"In the Lives of Puppets" by T.J. Klune is a captivating and imaginative tale that blends humor with a touch of darkness, creating a unique reading experience. Set in a strange home nestled within the branches of trees, the story follows a family of robots and a human, Vic, who must embark on a perilous journey to rescue one of their own.

Klune's skillful use of humor shines throughout the narrative, eliciting laughter and amusement from readers. The characterization is particularly noteworthy, with each character distinct and memorable, adding depth to the story.

However, while the book offers an intriguing twist on the classic Pinocchio tale, it falls slightly short of Klune's other works. The storyline, though imaginative, may feel predictable at times, and the pacing can be slow.

Overall, "In the Lives of Puppets" is worth the read for its humor, creativity, and well-developed characters. While not reaching the heights of Klune's other novels, it still provides an enjoyable and entertaining journey for readers.

I was really hoping to like this as much as I saw everyone else. But being a like over 100 pages in and not caring for the MC is making reading this book a chore. It's sad to say that Rambo and Nurse Ratched have more personality to them then the human boy that brought them back to life. I will be looking for more books like this with a stronger MC in the future. I enjoyed the aspects of robots being friends with a human after something happened with the humans. But I am unsure if I will pick up anymore of this authors work after I read the other ARC I have of theirs.

A touchingly heartwarming tale of robots and humans--and never the twain shall meet--unless in Found Family. When I wasn't nearly constantly chortling over Nurse Ratched, I pondered my decades-old memory of I, Robot; for in the long-ago backstory of this novel, Robots turned Asimov's "First Law of Robotics" straight on its head. Never fear: there is Hope and there will be Happy, and Humans haven't been fully eradicated... yet.

I have been so impressed by TJ Klune's previous works; they truly transport the reader into a new world with complex and interesting characters. While TJ Klune does the same here, this one did not sing for me the way his previous works did. While his works are filled with complicated emotions I generally feel uplifted, however in this case I was left with just sadness. So while excellent, it didn't strike the same tone for me as some of his earlier works.

3.5 stars // Similar to my review of Under the Whispering Door, this book was LONG but good. I enjoyed the themes that were explored (love, family, technology, robots becoming sentient, a post-human Earth, etc.), but got a little caught up in how long the book was. I have to say, the robots were FUNNY. The dialogue was so good and I found myself smiling quite a bit.

TJ Klune never disappoints me! In the Lives of Puppets showcased his masterful writing brilliantly. The premise is true to TJ's writing with a young protagonist who is a little lost in the world, trying to come into his own. I truly believe these books can be read from the teenage years as it speaks to core issues facing a lot of our youth.

The characters can reach deep into your inner and squeeze every inch of your emotions!

Always a winner in my books!

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for providing me with an arc in exchange for an advance reader copy.

I've learned some things about the author and while I have enjoyed TJ Klune books in the past, I will be skipping this title. While I don't think genocide and indigenous schools played a part in this particular feel-good queer novel, I can't forget that the author has used such topics as content for profit in a way that does not accurately portray them as horrific and evil. Thank you for the opportunity to review.

IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS by Multi-Award-Winning and mega-talented author T.J. KLUNE is a thoroughly enjoyable tale about found family and the lengths we are willing to go to for those we love.

The characters each have very distinct characteristics and it is easy to Picture them in your minds-eye.

The world-building is fabulous and I would LOVE to see this book made into a movie. If this were to happen I believe it would be a tremendous success.

I enjoyed this book so much that I am rating it as 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

TJ Klune is such a gem of an author. I am so grateful I came across his work. The first book I did was The extraordinaries and I loved it. Then Under the whispering door landed on my hands and I was blown away. This book made me think of Pinocchio and The wizard of Oz. The author has such a creative mind. The banter was adorable and made me smile. This was about family, community, humanity, love... so many things and very thought provoking. I enjoyed the journey of all this characters and would always be a huge fan.

As always from TJK - a little weird and a lot lovely. Really enjoyed the oz vibes and this just cemented TJ Klune as an auto read author for me

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune is a good fit for those seeking a heartwarming and adventurous story featuring found family, self-discovery, and the complexities of AI. This one has a touch of emotional depth and LGBTQ+ themes as well. Ultimately, I thought this one was sweet and tenderhearted and I would recommend it for those who need a book that feels like a warm hug.

