In The Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune

If you would have told me I’d be crying over robots, I wouldn’t have believed you, but T.J. Klune made it happen. In The Lives of Puppets is a Pinocchio retelling that had me feeling ALL the feelings.

If you enjoyed The House in the Cerulean Sea and/or Under the Whispering Door, you’ll get the same warm fuzzy feeling from In the Lives of Puppets.

Synopsis

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 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. 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?

Thoughts

Oh my heart – this book. I’ve never read a T.J. Klune book that left me unaffected so I’m not sure why I wasn’t prepared. He has an excellent way of making you think about big things while still feeling cozy and heartwarming.

In the book, we follow Vic, the only human, as he learns about himself and goes on a quest to save his father. The beginning was intriguing, with the world building and character introductions/development. Klune does found family so well and this was no exception.

Gio, Vic’s android father, heads the family with creativity, compassion, and wonder. The robots Vic found and brought back to ‘life’ are a strange motley of characters. Nurse Rachet is a nursing machine, capable of providing care, electrocution, drilling, and tough love. Her cheeky dialog took a bit to get the hang of, but soon enough she had me grinning with each interaction. Rambo is a vacuum with big feelings and anxiety. His excitement for everything was infectious and he had me both cringing and smiling. The newest addition is HAP and his arrival brings to light a past that Gio had worked hard to leave behind and atone for.

When Gio is taken, Vic and the others go on an adventure to save him. The beginnings of the journey drug a little, but looking back, each step brought growth and knowledge to Vic and the group. Hap is learning to be himself and that he can choose who he wants to be. He doesn’t just have to follow his old programming or be that person. His development was intriguing and through provoking.

The slow, steady development of feelings between Vic and Hap was sweet and heartwarming. They each had to learn to trust themselves as well as each other. I struggled a few times with Hap being an android and Vic a human, but Klune has a way of making lines disappear and the character’s hearts shine through.

Once they truly get on their way to the city, the pace pick up and keeps going. With characters that help and some that confuse, they finally make it to their destination. And each have to make some tough choices of their own.

I spent the last quart of the book in tears or on the verge of tears. There were instances of grief, disappointment, hope, joy, and so many emotion. For a book about robots, it is very human.

I haven’t read Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio and it has been a minute since I watched Disney’s version. So I’m sure I missed some of the more subtle nods during this retelling. There were enough though that that I was able to recognize it as a retelling but it is definitely it’s own story.

This book’s pub date is April 25, 2023. Do yourself a favor and pre-order In the Lives of Puppets. You don’t want to miss this hug of a book.

“I l-like you.”

“You do?” No one had ever said that to him before. “How do you know?”

“You’re annoying.”

“Gee thanks. That’s what I want to hear after I –“

“You’re h-human.’

“Glad you caught on to that –“

“But I choose you.”

Vic swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Yeah?”

“Yes.”
T.J. Klune

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