If you are looking for a funny, off-beat, action-packed story, with quirky, likable characters, I’d highly recommend In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune. Klune is a best-selling author known for fantasy and romantic fiction featuring LGBTQ+ characters. His books are humorous and heart-warming, and In the Lives of Puppets is no exception!

In this book, Klune draws inspiration from The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, and the WALL-E in this epic adventure where a young man journeys to save his father.

Victor Lawson was left with Gio by people running from the machines that have taken over and destroyed most of mankind. GIO, General Innovation Operative, vows to keep Vic safe and they live a comfortable but solitary existence in the woods.

Vic spends his days scavenging in the scrap heaps with his “friends” Nurse RATCHED, a hilariously sociopathic automaton, and Rambo, a friendly vacuum robot. Their rules are simple: Stick together! Run if we have to. No dallying. No drilling. And above all else, be brave!

Their rules, especially their bravery are tested when they find a combative android buried in a pile of new scrap and take him home, where they fix him and call him Hap. Although his programming was deleted, Hap was originally designed to eliminate all of humanity.

When Gio is captured by the Authority and taken to the City of Electric Dreams, Vic and his friends must be brave and embark on an epic journey to find Gio and bring him home.

Ultimately, In the Lives of Puppets is a story about love, hope, and redemption.

What a charming story about finding family and humanity. Victor, a human, lives with his android father Gio, a nurse machine, and a robot vacuum. One day Victor uncovers another machine in the scrap yards, Hap, and nothing is the same afterwards.

These characters were so well fleshed out, their dynamic was both comical and magical at the same time. I absolutely loved my time with them and the adventure I got to feel a part of.

I didn't finish Under the Whispering Door, so I was happy when I got sucked right into In the Lives of Puppets. Klune has cemented himself as both a fantasy and science fiction writer. It was darkly funny, sad, hopeful and at times, scary.
I love that the story took me to unexpected places, like a "human museum" and future Vegas!
Another excellent tale of Found (Robotic) families.

It felt a bit rushed and also a little bit twee - I enjoyed the murderous robot, but I think that this is pitched at a younger crowd then what I prefer.

Thank you to NetGalley, TOR and TJ himself for providing me with a eARC of this technological retelling of Pinocchio.

This book is great. These characters deliver. And they deliver in a way that feel so naturally robotic for a robot that is written by a human. I commend Klune for the fine balance here. These robots have robotic personalities based in human stereotypes but never once losing or forgetting that they are robots.

However these are some classic Klune characters so if you haven't taken to some of his other characters in pieces like House in the Cerulean Sea or The Extraordinaries then it might not hit as heavy as you would like.

I loved our MC, Victor, and the way he was able to be his own beautiful character but be the glue holding some big personalities together. Plus his cuddles at the end basically made me cry.

I would also like to add that this book does have some weird pacing. This is again something you see in Klune's work where not a lot occurs over the course of a lot of pages. I am thinking here about how at one point we basically get an entire chapter for the characters to travel a single, pretty uneventful, mile and then later on a single paragraph explaining that the characters had travelled across a huge hostile environment without hiccup.

Again, I believe that this is a writing style of Klune's and at this point I just have faith that the book will deliver and it does.

Will post to socials closer to the release date.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. I’ve always enjoyed TJ Klune’s books but this one was hard for me to get into. This was a dystopian/sci-fi take on Pinocchio. I do like that Victor and his robot friends keep on pushing themselves and don’t give up, despite the danger they’re in.

this book was so charming and whimsical. with klune’s wit and storytelling skills, reading this was an absolute pleasure. this story is a queer retelling of pinocchio, with elements of wall-e and the wizard of oz. if the premise doesn’t immediately draw you in, please give it a chance!! the characters (especially rambo, a roomba, whose name and personality i just loved) make you root for them, and i was entertained the whole time. the themes of found family, forgiveness, and love conquering hate are present and woven in perfectly. just as cozy as the house in the cerulean sea. 100% preorder worthy!

thank you very much to tor publishing for my advanced reader copy!

