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

In this imaginative, sci-fi retelling of Pinocchio, we are taken on an epic adventure with Victor, potentially the last remaining human; a medical robot named Nurse Ratched; Rambo, an adorable vacuum who never knows when to be quiet; and Hap—short for Hysterically Angry Puppet—who was built to kill humans. Victor and the others must save Victor’s father, Giovanni, after their forest home is destroyed and Gio is kidnapped.

TJ Klune’s books have redefined what it means to be family, what it means to be alive, and now, what it means to be human. While it did not make me cry like his previous books, I greatly enjoyed this book, and I’m sure readers who loved The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door will love In the Lives of Puppets, too.

Thanks to Tor Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune.
We created AI to help us - make our lives easier. We embraced the power of AI's ability to learn and think. . The creation begins to outstrip the creator. Machines see the flaws of humanity and tries to warn us of the destruction we are bring to the world by our selfishness and greed and our inability to listen.

our selfishness, greed and our inability to listen. - sounds familiar ?

This is the story of a man and his son living alone in the woods, salvaging from the scrap yard to tinker and invent.
This is a story of creation, destruction, loneliness, friendship, forgiveness, the desire to do better, to love. The story of humanity.

And of course this is a TJ Klune book with laugh-out-loud moments and unforgettable characters. I read it in one day and will be thinking about it for quite some time to come. Highly, highly recommend.

This is definitely not a genre that I typically read, but it was enjoyable anyway. A future where robots take over the world and decimate all of humanity is not hard to believe, and this story delivers a believable future for earth. I also like how the author builds a moral code into the storyline, giving robots emotions and compassion.

I just couldn’t get into this one. It seems too unrealistic to me and I just couldn’t get into it. I still love TJ Klune as an author but this one didn’t do it for me.

Really well-done and updated retelling of the original Pinocchio story. Really excellent characterization and detailed story telling. The dialogue and interplay between the different robots/androids and people is fun. Who doesn't identify with an anxiety-riddled vacuum or a put upon "nurse" (I think my favorite was Nurse Ratched engaging and disengaging her "empathy protocol."). The juxtaposition of who Hap is, and what he was created to be is an excellent study in humanity and the choices we have (yes, yes...he's an android).

The story itself was slow to me. I was interested in the resolution, so I stuck with it. The descriptions and charactger interactions helped with that. I keep reading synopsis of this title emphasizing that it's a queer retelling (to the point of it being the first few words of the synopsis) ...and...honestly....that's not enough of the story for me to make such an emphasis on it. The author and publisher websites barely mention it, near the end. Is it apparent and an important piece of the story? Yes...but not until the last third, probably.

Overall, good book, though slow at times.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own.

I know I am likely in the minority, but I am not a huge fan of TJ Klune, however, this is one of the most anticipated books of 2023 and I was happy to get an advance copy.

Like Klune's other books, this one is like nothing you've ever read before. It centers upon one human and a misfit trio of Robots, rebuilt & living in the forest hidden away.

Klune is a favorite of my 18 year old daughter and this story is something she will really enjoy.

It may have been just a bit much for me, but I did enjoy it more than the previous two that I have read. And I highly relate to the very anxious vacuum!!!!

If you enjoyed Klune's previous works, I'd definitely recommend reading this one. While I understand that it is not my full cup of tea, I do recognize that is just my personal taste and that this book will be amazing for others, so I definitely recommend!

“And above all else, be brave.”

“A queer reimagining of Pinocchio.” Those are the words that completely sold this novel to me and after reading this book I am not disappointed.

TJ Klune has once again done such a great job of creating lovable characters. Who would have thought I’d be obsessed with an anxious vacuum cleaner, a sociopathic nurse robot and a Hysterically Angry Puppet? I really enjoyed this adventure and how it was written with so much emotion as well as dry wit. I found myself laughing at the absurdity of it all on multiple occasions, and also cheering my heroes on. I wanted to see them succeed.

I will say that I struggled a bit with the start and getting into the flow of this book. The chapters are also quite long at times. However, I was quickly swept along on the emotional journey, which made up for the slow start.

This book really shows how people (and robots) make sacrifices for their loved ones, no matter the consequences. It’s a heartwarming read with found family, queer characters, and tons of dry humour. I’d absolutely recommend it.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Books for letting me read an eARC of this book. In the Lives of Puppets comes out April 25th 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! I just adore anything written by TJ Klune. He is one of my favorite authors. And this retelling of a Pinocchio themed story did not disappoint. I love his style of writing, his humorous characters and that I get so absorbed in his stories. Nurse Ratched had me giggling out loud throughout the story. If you enjoyed the House in The Cerulean Sea or Aubree The Whispering Door, I think you will also love this one! 5/5 stars!

I never really thought of Pinocchio, and Swiss Family Robinson but it strangely worked. The scifi elements worked well with the fairy tale elements. I really enjoyed going through this book and getting to understand what was going on in this world. I enjoyed these characters and getting to know them, it was what I was hoping for and am glad I got to read this book.

“But they can’t be bad guys,” Rambo said. “They’re playing music! No one bad likes music.” “What are you talking about?” Vic asked, his breaths short and quick. “What music? I don’t . . . hear . . .” He lost his words when he saw what lay ahead. The road continued on. The pylons—as uniform as they’d been when they first saw them—blinked, the air still filled with the humming current."

