Oz in to a delightful dystopian and sci-fi piece that I recommend to all who have previously read Klune or have the desire to read a heartwarming tale.

I loved Klune's other books, The House In The Cerulean Sea, and Under the Whispering Door. So I jumped at the chance to read another of his books. Unfortunately, this was a Did Not Finish book for me. I just couldn't get into a book about robots living ina forest.

I enjoyed reading this book and it took me on a rollercoaster of emotions, especially considering the message of the book which I felt was the importance of found family and that everyone deserves a second chance no matter their past. Despite this, I did feel that the pacing in the book was either too fast or too slow. The beginning, for me, was really slow for almost 40% of the book, which I understand because this part of the book is about learning about the characters and world building. However, I felt like this could have been shortened a little bit and have a bit more focus on their journey to rescuing Gio because I felt like the journey, and Gio’s rescue, was a bit rushed especially with all the discoveries being made at those times and what happened when they rescued Gio. Overall, I wish there was a bit more focus on the later half of the book. Moreover, I felt like there were too many references to sex. It felt like there was at least one reference per chapter of sex, or of Vic’s genitals, and it kind of became super annoying and overkill.
Besides that, I really liked all the characters. They are all very enjoyable characters and the dynamics between all of them are very heart warming but also very funny. You can tell that they love each other very much even if they don’t say it and I love how their actions speak louder than their words to show it. I think my favorite character out of all of them is Nurse Ratched because she is such a savage from the things she says to the actions she takes, she does not hold back for anyone. However, I think my least favorite character is Rambo, which is not to say I don’t like him at all cause in the first half of the book I did like him. I found him to be very sweet and supportive but as the story progressed I started getting very annoyed with him due to the amount of times he almost messed everything up for them, even though he knows how important their mission is. I don’t know if he lacks impulse control or has a short term attention span but after a while it kind of made me wish they had left him behind.
Furthermore, I feel bad for saying this but I wasn’t a big fan of the romance between Vic and Hap. It felt like the relationship was very rushed especially considering Hap’s situation and the fact that Vic has never had any other relationship besides familial in his entire life. Considering everything, if there had to be romance I wish it was between Hap and Gio because of their shared history.
Finally, I really liked the ending of the book. It was such a bittersweet ending, which not a lot of the books that I have read so far have done. I felt it was bittersweet because while things weren’t horrible they weren’t necessarily totally happy either but they were working towards getting there and finding their new normal and their new happiness together. However, I do wish there was an epilogue that addresses, or at least mentions, what became of the city because I was left with a lot of questions.

This author is so fun. Think of this one as a cross between Pinocchio and The Wizard of Oz with robots. And Victor is already a real boy. But he's the only one. The blue fairy and the whale make appearances (I haven't actually read Pinocchio so you'll have to let me know if I missed things) but I would actually put this closer to The Wizard of Oz. The message in this book is not as clear as in other previous books. I think it's mostly about having a heart and found families and not being prejudiced against others. And possibly that humans are evil but robots are worse. You'll have to read it and make your own conclusions.

I made a mini playlist as I was reading. Because this author is all about including music references. I definitely missed a couple at the very beginning, but no one claims to be perfect all of the time.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0UqwFWkJ5cUSGGo13U2wyw?si=3c1a97893ffb4f1b

I just love TJ Klune’s mind, this book was fantastic.
It was A Brave Little Toaster for the modern world and I enjoyed every minute of this book. How TJ Klune made a Roomba a funny, adorable character is beyond me, but I laughed out loud so many times from the banter between him and other characters.
A fantastic book I will Definitely recommend to all my friends.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune has been one of my most anticipated reads for 2023. I've been trying to make it last as long as possible just to savor this witty retelling. Straight away the words puppet and Pinocchio made me nervous as I'm one of those people who really dislikes puppets they give me the creeps but I had nothing to fear. The only way to describe In the Lives of Puppets is to compare it to Wall-E.

The story begins with an inventor Giovanni Lawson who finds this abandoned home in the woods that he renovates and develops into multiple building structure in the trees where he raises a human boy Vic along side two machines Rambo and Nurse Ratchet that are rescued from the scrap yard. Rambo a neurotic vacuum and Nurse Ratched a android programed to care and heal (think Baymax from the film big hero six)who more often than not offers options of violence aimed at the poor Rambo. This pair of characters had me in stiches from their witty sarcasm and blunt conversations and for me made the story.

When exploring the scarp yard for more parts Vic, Rambo and Nurse Ratchet come across a decommissioned robot they name H.A.P but while repairing H.A.P they realise they may have caused more problems than they intended. When events unfold and a past history between H.A.P and Giovanni is uncovered untimely putting Giovanni's life in a perilous danger after he is abducted and taken back to his old laboratory. Where the others must venture to try and save Giovanni from reprogramming.

This charming piece of speculative fiction follows a young man named Victor and his robot friends as they go on an adventure to rescue his father from the mysterious City of Electric Dreams. There's a lot to appreciate here, particularly in Klune's trademark penchant for giant-hearted stories of found-family. There is also a lot of great banter, particularly between Victor's robot friends. I would say, however, that I couldn't really figure out who the intended audience of the book is. It reads like a middle grade novel in terms of characterization, plotting, and some of the themes, but contains a fair bit of adult content, leading me to wonder who exactly it's for. But, it stuck the landing with a meaningful pay-off, and overall, I have to say I enjoyed it.

Special props for the way the two robot sidekicks, mostly there for support and humour end up being the voice of a lot of complicated truths about humanity.

This is a 4 star read for me. A favorable review will be posted to my blog closer to the release date.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and it did not disappoint. A Pinocchio retelling where the only real boy is our main character, Victor, threaded through with elements of the original story that are reimagined in great, creative ways. This book felt perfectly TJ Klune, and if you’ve read his other recent works, you’ll understand what I mean.

This world is compelling, unusual, funny, and heartbreaking, a feat that is hard to pull off once, let alone three times in a row. He weaves elements of queer romance into each of his novels, In the Lives of Puppets included, in a way that does not feel forced or like the main focus of the story, which allows the book to breathe and feel whole. Each character feels so well developed in ITLOP, and their unique quirks really make the story complete. Nurse Ratched, Rambo, and Hap feel more like real people than any other robot I’ve ever seen or read about, and their dynamics are hilarious and incredible. The setting is described so beautifully, especially in the beginning, and I wish I could visit Gio and Victor’s home in the trees!

I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this read and will be encouraging others to read this one as well!

Cover note: absolutely perfect, matches the tone of the book so well and I love how it goes along with Klune’s previous 3 novels!

rep: asexual MC, mlm romance