This book is. Retelling of Pinocchio, but somehow, SO MUCH better!! TJ Klune books bring out so many emotions while I read. They are funny, sweet, thoughtful, and caring. The characters are unique and amazing and so genuinely well written. I love this book and this author so much.

Thank you NetGalley, and the publishers for the chance to read this ARC before publishing. This was my first TJ Klune book, and I absolutely loved it. It took me a couple of chapters to get fully invested, but once I was in, I was HOOKED. The story had an interesting premise that I hadn't read anything similar to, and the characters were ones that I felt a kind of kinship with. I will definitely be picking up the books from this author that I have missed, and will be posting a review on both GoodRead and TikTok/IG.

Thank you for letting me have an e-ARC of this book, will definitely buy a physical copy so I can reread the wonderful world that this has taken me to.

TJ Klune has definitely become a favorite author from last year. and this book didn't disappoint. the way he builds the world in his stories is always so fascinating. I laughed and even teared up, and I would gladly join them again on a journey.

The story revolves around a family of robots and one human that live in a complex tree house. Their lives are suddenly disrupted and shaken with the appearance of an unknown robot.

Cozy sci-fi and found family are two themes that are presented in this book, which makes it a perfect read for me. And it was; the diverse set of characters, their unique personalities, and even the secrets withheld, this was adventurous and even emotional.

All kinds of problems plague the characters; hidden past, white lies, confusing identities. Despite all these, one should learn to move on and find a way to be better; forgive others since time is finite. Forgive yourself especially, we all make mistakes and it’s the reason why we are perfectly flawed humans.

TJ Klune does it again! I started out being slightly confused by the premise, however, by about chapter 5 I could not put it down. There were so many laugh out loud parts as well as emotional moment. This is definitely a must read for all Fantasy fans.

"Some of the old books told stories of people yearning for more and setting off to find it and themselves. Vic always thought they were silly that way. He never wanted to go far from home."

I will start this review by saying, TJ Klune never fails to write characters that I, in turn, fall hopelessly in love with. This book was no exception. I worried so much about the well-being of a sentient roomba for a good portion of this book?! Like c'mon.

Not only do you fall in love with the characters in Klune's books, but they just make you feel all of the feelings spectrum. I laughed, I cried. I worried, I "hurrah"-ed in triumph. I held my breath, I crossed my fingers. I was one of the most human experiences I have ever had-- while reading a book where the majority of the characters are robots, humanoids, and AIs!

The entire journey felt like the lovechild of Wall-E, Pinocchio, and that one 2001 movie, <i>AI</i> with Jude Law. I can't speak highly enough of Klune's works and this one is no different. Read it just to fall in love with a stuttering half android-half wooden puppet, along with all the other amazing characters in this book.

Thanks to Tor Books, NetGalley and author TJ Klune for sending me this eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of TJ Klune’s new book in exchange for an honest review! Although this wasn’t my favorite of his, it’s still a beautifully written and impactful story that I highly recommend.

In the Lives of Puppets is a sweet and emotional tale, filled with adventure, that reminded me of The Wizard of Oz and Pinocchio. In short, it’s about Victor, a human, and his gang of robot friends on a journey to rescue his dad from the City of Electric Dreams (pretty sure this is supposed to be Las Vegas). This story gave a lot more of a sci-fi and dystopian vibe than Klune’s UTWD and THITCS.

Just like in TJ Klune’s other books, he wrote his characters perfectly. I’m not a huge science fiction fan but the hilarious banter everyone in the group but especially between Rambo, the vacuum and Nurse Ratched, a robotic nurse, is what kept me reading. I do want to mention that Klune’s profound understanding of what it means to be queer is incredibly evident in this book. He manages to write such deep and empathetic stories while still maintaining the dry humor that keeps us laughing. As I mentioned above, I didn’t love this as much as Whispering Door or Cerulean Sea but I attribute that to my dislike of the sci-fi genre. Highly reccomend!

What an adventure! I didn't realize until about halfway through that this is a loose interpretation of Pinnochio, and you can totally see it! The characters are rich, just as in Klune's other novels, and the heart is clear throughout. This story is hopeful and lovely, and I could definitely see a sequel coming!

As a huge TJ Klune fan, this was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I was SO excited when I received an advanced readers copy thanks to @Netgalley and @Torbooks.. All opinions are my own.