It was a remarkable gift to be able to preview this incredible novel. TJ Klune must be the most beautiful human being, to be able to write such empathetic and heart warming characters. So much depth and wisdom. I laughed out loud, I cried and I could not put this book down! The cover art is gorgeous. So excited to welcome this beautiful book to bookstore shelves in 2023! A heart-warming book to hand sell and we will be featuring this in our store subscription boxes as well.

TJ Klune is a master at writing worlds I want to get lost in. The House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my all time favorite books and with his newest book, In The Lives of Puppets, he is back writing characters you can get behind and root for. Gio, Vic, HAP, Nurse Ratched, and Rambo all become a part of the readers family and the adventure they go on is so fun and makes the pages fly by. I cant wait to re-read once this book is published and recommend to all my reader friends.

4.5 stars!! What a splendidly written book

I would like to thank TJ Klune and TOR publishing for released yet again another SPECTACULAR novel, I have thus considered this my early Christmas present.

If you are someone who makes "anticipated releases" lists - ADD THIS ONE TO IT!

It was easy to read (I could not put it down, I read it in one sitting and that is never something my ADHD allows me to do) and I felt the entire spectrum of emotions while reading this book. Wall-E was one of my favorite movies when I was younger & my favorite side character was Rambo (I, too, clean with anxiety buddy don't worry).

I was not the biggest fan of The House in the Cerulean Sea. So, I had very neutral expectations for In the Lives of Puppets as the synopsis to this novel appealed to me much more than prior publications.

- Side note - The prologue really impressed me. I generally find them so vague they're almost useless. This book was not at all the case.

***Thank you NetGalley / TOR for this eARC - All opinions are my own***

If you only read ONE book in 2023, THIS IS THE BOOK TO READ!!

Think a retelling of Pinocchio, only the boy is real and everyone else are robots. Humanity has become extinct by the very machines they have built, but in a hidden section of woods, there lives a real boy, with his robot father, a snarky yet utterly lovable nurse robot named Nurse Ratchet (who is by far my favorite character) and a cute little roomba vacuum with a drive to clean, clean, clean, named Rambo. When our hunting for spare parts, this trio of boy and robots come across an android not yet out of power and set out to save him. As I’m sure you can guess, chaos ensues.

This book reads fast, causes laughter, sadness, happiness, and overall is probably one of the best books I’ve read this year. It is one everyone should read, and re-read as the humanity, love, pain, and most of all choices fit into everyday life. This is one I will go to again and again.

Thank you so much to #NetGalley, the publishers, and beyond talented author for extending me an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

The way TJ Klune addresses heavy topics in a whimsical manner never fails to amaze me. The grief, genocide, and question of who has the right to forgive for sins against groups of people that are addressed in the book are addressed in such a subtle and good way.

The story and characters themselves are amazing and moving. I cried. I laughed. I didn’t want the book to end.

I loved it. I probably bought 40 copies each of Cerulean Sea and Whispering Door to give to people and this one will be the same.

TJ Klune just has my heart. I get emotional in anticipation way before I’m actually emotional

I also really want Rambo and Chip from Beauty and the Beast to have a play date. An adorable adorable play date

#tjklune

Wow! This is a masterpiece. TJ Klune has created an amazing love story between man and machine. Nurse Rachted and Rambo are the most entertaining and funny characters I have read in ages! It might seem cliched at first-a future where machines have risen up and annihilated humanity. But TJ Klune has imagined a future where an AI is able to overcome its original designation in order to evolve into a machine that can think for itself, show loyalty, and feel a range of emotions from fear to love. It is simply magical.

WOW. If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. TJ Klune's beautiful writing and storytelling crafts lovely characters and a wonderful adventure. These characters might be my favorite characters in any book I've ever read in my life! Rambo is a lovable favorite, and his interactions with Nurse Ratched were amusing. The adventure these characters go on is meaningful and fascinating. A beautiful book!

My hopes and expectations for this book were sky-high ... and TJ has still found a way to leave me speechless. An absolute masterpiece!!
I've considered Klune my favourite author for years - and this just may be my favourite book from him! I just can not wait for release ... I want to see everyone loving this story as much as I do!

Let me start by saying that I love T.J. Klune! I will read anything he writes because he creates flawed characters that you just cant' help but love. With that being said, this book was not my favorite of his but I am still glad that I read it. My favorite characters ended up being Nurse Ratched, Rambo, and HAP. I loved their sarcasm and wit. I loved that the characters truly loved each other and that they had created such a wonderful found family. I wanted to feel more about the relationship between Gio and Vic but I just couldn't find a connection to them. The relationship between Vic and Hap was sweet and I loved the way it blossomed.

I've read all of TJ Klune's books and I think this just might be his very best novel (which is saying a lot, because I have liked several of his novels). There's something about the concept as well as the complexity of the characters that has set this apart from the others. I think I really began to see a shift in his writing with "The House on the Cerulean Sea," (which I ADORED) and "In the Lives of Puppets" is continuing him on a trajectory of success as his writing continues to evolve and change in all the best possible ways. I cannot wait to share this with my friends, family, and library patrons because this just might be his best work yet.