So it turns out robot found families tug my heart strings just as much as any other.

This is a Pinnochio retelling, in the same way AI was and with very similar vibes. It took my memories back to a childhood favourite film, the Brave Little Toaster. However instead of a toaster, lamp, blanket, radio and hoover.... we have a human raised by a robot (Victor), a very anxious little roomba (Rambo), a sociopathic sassy nurse (Nurse Ratched), and a murder machine with amnesia of sorts (Hap).

Victor and crew are travelling to the City after spending their whole lives in the forrest hidden away. This will make them all question about what they know about being human, knowing yourself and caring for others.

When I say this book made me feel all the feels, there is no word of a lie. I laughed out loud and I also cried.

Thank you to NetGalley, PanMacmillan and Tor for the early copy! I cannot wait to own a physical edition of this book to feel happy whenever I see it there on my shelves - definitely one I would reread to experience again

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5 stars
Publication date: 25 April 2023
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
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In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees live three robots - fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They're a family, hidden and safe. Until, one day, Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android and the family is no longer hidden and safe.
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This is marketed as a retelling of Pinocchio, which I agree with, but I thought it is also heavily influenced by The Wizard of Oz, Blade Runner and even Coraline (which are all good things as far as I'm concerned.)
I adored this; I absolutely fell in love with this little unconventional family. I thought the book was well-paced, kept me hooked through its 430-odd pages and I absolutely flew through it.
As can be expected in a TJ Klune book, the writing is beautiful and lyrical, whimsical in some places and rather dark in others. The imagery and themes of Heaven and the Blue Fairy were intense and sometimes disturbing.
I think this sometimes suffered from a little too much telling, rather than showing, and also relied a little too much on exposition. I would have also loved if the aftermath of a decision taken by Vic would have been explored in more depth, as it was rather monumental.
But I appreciated Klune's exploration of humanity and free will, of second chances and redemption.
I loved all the characters but I adored the mean and sassy (and ever so protective) Nurse Ratched and the excitable little Rambo the Roomba. Their double act and banter stole my heart, they were the true stars of the story and I'll fight anyone who disagrees! 🤣
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A queer retelling of pinocchio - I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I was expecting it to be more fantasy than sci-fi based on the authors previous work, however this didn’t make me love it any less.

A rich descriptive fairy tale of the far future, haunting and humorous: In the Lives of Puppets explores the essence of loneliness, friendship, love and humanity. Gio, an innovative creator lives with his son, Victor, in a secluded forest, along with an intelligent automated cleaning robot Rambo, and a sociopathic medical robot called Nurse Ratched. Their isolated existence is challenged when they find and fix a powerful and angry robot called Hap.

As our understanding of Gio and Victor’s origins evolves, questions over what makes us form friendships and family groups arise, the importance of sacrifice, the nature of unconditional love, and the role of forgiveness.

Each of the main characters have their own foibles and features, and the dialogue is sometimes laugh out loud funny, particularly Nurse Ratched. The humour sweetens more troubling speculation over the logical outcome of autonomous AI, and how programming evolves into consciousness and conscience.

The story deliberately skates over any detailed history, instead exploring the world through the experiences of the characters. This leaves many questions unanswered, and may frustrate some readers. However, the brilliant imagery and poignant exchanges mean this book will stay with you well beyond its reading. Haunting and humorous.

3,5⭐️
A dystopian sci-fi retelling of The Adventures of Pinocchio with reversed situation. Instead of a puppet boy living in human world, it’s a human boy living in the world ruled by machines.

There’s a band of misfits living in the forest: A creator android as the father figure, a boy, a nurse machine, a vacuum robot, and the last addition of the member: a mysterious android called Hysterically Angry Puppet.

There’s some trace of the original plot but it’s adapted and given new flavors. Overall its so heartwarming and fun, but something about the writing was off for me and idk why the jokes should be sensual sometimes. The ending made me weep so that’s that

TJK books are full of fairy dust and magic; I can never get enough of them.

In The Lives of Puppets has to be TJ Klune's most human book as of yet. While his books always have dealt with how to live fully, Puppets asks what it means to live as a human. The emotions, the nagging thoughts, the anxieties and the head vs heart debates we have so often.

I have always loved how much heart and emotion Klune manages to pack into his books. His books are always so human, and it's part of the reason why they work so well as "cosy feel good stories". They tackle the ugly parts of humanity and tell the reader that it's okay, there are ways you can be better, ways you can still be kind in a world that tries to destroy every good thing ever.

