In the Lives of Puppets

A NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES AND INDIE BESTSELLER!

New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune invites you deep into the heart of a peculiar forest and on the extraordinary journey of a family assembled from spare parts.

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"An enchanting tale of Pinocchio in the end times." --P. Djèlí Clark

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.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labeled "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. So together, the rest of Vic's assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

Inspired by Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, and like Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E, In the Lives of Puppets is a masterful stand-alone fantasy adventure from the beloved author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.

★ "An epic quest of rescue and discovery [with] the author's trademark charm, heart, and bittersweetness." --Library Journal, starred review

Praise for TJ Klune's previous work: "Like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket." --V.E. SCHWAB - "Very close to perfect." --SEANAN McGUIRE - "Utterly absorbing." --GAIL CARRIGER - "It will renew your faith in humanity." --TERRY BROOKS - "It healed me." --CASSANDRA KHAW - "Compassionate." --RYKA AOKI

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480 pages

Average rating: 7.41

184 RATINGS

19 REVIEWS

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Amymc713

Feb 10, 2025

7/10 stars

What a fantastical world! A little Pinocchio, a little Star Wars, a little wall-e, a little Wizard of Oz. Lovely cast of characters. Full of heart.

JL Reads

Jan 08, 2025

9/10 stars

Overall, I really enjoyed this adventure! A very interesting take on the apocalypse of humanity at the hands of machines. I pictured Rosie from the Jetsons as Nurse Ratchet, she’s hilarious. Oh my, and Rambo was the best. I know Klune is an LGTBQ+ author, but the relationship here felt forced and didn’t add to the story at all. Book #2 in 2025

Anonymous

Jan 07, 2025

6/10 stars

The jokes about the main characters sexuality made me uncomfortable and I understand maybe that's the author being subversive and putting in characters you aren't supposed to like, but it didn't land for me. I also think the "journey" aspect of the book felt super truncated and unbelievably convenient to get to the main city. Also why is the city so dirty if the robots killed all the humans because they were destroying the planet?? Too many plot holes.

I do wish we got to see the original version of this book since I think it could have been stronger.

LVoskan

Dec 30, 2024

The imagery in this book was great. The premise did remind me of the Lunar Chronicles. This story ended the way it had to....and I think I am happy about that.

spoko

Oct 21, 2024

DNF at about 20%. I am just entirely not the target audience for this book. The didactic tone has me non-stop cringing, and none of the humor is landing with me at all. I'm just finding it so tedious.