This is a LGBTQ+ retelling of The Adventures of Pinocchio. Think Pinocchio meets Wall-E meets The Matrix.

I loved this book. Klune has a talent in adding incredible insight and life lessons into his stories. Whether you agree with them or not, they will always make you stop and think - which is always a good thing.

This book was a rollercoaster of emotions; it's fun, sad, witty, hilarious, beautiful, and everything in between. It has LGBTQ+ representation, a special found family, a slow burn romance, and incredible character growth & development.

One of my favorite things about Klune's books is always the characters and their banter with one another, and this book doesn't disappoint! Some of my favorite hilarious conversations in this are between a semi-sociopathic nursing robot named Nurse Ratched and a naïve anxiety-filled vacuum robot named Rambo.

All in all, this is a wonderful story about forgiveness, friendship, family, love, adventure, humanity, creation, and most important - Family.

This book releases April 25th, 2023. I highly recommend reading. I definitely will be going out and grabbing a physical copy that day.

"What are the rules?
Stick together.
Run if we have to.
No dallying!
No drilling...
And above all, be brave!"

This story is epic and awesome. It is an unexpected blending of Pinocchio, the Wizard of Oz, Frankenstein, Swiss Family Robinson, and whatever special fairy dust TJ Klune spreads over all of his work to make it so special. Victor is a real man in a world that is very much owned and operated by machines. He lives alone in a tree house with just his father, an android named Giovanni, and his friends Nurse Ratched (a nurse robot) and Rambo (a robotic vaccum) for company. He spends his days tinkering with machines and searching the nearby scrap yard for interesting items. When he finds an almost functioning android in a pile of scrap - everything changes and he's set on a journey that will definitely change Victor - but maybe also the world.

As always - the side characters are equally as wonderful as the main ones. Nurse Ratched and Rambo in particular are so beautifully rendered and vivid that I won't forget about them any time soon. Hap is also an incredibly special character - who we see change in ways that are very real. And Victor - who is so kind and so lovely to read about. And all of them are so very, very brave.

As TJ Klune says about this book - it is a book about robots, but still perhaps the most human book you've ever read. How do we forgive the unforgiveable? How do we move past trauma? How do we find bravery and perseverance in the face of insurmountable odds? and when faced with difficult choices - what choice will we make? Ultimately - for me this book was about starting over and finding forgiveness for and within ourselves. It shows that we are more than the worst moments of our life.

Longtime readers of TJ Klune stories will adore the tiny easter eggs of other books he has written. But this book definitely stands alone and I loved it.

I received this via NetGalley as an ARC, but these opinions and effusive praise are all my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t typically enjoy retellings, but In the Lives of Puppets was so much more than that. The book is a beautiful compliment to the original Pinocchio story.

In the Lives of Puppets was a 5 star read for me. It had everything I love in a TJ Klune book: found family, hilarious characters, and the theme of continuing to dream even when all hope seems lost.

In the Lives of Puppets should be on the tbr list of all Klune fans as well as those in need of a little stubborn hope in their lives.

First I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of In the Lives of Puppets in exchange for a honest review.

T.J. Klune makes me feel love in his words like few authors do. Moments between characters are precious. I find myself smiling at the beauty, at the emotion, at the honesty in conversations between characters. These characters are flawed but are perfected by those flaws. In the Lives of Puppets is special because most of our characters are not even human but oh man is the best of humanity present.

This book has fantasy elements and a beautiful journey reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz. Our characters have strengths where others have weaknesses and they balance each other out to make a wonderful team.

If I had to critique one thing it would be that the book is a bit too long, in my opinion. Some passages read as filler and I found myself wanting to skim at times. That’s not typical for me while reading Klune. I think trimming off 50 or so pages would clean it up and help the journey flow more smoothly.

In The Lives of Puppets takes place in the future, Vic is an inventor, he lives in the forest in a hodge-podge tree house with a sweet little robot-vacuum (Rambo), a murderous nurse robot (Nurse Ratched) and his father (Gio, also an inventor). I feel like I could go on and on because I freaking love these characters! How did T J Klune make me so obsessed with a robot vacuum? When the gang finds a surprising discovery at the scrap yard, everything changes and they end up going on a Wizard of Oz esque adventure.