In The Lives of Puppets is an amalgamation of humanity and what it means. It emphasizes the importance of being kind. Just kind. Giving each other the space to grow and make mistakes; acknowledging those mistakes and choosing to do better despite everything. Klune manages to balance the fine line between twee and comfy. The importance of second chances and free will. Having the free will to make choices that help others when it would be easier to hurt them. I also love the continuous-running theme of the importance of art and music that is ever present in his books. Klune's characters will often find themselves really considering their humanity while listening to some blues, or dancing to some jazz. As I write this review, I have Cheek to Cheek playing in the background because reading Klune's books really feels like one is in Heaven.

While Puppets might be darker than The House in the Cerulean Sea and more adult than Under the Whispering Door, it still has its own distinctive voice. Klune has clearly proved that he isn't a one-trick pony, and is capable of building intricate worlds and lovable characters while still retaining that damned humanness that sets his work apart. I do feel like the first half was tighter, and I kind of lost myself in the middle, but it all comes around beautifully by the end. There are a lot of thematic and narrative parallels to Pinocchio, but it's the best kind of "retelling" where it manages to stand on its own two feet without having to rely too much on the source. I loved the resonances with Pinocchio tbh. Gepetto had always been my favourite in the story, and to nobody's surprise, Giovanni was my favourite in this book (though Nurse Ratched) was a close second.

Emotional and magical, In The Lives of Puppets is a beautiful story of love and kindness. TJ Klune has done it again folks! The book comes out 28/04/2023.

Thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc.

A Pinocchio retelling where Pinocchio is the only real boy with a homicidal nurse robot and an anxiety ridden hoover as his only friends?

I adored this book, from the writing to the plot/retelling and especially the characters. This is hands down one of the best found family stories I’ve ever read. I laughed the whole way through at the dynamic between Victor, Nurse Ratched and Rambo. It was very dialogue heavy but it worked and even though a lot of the dialogue wasn’t needed, it was always comical.

I laughed but I also cried. This was just such a well done story. I connected with every character and I loved them at the end.

This is such a feel good, funny and cosy story and it was my first TJ Klune book but it certainly won’t be my last.

Who knew, that a tale of the last remaining human on earth, living amongst robots would be so darn cute! TJ Klune once again, perfects that found family trope - I absolutely adored reading about the adventures of this bunch of misfits! Inspired by Pinocchio but with a plot entirely of it's own, In the Lives of Puppets was a true delight from start to finish.

Fun, feel-good and full of his usual warmth and wonderful wisdom, boy has Klune outdone himself this time! Gio, Vic, Nurse Ratched, Rambo and Hap were an absolute joy to spend my time with - from the cosiness of their forest home, to their mishaps and mayhem, I was hooked from the very beginning. I love, love, loved it! I hope TJ KLune never stops writing stories. ❤️🤖

TJ Klune has done it again with "In the Lives of Puppets," a novel that combines sci-fi, fantasy, and adventure into a heartwarming story about love, family, and the power of choice. The characters are richly drawn, with each one bringing their own unique personality and backstory to the table. From Giovanni, the loving but eccentric father figure, to Victor, the brave and resourceful hero, to HAP, the mysterious and conflicted android, each character adds depth and nuance to the story.

The world-building in this book is top-notch, with vivid descriptions of a future world where robots and humans coexist, and where technology has advanced to the point of creating sentient beings. The themes explored in the book, such as the nature of consciousness, free will, and the meaning of family, are both thought-provoking and emotionally resonant.

But what really sets this book apart is the way it blends humor and heart. The banter between the characters is witty and sharp, and there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments throughout the book. But at its core, "In the Lives of Puppets" is a story about love and sacrifice, about the lengths we will go to protect those we care about.

Overall, this piece of work is beautifully written in a way that is engaging, thought-provoking which that will stay with you long after you've finished reading it. Highly recommended for fans of sci-fi, fantasy, and stories about the power of love and family.

Within this brand new Klune book, readers are taken on a fantastic sci-fi adventure filled with mind-bending world-building and perfectly crafted characters. The story follows Giovanni Lawson, who builds a house in the branches of a grove of trees and creates two robots, Nurse Ratched and Rambo, who are both lovable in their own ways. One day, a couple appears out of nowhere with a baby wrapped in rags, leaving him in Giovanni's care. Giovanni raises the child as his own, and they name him Victor.

