This was my first book by TJ Klune, and it won’t be my last. Recommended for fans of science fiction and dystopian novels.

T.J. Klune is known for fantasy novels that have a significant tone of whimsy. Here he has created a dystopian science fiction novel, but the whimsy is still very much intact. Young protagonist Victor Lawson has rescued and restored two robots: Nurse Ratched, a nurse robot who seems to have sociopathic tendencies; and Rambo, a robotic vacuum with a cleanliness obsession and a need to be loved (as well as a motor mouth). When Vic finds and salvages another robot which he names Hap, he triggers memories in his father, an android named Gio.

The family (which is revealed to be one human and several robots) finds a way to be comfortable with the situation. Unfortunately, the Authority (the robotic control group) has become aware of them, and they arrive to retrieve Gio. He is an important android, but having anticipated the situation he programmed the nurse robot to keep the rest of the family safe. The Authority destroys the family's home and takes Gio back to headquarters, the City of Electric Dreams.

The family is united in the desire to rescue Gio, which takes them on an epic adventure. They encounter a robot who is fascinated with human artifacts, and after a rough patch (including kidnapping) he helps them find their way into the City. The rescue is not smooth, but it is ultimately successful. The conclusion eventually finds Gio and Hap mostly restored to their former selves–which was certainly not guaranteed–and the relationship between Vic and Hap also resumes. The conclusion is open-ended, but as usual Klune's gay male couple gets together (even if one of them is an android). Despite the big apocalyptic setting the story is really small and interpersonal. It's about the rebirth of one human, not all of humanity.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance reader's copy.

Quirky and convoluted, there's a lot of moving parts (forgive the pun) to this story. While there is a positive-ish ending (my opinion) I felt a sense of dread through most of the book. That being said though, the author did not disappoint.

I decided to read In The Lives of Puppets because the summary sounded so odd. It was whimsical and different, so unlike anything I had read before. I hadn’t known it was a Pinocchio retelling at first. In fact, as I read, I thought it might be a Frankenstein retelling. I still stand by that, at least a little bit. I’ll get back to the Pinocchio retelling piece a little later in my review.

I’m going to tell you what I will be telling everyone from now on- if you read the summary and thought this book may not be for you, I encourage you to read it anyway. I say this not because the summary didn’t immediately sell me on it (it did) but I have heard comments like this surrounding the book. Not only did I laugh more than I ever have while reading a book (Nurse Ratched and Rambo’s dialogue had me crying from so much laughter), I connected to these characters immediately.

Without giving too much away, Victor lives with his father, Gio, and his friends Nurse Ratched and Rambo out in the forest. He likes to collect bits and pieces of scrap to build more or improve on the machines and things they have around their treehouse home (take a second to read that again. Yes, a TREEHOUSE HOME). The robots around him are very human in their personalities even though two of them look nothing like us. Nurse Ratched and Rambo can succumb to their original programming at times, which provides for even more funny and heartfelt moments. We’re introduced to a particularly complex android, Hap, that gives wonderful insight into choice and what it means to be human.

A common theme throughout the book is battling loneliness and, linked to that, finding where one fits in the world. Remember what I said about connecting to these characters immediately? I think that’s why. Almost all of us have experienced or are experiencing those feelings. Klune made robots more open to their emotions than almost any human I’ve ever met, and tied them into the beautiful package that is this book.

Hap and Gio are both complicated characters, having pasts that don’t quite align with who they truly are. It begs the question, can we change? Can we improve the future despite our past as a species? An interesting thought.

Regarding the Pinnochio telling, I have only one major critique. I didn’t think it was necessary. This story could have easily stood on its own without any reference to Pinnochio. At times it felt forced, not quite melding into the world, in my opinion. This clearly did not take away from my experience as this is honestly one of the best books I’ve ever read, but it didn’t necessarily add.

I won’t say any more, for fear of spoiling, but just know that the range of emotions I felt while reading this book are unparalleled. I truly did laugh, and cry, and gasp and feel so incredibly happy I was able to read this book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

A Few Favorite Quotes:

“‘What if I wish for impossible things?’
‘Then you’re doing it right. It always seems impossible when you first start.’”

“Words were a weapon, he knew, one that had taken him a long time to wield. But he was different than he’d been before. He wasn’t that boy. He’d found his voice. This machine– this man– had given it to him.”

“‘Something to it, I think. Maybe I was meant to find you. Before and now.’”

“In his secret heart, hope had flickered like a dying flame.”

“‘My feet hurt,’ Rambo said.
‘You do not have feet.’
‘Oh. Well if I did, they would hurt.’”

“He felt it, then, something foreign, sticky, all-consuming. Its tendrils whipped up around him, pulling him down, down, and as he gasped for air, he recognized it for what it was though he’d never experienced it before in his life. A word flitted through the static as if stuck to the wing of a butterfly. Grief. This was grief.”

I could quote almost the entire book, so I’ll make myself stop there!

TJ Klune’s books are always so sweet, and this was no exception!! I loved the characters and had such a great time with this one

TJ Klune's books are always a warm hug that manage to make me cry, laugh, and feel all the emotions. A story that I didn't think I would initially love but once again am pleasantly surprised.

I read this novel after reading Isaac Asmiov's "I, Robot" and that leant a wonderful perspective to what TJ Klune was doing with his characters. The different robots and their emotions/options were entertaining at times, but at some points felt over the top. Overall this was a strong work from Klune but did not have the heart of his other adult novels. It felt like it had a lot more of the YA slant to it.

Mood: You're looking for Wizard of Oz adventure--a human accompanied by three fantastical friends, a touch of sci-fi with robots who you might fall in love with more so than people, banter to make you smile, and of course queer representation. You want a book that isn't "just a story" but a work of art on discovering who you are and what you're made of when characteristic are nurtured regardless of background. You want a story about "found family."