T J Klune is such a gift! This book is probably going to be my favourite of this year (it’s still January), it has the same dark humour as The House in The Cerulean Sea and so much heart.

TJ Klune has written another really good novel. I have to admit, it took a bit for me to become involved with the story and its characters. It is worth it to keep going. Each character's personality is very different from the others and my favorite character is Nurse Ratched due to her sarcastic speech style.
I LOVED the previous books of TJ Klune that I read, The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door. As with the previous 2 titles, there would be much to discuss about In the Lives of Puppets in a book club. It is worth reading and if you find it takes you a while to get going, keep with it. I believe you will be glad you did.

Another lovely work by Klune, I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This work I would say falls in between the semi-darker contemplative world of “Under the Whispering Door”, and the bright optimistic world in “The House in the Cerulean Sea.” Klune’s writing remains phenomenal but with a slight step back from romance, I feel that this book addresses a bit more than just the importance of found family and personal growth, as all of Klune’s other works I have read seem to do.

This work holds asexual representation written with tact and understanding (and if you act like you don’t understand, be sure that Nurse Ratched will drill it into you) and it also shows that love can be found in the oddest of places. Our ability to experience love and feel things is what makes us whole, maybe not “human” but it does make us whole. Great work 🙂

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I love T.J. Klune's writing and this work is no exception.

This is a great story and the quest to find humanity when you're not human makes for a compelling story.

My one comment for improvement would be on pacing. It felt like the journey to the city did not take a lot of time, and maybe could have been extended with a little bit more character backstory of the main characters.

Overall great read.

Ugh. This was so good. I don’t know where to begin. It’s a bit darker and sadder than The House in the Cerulean Sea, but still incredibly lovely and heartwarming. Klune is so skilled at capturing core human emotions and portraying love in both a silly and quirky way, and an intense and sacrificial way. Klune’s strength is that he pits his considerable powers of empathy at the service of the reader. This is probably one of the most human books I’ve read (messy & lovely), which is funny because everyone except Vic is a robot.

The cast of robots is, in my opinion, nothing short of genius. There’s a neurotic and anxious roomba named Rambo who has the most adorable dialogue: “”This is just like the movies,” Rambo squealed, sensors flashing. “I’m so happy!” He’s either absolutely delighted or extremely worried and having a little existential crisis, constantly convinced they’re all going to die. Then there’s Nurse Ratched, a somewhat mean and extremely sadistic nurse robot (“Oh. Well. Engaging Empathy Protocol. That was very nice of you to say. You are wonderful. Disengaging Empathy Protocol. Idiot.”) Hap, a murderous robot who is described by everyone and himself as an “asshole” has a stutter. He’s out and about threatening to dismember people with a stutter. Amazing.

The story is enlivened throughout from how Klune grapples with the philosophical undertones. What does it mean to be human? What’s the value of mortality? What constitutes a “good life”? He deals with a lot of it through Vic, the only human character, muddling his way through big feelings and scary events with his loyal entourage of robot friends and it’s very endearing to read about. Some of it is confronted through the Pinnochio retelling: his robots are, in many senses, learning how to be human. And that creates a lovely little book with creative worldbuilding that will make you smile and tear up at regular intervals.

This book is pure gold. Must read!! I was intrigued from the getgo. Now I want to read other books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know how TJ Klune can make you adore characters as quickly and has deeply as he does. I instantly fell in love with Victor and his ragtag group of misfit robots, even the glitchy and surly Hap. Like others by Klune, this one is a little bit too mature for a middle school audience, but high school librarians should definitely make room for this queer little gem.

Picked it up based on the author - I haven't yet read their other books, but I totally picked up a distinct authorial voice here. Quirky, funny, and poignant. The characters are effortlessly sketched. Even though the plot wasn't necessarily for me, I was pulled along and enjoyed the story.

Thank you to Tor for sending me an advanced copy of In the Lives of Puppets in exchange for an honest review.


Wow. where do i begin? i never knew i needed a cozy sci fi/fantasy before. this story was so comforting with found family which you see a lot in Klune's works but this had to be my favorite story of them all. picture this, you get a sci fi ques Pinocchio retelling. I could not put this down. from the witty banter to the beautiful writing. In the Lives of Puppets is a story that will warm your heart until the very last page.