As Victor grows older, he enjoys repairing robots and one day, he fixes a strange android named HAP. Little does he know that HAP shares a dark past with Giovanni and has a secret mission to alert other robots about his hiding place. This mission destroys the small family and peaceful life they had built in the woods, and Victor must now save his father and confront his feelings about HAP.

The story is a lovely combination of Swiss Robinson family meets Wall-E with Pinocchio vibes, and readers will be impressed by the quirky, fascinating journey of family and love. The world-building is complex and well-crafted, and the dynamics and smart banters between characters are enjoyable to read. Even though the story is inspired by Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio, it's very much its own story, and readers who are not fans of the classic will still enjoy it. The book offers adventure, romance, diverse representation, fantasy, sci-fi, and a little bit of inspiration from the classics.

In the Lives of Puppets is a riveting, heartwarming story that is filled with hope, humor, and heart. TJ Klune's writing is insightful and thought-provoking, and the characters are memorable. Even readers who are not fans of fantasy and sci-fi will appreciate this book, and it's definitely worth a read. I can't wait to re-read this again in a few decades

"In the Lives of Puppets" is a charming and engaging fantasy novel that will appeal to readers of all ages who enjoy stories about magic and imagination. Throughout the novel, Klune uses puppets as a metaphor for the human condition, exploring themes such as identity, free will, and the power of storytelling. The story is both whimsical and profound, with moments of humour and pathos.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, and no significant gaps between words. Some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I love TJ Klune's ability to create such great characters, and lovely relationships and interactions. I love that he takes the time to flesh these out without rushing for the sake of the story and once again he delivers with this loose retelling of Pinochio. I loved Part 1 & 3 where the focus is on these relationships however felt that Part 2 where the primary action happens was slightly forced to conform to the original fairy-tale and jarred some what.
Regardless I still found myself unable to put this book down and would happily recommend.

This book is a charming quest narrative set in a world where robots have attempted to wipe humans out.

'In the Lives of Puppets' is described as a Pinocchio retelling, but this is quite a loose description. Pinocchio motifs are used - ie the Blue Fairy, the fox and the cat, the Terrible Dogfish/whale - and some of the rescue mission structure is used, but the central moralising about a little puppet who won't be good is decidedly absent.

Instead we have a story about robots and a human deciding what kind of people they want to be, and sometimes reconciling that with who they were before. Mostly it's a story about friendship, love and family. The cast is small and distinct - in particular the supporting robots, Nurse Ratched and Rambo the Roomba, seem like an attempt at quotable comic relief at first, but as the book progresses they increasingly feel like fully-fleshed characters.

For a book set in a 'kill all humans' style world, this is a surprisingly gentle book. There is peril and bloodshed, but it isn't a gory or violent read. Instead, it's frequently tender, and the romance is tentative and vulnerable. You could probably call this very soft science fiction, although the fable style and the quest format make it more of a fantasy hybrid. The storyline doesn't really deliver any surprises but I enjoyed reading about the characters and I'm sure the book will do well.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

. A queer retelling of pinocchio with sci-fi and fantasy elements - a great heartwarming read! I loved the characters and the adventures. The world building was also great. I would definitely recommend this to a lot of people especially if you enjoyed this author’s previous books

Thank you to NetGalley UK and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for a review.

5⭐️

My goodness. I didn’t know what to expect from this book other than I knew how much I loved TJK’s The House in the Cerulean Sea - I thought surely a book could not affect me the same way as that one ??? I was wrong.

This book is about robots, but mostly it’s about humanity. Victor Lawson is a human raised by humanoid robot Giovanni Lawson. The other members of his family are Nurse Ratched - a nursing machine who has slight sociopathic tendencies, and Rambo - a vacuum who has an abundance of hope and also anxiety. They happen upon who they come to know as Hap (Hysterically Angry Puppet) and become determined to fix him, make him part of their family - despite Gio’s fears of Hap’s origins.

"What was I made for?"
"You were made to bring happiness. You are alive in ways we are not. You are soft and fragile. But you are complex and disturbing and sometimes, foolishly brilliant.”


In the Lives of Puppets made me cry as many times as it made me laugh - and it made me laugh a lot. TJK’s character work is incredible. Nurse Ratched’s dry wit and not at all veiled threats, especially, had me laughing over and over. On the other side of that coin, despite all her threats to little Rambo especially, she showed so much compassion and care, was so quick to defend him and Victor at the first sign of danger - it had me in tears many, many times.

“I must not be as sociopathic as I believed, because I am filled with sorrow."