This is the story to satisfy such a mood and what more can I say than this will make you put your hand to your heart and look at your robots (Alexa? Rumba?) a little more fondly.

This book was all around a fairly solid book. The characters were strong and not to mention hilarious. I highlighted A LOT of nurse ratched quotes. I think she is the one that made this book good in my opinion. I enjoyed the story well enough but I unfortunately felt a large disconnect. Anytime I picked it up, I would place it down after a chapter and would take a couple days before reading the next chapter. I was able to get the audiobook (which I absolutely recommend as a format for this book) and finished it in a more timely manner. Once I started on the audiobook, I enjoyed the pacing and the world better. All around great character development and story building, just a disconnect on the execution. 3.5 stars rounded up.

In the Lives of Puppets was such a heartwarming book!! The found family and relationships in this book were top tier.

Also, this book was freaking hilarious. Rambo and Nurse Ratchet together were so funny and made me love this book 100 times more!!

T.J. Klune is definitely an auto buy author for me because whenever I’m having a rough day, his books always cheer me up and make me smile. I can’t wait to see what he comes out with next!

This story left me with a serious book hangover. Vic and his ridiculous but fantastic pals are perfection. Gio and the development of his story is heart wrenching. What do machines do when there’re no humans? The story left me aching for more.

The world-building in this tale is phenomenal. I’ve been a TJ Klune fan since some of his very first published books and it’s been a privilege to watch his writing evolve. His recent work has moved into such an elevated place. I love his romantic comedies as well but his current work is prizewinning quality, and I hope he gets his flowers!

TJ Kline is the king of found family. This booo captured my heart and attention from the first chapter in this unique sci-fi/dystopian about a human boy growing up in a world run by robots.

The characters in this book hold a special place in my heart and I loved how unique and special each character was. I flipped back and forth between these characters and who I could call my favorite because they each had amazing aspects that were incorporated into the story beautifully.

The plot flowed naturally and I still have a couple lingering questions regarding the city and the robots living there but overall it was a captivating and beautiful story about what it means to be human

Another amazing read from TJ! As a big fan, I'd heard both good and bad reviews of this book but I can honestly say I loved it! Definitely a different direction for him, but I really loved all the characters, the robots personalities were so funny and witty and the pinocchio themes throughout tied the story together!

TJ Klune has done it again! In the Lives of Puppets is a great novel centering around the trope of found family. This was also the case in Klune's previous novels, only this time, the family consists of multiple robots and one human - the last human on earth. I loved reading about the Lawson family and how they interacted with each other. You could tell that they all really love each other. I especially enjoyed reading about Rambo and Nurse Ratched. A very wholesome read!

Thanks to NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review!


TJ Klune will never disappoint! The humor of this book felt like a combination of House in the Cerulean Sea and the Extraordinaries. Which was truly perfect. I was laughing out loud multiple times with this book.

I especially recommend the audiobook because the narration for the various robots is such a fun touch.

My only issue with the book was the robot and human romance. It works out but also, I wasn’t a huge fan. I was thinking since this is a Pinocchio retelling. I didn’t enjoy the human and a robot romance and kept thinking it would go somewhere else and was hopeful right up until the very end. I would say it’s still worth the read, but be prepared for a unique romantic relationship to say the least.

This book was one of my most anticipted books of 2023, because I just adored ''The House in the Cerulean Sea'' and frankly I was dissapointed. I just couldn't click with the story as I expected, even though I appreciated the way characters were written. I loved the banter between friends and the writing style was superb.
However I just didn't care for the rest of the story, it didn't grip me and most of the time I was bored. It took me over 2 months to force myself to finish this story.
However I still be reading everything T.J Klune will write, because I'm pretty sure it wasn't the books fault that I didn't enjoyed it, maybe robots, androids and other scifi stuff is just not for me.

Having enjoyed T.J. Klune's previous novels and hearing good things about In the Lives of Puppets, I was more than eager to check it out. I'm really glad I did.

Technically, this book is not about puppets. You'll know that from reading the synopsis though. It is a cross between Wall-E, Futurama, and The Wizard of Oz. And it's really, REALLY enjoyable. Vic's two robot friends, Nurse Ratched and Rambo, provide a lot of the humor and entertainment, while the other androids in his life, Gio and Hap, provide the heart of the story.

I had no idea what to expect from this novel and I was surprised many times. It was really creative and well done. You definitely need a suspension of disbelief as the robots take on a lot of human characteristics. Some parts were unsettling to picture, but overall everything was really well orchestrated. It provides a lot of food for thought, but it is harrowing at times.

The synopsis doesn't match up to what actually happened in the story, but I won't say anything more than that. I kept wondering if I had missed something crucial though.

If you're looking for something clever and absorbing, definitely give this one a try! I still can't stop thinking about it and there is so much to unpack and discuss. I am not casting it as it's way too difficult, but I think Noah Schnapp would be good as Vic, and I could see Rose Abdoo as the voice of Nurse Ratched.

In the Lives of Puppets lived up to the hype. It’s a feel-good story about finding yourself and your family.

After reading and reviewing Klune’s last three novels, I have come to the conclusion that he is just not the right author for me. I understand why people love his books, but I do not feel the same way.

Like every TJ Klune book, I seek the same joy I got from House in the Cerulean Sea! And for the first time, this one came close! the futuristic robots that took over the world setting was great, and the author is so dang skilled at bringing each character to life (whether they were actually alive or not!). The only thing is I found one robot really annoying to listen to and some of the dialogue was extremely childish.