I love a good retelling, and TJ Klune's books have been among my favorites, but a slow start really dragged this one down for me. Robots take the place of puppets in this Pinocchio retelling where a human named Vic is raised by an android named Gio. But the truth about society and their seclusion threatens everything they've ever known when Vic brings a damaged robot from the scrap yards back to life. I wish I'd loved this one as much as I did The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door but despite the interesting premise and some cool characters, it just wasn't a hit for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚25/135
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Format: 📱

Klune’s 2 other NA novels are my GO TO recommendations for people. So I maybe had my hopes too high? While it still had some of the whimsy, it greatly lacked a lot of the charm. Rambo the Roomba was the best part- the most like the characters I’d come to love. as the story is a loose retelling of Pinocchio, I feel that the original “twist” was a little too obvious. Great LGBTQ+ rep, some fun humor, but the overall story was missing some unnameable trait that the other novels of his have.

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Giovanni is a creator of the highest degree. When he one day comes to care for a baby, Vic, his life changes instantly. He’s spent much time and energy protecting them both- from what, Vic isn’t entirely sure.

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While it wasn’t a five star like my other Klune reads, it did the thing all of my favorite novels do - make me Feel Things About Being Human - and oh, did it ever. A clever twist on a Pinocchio retelling, but I promise you don’t have to have much Pinocchio context or knowledge (I don’t - I either never watched the movie, or blocked it out from childhood 🤣) to enjoy it. A story of truly what it means to be a human, for better or for worse, all told against the backdrop a post-apocalyptic robot world. This one is sci-fi through and through, but totally accessible and really beautiful. Prepare to fall in love with a robot vacuum and (slightly sociopathic?) nurse android and just let this story take you where it’s going to go. TJ Klune knows what he’s doing!

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read an early copy.

Every time I finish a T.J. Klune book I think that he can't possibly write another as good as the one I just read. But not only does he keep doing so, but he manages to write books with worlds and character very different than those of his other book!

"In the Lives of Puppets" was amazing beyond belief! Through amazing world building and wonderful, diverse characters TJK wrote a book I had trouble putting down. The story was gripping and beautiful and at times kept me on the edge of my seat.

Klassic Klune!! How does this guy deliver moving tale after moving tale? Crafting characters and moments that pull you in and lead you along? Put questions, problems, and life take-aways in front of readers that tug at your emotions and grapple with dilemmas and question what you think along the way. Another unique setting and world reality-- that works! and that stretches your view of the world-- where the 'people' are central to everything. It is amazing how his different takes on life come together and provide believable fodder for the growth and development of the stories... and of the worlds of those reading along. Great adventure. Only drawback is that I'll be awaiting another new Klune Klassic now...

In the Lives of Puppets was delightfully bittersweet with loads of food for thought.

In the Lives of Puppets is a Pinocchio meets Swiss Family Robinson retelling. It was fresh and new and creative and a very entertaining read.
There was so much humor, and so much heart and just so much of everything.
It’s one of my favorites TJ Klune has written in… maybe ever? Definitely top three worthy.

There were so many references to current events. Things that while present in our current political and sociological environment, were also very relevant to the plot.
Meaning: never once did this book feel preachy. It was a fine line that Klune rode, and he did it masterfully.

SO MANY EASTER EGGS. I loved the Easter eggs! Epic and Awesome and Cerulean blues and “Don’t you wish you were here?”. It was a TJ Klune fan’s wet dream.

I loved the genuine connections made between characters.
I loved the idea that family is made not inherited.
I loved that Vic didn’t give up on anybody and his family never gave up on him.

I loved, loved, loved the ending.
It was oh so melancholic.
I adored it.

Per usual: one does an “oh” moment like Klune does.
If you’re a fan, then you know exactly what I mean.

Every character mentioned had layers upon layers of backstory and personality.
I thought this was such a clever twist on Pinnochio and on current events and on different types of love and what family looks like.

Just great

Super fantastic

A very well crafted book with a fresh take on a long-loved story. There were a lot of tiny details thrown in that showed how much dedicated and care Klune put into every decision made in this book. As someone who’s not usually a sci-fi reader, there were definitely moments where I struggled with staying as invested as I know I can be, but the heart of the characters and perfectly thought out plot kept me going.

Thank you NetGalley for another chance to experience the magical whimsy of Klune, who is uniquely talented at taking on big topics and making them engaging but also gently but effectively serious (human life, artificial life here, timely timely timely). In the Lives of Puppets is a wonderful story of love, family, and a journey to perhaps understand one's place in the world, to understand what love and family is, and to simply have the capacity to hope and imagine new pathways blended with old.