When Giovanni is taken and his memory wiped, his family are determined to find him and bring him back to what’s left of their home. Their journey is full of hope, grief, love, family, and choosing who you want to be. It cracked my heart and warmed it over and over. Absolutely wonderful.

“And above all else, be brave.”


tldr; perfect for if you want to laugh and cry in equal measures

This is such a beautifully written story about friendship and found family. There is a very loose connection to the story of Pinocchio, but not massively, only that our protagonist is set on locating the blue fairy for help to rescue his father from the clutches of an organisation.

The story is set in a world where humans no longer exist and machines have taken over. Inventor, android Giovanni, builds a house in the middle of the woods and after sometime feels lonely and wanting companionship. One day, he agrees to help a fleeing human family by agreeing to take care of their baby.

Fast-forward and Vic is all grown-up and wants for nothing, he has friendship in the form of a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Everything seems to be perfect until one day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled "HAP," he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio-a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio's former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams.

The characters are all so loveable, and I was absolutely addicted to this book. It will take you on an emotional rollercoaster, but I would highly recommend

When I first saw that this was a Pinocchio retelling I didn’t have very high hopes, fairytale retellings have never been my thing and Pinocchio has been redone a million times over now so I wasn’t sure where this was going to go. However T.J. Klune is one of those authors whose books I will buy as soon as they come out, so I was going to give this a go too, and I’m so glad I did.

This is such a unique story and it’s unlike any other Pinocchio retelling you will ever see or read. I thoroughly enjoyed this from beginning to end.

This is much more action than in his other two books ‘The House in the Cerulean Sea’ and ‘Under the Whispering Door’ but it still felt cosy, and still has all of the heartfelt moments added in that T.J. Klune is so good at.

This book has the heart and humour from ‘House in the Cerulean Sea’ mixed with the insightfulness from ‘Under the Whispering Door’ and together it makes for a magical combination.

The way he writes his characters is like no other and I’ve never loved characters as much as I’ve loved every single character he’s written.

This book made me both laugh and cry. Especially with everything going on in the world at the moment, it was so refreshing reading something that focused on the good in humanity rather than all the evil and awfulness. Even though the majority of the characters in this are robots, it gives you hope in humanity again. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

Thank you to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a slow starter but once it going I was blown away, TJ Klune's writing takes you through every emotion with a heart-warming, touching story about found family, friendship and learning to love. I was sceptical at first knowing this was a light retelling of Pinocchio but this was amazing with sweet messages about learning about emotions and overcoming being a 'reject' and broken' and finding love in each other. I just loved the overall message of this although it wasn't a fully light-hearted book it made me feel good and happy reading and it will definitely be a reread.

A beautiful story about what it means to be human, love, forgiveness and acceptance. It was funny and charming, a delight to read.

In the Lives of Puppets is a Pinocchio meets The Wizard of Oz tale about the human experience. Starring a found family of sentient robots including: Gio, a benevolent inventor; Nurse Ratchet, a sadistic and sarcastic nurse robot; Rambo, a neurotic Roomba desperate for love; and Victor, the lone ACE human.
As always, Klune deftly balances subtle-laugh-out-loud humor with an incredibly keen eye for the human condition. Puppets is a beautiful meditation on what it means to be human and to live in the moment. How do we process things like overwhelming grief, anger, love and forgiveness in the incredible finite amount of time we have here?
This cast of characters is top tier. Nurse Ratchet, the sadistic and sarcastic nurse robot, is wonderfully salty. I live for her running commentary. Rambo, the neurotic Roomba, was too cute for words. His naivety and enthusiasm were a bright spot in all the dark moments. Together they steal the show, the salty and sweet found family you love to see.
Victor is an incredibly unique male MC. As a human lost and overwhelmed in a machine’s world, how does he maintain his humanity? How does he help teach it to the androids around him? This is the first book I’ve read with an ACE MC. With book trends these days being decidedly on the spicier side (no judgement), it was exciting seeing value placed on different ways to express love and connection. Vic and Hap’s relationship was powerful and inspiring.
I will say that for me, the book lost its focus a little bit in the last quarter. Conversations and plot felt repetitive and the humor dried up. Victor’s character seemed to plateau just as the plot was reaching its crescendo. He didn’t quite rise to the occasion. But then, I also felt he was a true representation of a character who was more analytical and introverted. He challenged my ideas of strength and expression.
This one is for anyone who feels overwhelmed in an overstimulated world. Anyone who wants to contemplate their finite experience here on earth. And of course, anyone looking for a book featuring sadistic nurse robots and romantic vacuums.