I am a big TJ Klune fan and have enjoyed many other of his works. This story was a unique blend of whimsy and suspense, creating a quirky family dynamic in a world of robots. The narrative takes many turns with a major plot twist that sparked many emotions. While the premise is an inventive spin on the classic Pinocchio, the overall story pacing was uneven and sometimes slow.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book just was not for me. Unfortunately I couldn’t connect with the characters or plot of this one.

I read and listened to this book. I love all things TJ Klune and haven't read a book by them that I haven't absolutely devoured and adored.
Vic and his robot crew are a true riot and although the story didn't always follow along with the original Pinocchio story, I could definitely see the parallels between them. In some ways, this was better.

Unfortunately this book turned out not to be a good fit for me. While I enjoyed Klune’s YA books & his Green Creek series, his other adult books just aren’t clicking with me.

His protagonist and the overall idea are interesting, and the two robots the protag hangs out with are hilarious. However, there’s something about the book that keeps falling flat with me.

In the Lives of Puppets was. a funny, heartwarming tale about Giovanni an android living in a treehouse with his human son Victor, and two hilarious robots. Victor stumbles across android parts and puts back together an android named Hap and Hap has no memory of his previous life. . Hap and Giovanni have a shared dark past that later catches up to them and Victor must find a way to save Gio and forgive him. The characters are what makes this story so enjoyable, I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times. There are bits of the plot that dragged on a bit for me but overall a great heartwarming read!

Thank you to NetGalley for this galley in exchange for an honest review. I understand the hype with TJ Klune. This is my second by him, the first being Cerulean Sea. He does a great job with cozy found family and magical realism/grounded sci-fi . With that being said, I am finding that those are not my preferred tropes so this was just okay for me. It was very well written but it wasn’t life changing.

As always from TJK - a little weird and a lot lovely. Really enjoyed the oz vibes and this just cemented TJ Klune as an auto read author for me

I was absolutely delighted to be approved for the advance reader copy of this book on NetGalley because I loved the two prior TJ Klune books that I read. Unfortunately, with this one, I burned out around halfway through (at the end of Chapter 14). So I left it on my TBR shelf for roughly eight months (right up until the beginning of 2024) and then re-engaged only after someone in the Girls Love Travel Book Club on Facebook highly recommended picking it back up and finishing it off. Fortunately, the book was very easy to get back into. Things almost immediately started happening in the plot that engaged my interest, so it was a very quick action packed read until the end. The ending of the book made me weep in public (at Silent Book Club) and almost miss my next appointment.

The challenge that I had with this book was that it was an excessively slow burn. The story started out with Victor, his father, and two robots living in an idyllic treehouse in the forest. It stayed there for a bit building out the characters and their relationships. Eventually, Victor brought home some robot parts that he scavenged from a scrap heap and decided to rebuild the robot, keeping it a secret from his father. The story stayed there for a bit, as the new robot tried to integrate into the family. And then something really bad happened that resulted in the kidnapping of the father and the rest of the family setting out on a quest to rescue him. The story dwelled in the quest through the forest, building out the relationships of the quartet. And that’s where I put it down because the story kept stalling and the previously cute and witty banter between the characters was starting to feel tiresome and uninspired.

When I picked the book back up, things almost immediately started happening in the plot. A new character got introduced who revealed some disturbing information about the real world that the characters were living in. The quartet made some serious progress on their quest to rescue the father with the help of this new character. They suffered setbacks, they made progress, they met new characters who revealed more new information. Ultimately, the quest wrapped up, putting Victor back at the beginning to deal with the collateral damage of having gone on this quest. And then the book dwelled here until it quietly wrapped up.

I was quite happy to have taken the advice of the ladies on Facebook. Overall, I was glad that I put this content into my brain as it did have some interesting commentary on the nature of family and friendships, on the quality of forgiveness, and on what it means to be human. It was just such a slow build and burn that I lost my patience with it, especially since all that space spent dwelling on building characters and relationships didn’t seem one-hundred percent necessary in the end. And some of my impatience was my own fault in bringing my expectations into this book that it would be similar to the other two books that I had read by the author where the high stakes conflict in the plot was almost immediately apparent.

I would recommend this book if you are a patient reader who trusts the author to bring together everything that is so painstakingly built in the first half of the book. If you are a reader who especially enjoys found family novels and buddy quests, this one may be right up your alley.

I LOVED this authors other titles so I was so excited to read this one as well!! This book was so engaging and I loved it just as much as his other books if not more!! It’s a must read!