In the Lives of Puppets

Is Victor autistic? He has some trails that fit the spectrum including sensory overload, and also in the beginning of the book he had speech delay until he was 6 years old. Was it TJ’s attempt to write a character that may have autism?

Mike "I just came back from a book talk with the author, and someone asked this question. Victor was supposed to be autistic, Klune spent 6 months intervie…more"I just came back from a book talk with the author, and someone asked this question. Victor was supposed to be autistic, Klune spent 6 months interviewing those on the spectrum as research for the book, he wanted to contrast the humanity of a character with autism with the robots that surround him, to show that those with autism are very human and not robot-like at all.

He had 3 sensitivity readers for the autism representation, 2 readers loved it and raved that this was the best representation of autism in any books they have ever read. The 3rd reader said it was a horrifying misrepresentation of autistic individuals and that the book should never be published. The publisher followed the advice of the 3rd reader and made the author remove all references to autism in the book. I can see why he's upset by it since it's a core component of what the story is about." source: https://www.reddit.com/r/books/commen...(less)

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I'm dying to know what the story was supposed to be originally, the version "the wold apparently wasn't quite ready for yet" ?? Do we have any info on that ?

Mike "I just came back from a book talk with the author, and someone asked this question. Victor was supposed to be autistic, Klune spent 6 months intervie…more"I just came back from a book talk with the author, and someone asked this question. Victor was supposed to be autistic, Klune spent 6 months interviewing those on the spectrum as research for the book, he wanted to contrast the humanity of a character with autism with the robots that surround him, to show that those with autism are very human and not robot-like at all.

He had 3 sensitivity readers for the autism representation, 2 readers loved it and raved that this was the best representation of autism in any books they have ever read. The 3rd reader said it was a horrifying misrepresentation of autistic individuals and that the book should never be published. The publisher followed the advice of the 3rd reader and made the author remove all references to autism in the book. I can see why he's upset by it since it's a core component of what the story is about." source: https://www.reddit.com/r/books/commen...(less)

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Hayley I didn't find it quite as charming as Cerulean Sea. It is still touching and entertaining and most of the characters are lovable, but by opening up in…moreI didn't find it quite as charming as Cerulean Sea. It is still touching and entertaining and most of the characters are lovable, but by opening up into a larger world, I felt the book had a little less of that sweet and pillowy vibe that I loved.(less)

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What age is this for? I know it's shelved as adult, but can a teen read it?

Sabina M Some scenes made my teen very uncomfortable as it has multiple sexual content (including a brothel) without ever being overly detailed but enough to u…moreSome scenes made my teen very uncomfortable as it has multiple sexual content (including a brothel) without ever being overly detailed but enough to understand. (less)

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Is there some significance to a fox and a cat being the symbol of the Authority?

Ashley Shea Full disclosure, I'm not familiar with every iteration of Pinocchio but the Disney version has a fox and cat that lured Pinocchio to the Coachman wher…moreFull disclosure, I'm not familiar with every iteration of Pinocchio but the Disney version has a fox and cat that lured Pinocchio to the Coachman where he was captured and forced to perform on stage as the puppet with no strings. They encouraged him to skip school and give them his lunch money, etc... They're supposed to symbolize temptation and evil. In the book, I felt this was just a cheeky reference as just 'the bad guys' since they never really tempted Vic. Also, they represent conformity while the fox and cat in Pinocchio represented anarchy. I could be reading it wrong, but I think Klune mixed the metaphor on this one.(less)

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