Klune's work is always to me a loving acknowledgement of the complex joy of being human while also a recognition of what we lose/are losing when we lose sight of these joys and the basic needs of personal connection and hope. I admire how he brings readers into these hard questions and journey with deft strokes of humor, pathos, and humanity that make readers want to stick with the story even as it may force some moments f reflection.

certainly a win for fans of this author, for new readers, and a definite recommendation for book clubs who welcome nuanced discussions of literature and the lived experience.

Y'all, when I got the email notification that I was approved for an advanced reader copy of TJ Klune's latest, I SCREAMED! I adored The House on the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door. Klune is such a whimsy and fun author, so I dove right in!

One thing I noticed almost immediately was how much more rooted in science fiction this story was. The House on the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering door were a little more rooted in magic and fairytales. But, the story definitely had Klune's whimsicality.

The novel begins with an almost once upon a time feel, as Giovanni finds a place in the middle of nowhere and decides to make it his home. Some time later, after years of solitude, a couple appears in the forest outside of his home and give him their baby. Times are dangerous now, but they will return for the child.

Years pass, and Victor, once a babe, now a man grown, has spent his entire life with Gio, who is an android, Nurse Ratched, a robot meant to take care of human illness and injury, and Rambo, a tiny vacuum robot with so much heart. Victor knows that he's different. He's human, whereas the rest are machines. He never really questions his existence. He learns from Gio all about building and tinkering. Victor is the one who rescued Nurse Ratched and Rambo.

Not far from their home in the forest are Scrap Yards, where parts and pieces are disposed of outside of civilization. One day, while hunting through the yards, Victor comes across a presence in the piles. With the help of his friends, Victor uncovers a robot that still has some power, but then it fizzles out.

Victor, ever the inventor, wants to fix the robot up. This one is different. There's just something about him that Victor almost obsesses over. He fixes the robot, named Hap, and his father is quite surprised by the new addition to their household.

This is such a fun story about the beauty of life, of free will.

When 'smooth men' appear one day, Gio shoves his son and the rest down into a bunker none of them knew existed. That's when Victor learns the truth: there were never parents. Gio incubated him in the bunker, raised him to be his own child, and loved him like no other. Victor is the last human on earth. Gio sacrifices himself for his family, and Victor is determined to find his father.

This was a really well done novel, even if I felt like it lacked some of the whimsy from Klune's prior novels. If you enjoyed his other work, you'll probably enjoy this one!

I laughed, I cried, I screamed once or twice, too. This book deftly explores the idea of choice, humanity, and found family. From start to finish, Klune had my heartstrings wrapped around the dust pan of a wee neurotic Roomba named Rambo.

I feel like, the more books TJ Klune releases, the stronger he becomes as an author, and this novel is a great example. Where sometimes his side characters can feel a bit twee and one dimensional, everyone in "Puppets" has a beautiful depth of character that had me attached from the first moment. The journey was lovely and heartfelt and it's another one of those books that I wish I could forget so I could read it again for the very first time!

There is something special about TJ Klune's writing. I cannot put into words just how much I enjoyed "In the Lives of Puppets" and how much I hated to see it end. The little family Klune created in Vic, Nurse Ratched, Rambo, and HAP (and Gio, of course) was perfection. This story has everything. Action. Adventure. Coming-of-age. Laughter. Tears. Confusion. Hope. The list could go on forever. This one will stay with me for quite some time.

Thanks to Tor Publishing and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

I loved this book. I am genuinely sad that I haven't read anything by TJ Klune before.

We follow Victor as he navigates life amongst robots. He lives in what honestly sounds like the best treehouse ever. Victor lives with his Dad, Nurse RATCHED, and Rambo. The pop culture references made me giggle more than once. I almost want to rename my roomba to Rambo. The story is such a beautiful exploration of both humanity and sexuality. I really enjoyed watching the relationships grow. There was also a really great description of mental health and what it's like to experience mental health crisis like a panic or anxiety attack.

I honestly am going to go back and start reading all TJ Klune books.

Nurse RATCHED is hands down my favorite.