In the Lives of Puppets

🅶🅴🅽🆁🅴—𝐹𝒶𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓈𝓎 / 𝒮𝒸𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝐹𝒾𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 🗓ℙ𝕦𝕓 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕖—𝔸𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕝 𝟚𝟝, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟛 ✂️ P L O T L I N E A book based on Carlo Collodi’s “The Adventures of Pinocchio.” This story revolves around a world where humans have been extinct for centuries and robots rule. The irony that humans made these machines, only for the machines to turn right back around and kill them all. Victor is the very last human on earth and when his inventor father is taken away by the “Authority”, his robot family will do everything it takes to help find his father and protect his life while subjecting themselves to the dangers of the “Authority.” This fantasy— science fiction book is full of adventure and explores the concepts of what it means to be human and the power of having the ability to make your own choices. 💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ It took me a little bit to wrap my mind around the abstract concept of this book. But once I did, I was hooked. Tj Klune has a unique way of making you fall in love with every unusual character. There is Gio, the android inventor and father of human Victor, Nurse Ratched, an automatic nurse ready to help and heal, an endearing and most lovable vacuum named Rambo, and a mysterious handsome android named Hap. There were so many parallels to our current way of living. The good, bad, and ugly of our world. Such a thought provoking concept that makes you think of the meaning of humanity and mortality. A story that reveals the flaws and selfishness of humans only to show that robots have the same vice’s within them and are also power hungry. A unique story that reminds us that building connections, having hope, and a finding a sense of purpose are needed to have a fulfilled life. Be prepared the highlight the sh*t out of this book because there are sooooo many beautiful quotes.🖍 📚Read this book if you like: 💫Abstract story lines 💫Queer characters 🌈 💫Adventure and science fiction 💫Unique and quirky characters 💫A book that will make you shed a few tears 😭 🤖 𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾 🤖 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💕Q U O T E S: “ You say you’re happy. I believe you. But happiness isn’t something that can be sustained continuously, not without something to keep the fire burning.” “ You are finite. Your time it’s already sleeping through your fingers. It creates an urgency within you. To do all that you can. To make things right. I wonder what that must feel like, to have a sense of true motivation.” 🙏Thank you NetGalley, Tor Books, and TJ Klune for this beautiful ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts 💕

I truly was not sure if I should request this book when I saw it pop up on Netgalley. I absolutely adore Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, and his Green Creek series, but the last book I read by him — Under the Whispering Door — just did not click with me. I was worried that I had outgrown Klune’s work, and that I would never like another book by him. But I decided to chance it, and clicked REQUEST TITLE. Tor has always been nice to me, so they accepted my request, and here I am to tell you that (drum roll please) I absolutely loved In the Lives of Puppets. Klune has an absolutely dreamy way of talking about life, death, love, and grief that just really resonates (most of the time). Thankfully, all of the characters in In the Lives of Puppets were easy to like. There were no Wallaces here. (He was my main problem with Under the Whispering Door, but that’s neither here nor there.) Klune’s character work really shines here, and I am so happy to say that I just really loved this book. In fact, the characters were really what brought this book to life. Our main character is Vic, a young man — a human in a world taken over by robots/machines. He is seemingly the only human left on earth, and his humanity really wears off on the machines around him. Said machines were all hilarious, heart-warming, and ah. I just adored them. Especially Nurse Ratched — she was laugh out loud funny a lot of the time. Same with Rambo, who I pictured as a roomba. What a little cinnamon roll. Victor’s father, Gio, was a human-shaped machine, and he had a heart of gold, despite his past. And lastly, but not leastly, there’s Hap. I won’t spoil what he is, but oh. He ends up breaking your heart, and putting it back together. Klune once again wins at the found-family game with this cast. Like, he just knocks it out of the park. The plot was interesting enough to keep my attention, and I loved all the side characters, but I had one glaring issue with this book. Exactly how old was Victor supposed to be? He comes across as being very young, but I think that comes from being raised by literal machines, and being very naive. Throughout the whole book, I was thinking he was somewhere from like….16-19ish. Which would have been fine, if there hadn’t been a tiny little romance plot sprinkled in. As a whole, the romance didn’t bother me, but honestly? The book really didn’t need it. It would have been a fantastic example of a book strictly about familial love without it. But saying that, it didn’t hurt the book, either. Either way, I really, really liked In the Lives of Puppets, and I am so so glad that I can go back to saying I like Klune’s work again! Four and a half glowing stars.

TJ Klune is a go to author for me. I love his books and his quirky characters. The mix of humor and fallible humanity.

I'm not even sure where to start. Just... This is so very much TJ Klune. Beautiful. Awesome. Stark. Magical. Blunt. Lyrical. Grieving. Hopeful. Triumphant It nods briefly to some of the giants of early scifi as it also reminds me of the likes of McKillip and Hambly. It's an amazingly great story written in a way that anyone familiar with TJ Klune would recognize.