In the Lives of Puppets in Kluneverse

May 06, 2023 Scott Garrison rated it it was amazing

I loved it! I am a huge Klune fan. He has not let me down yet! Going into this book, I completely forgot that it is a retelling of Pinocchio, but I was quickly reminded. However, for me, this is 1000 times better than Pinocchio.

Rambo and Nurse Ratched are now two of my favorite characters ever. By themselves, they are still great characters, but as a duo, they are dynamic and extremely funny. I don't think I've ever read two characters that play off of each other so well. The entire group of ch ...more

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Apr 13, 2023 Jeff rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2023, arcs-read-in-2023

4 / 5 ⭐️‘s

"In the Lives of Puppets" by TJ Klune

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥," 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘈𝘕𝘖𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘙 𝘚𝘜𝘊𝘊𝘌𝘚𝘚𝘍𝘜𝘓 𝘗𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘌𝘕𝘛 𝘐𝘕𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘈𝘊𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕.”

Set in a unique world where robots and humans coexist, this book tells the story of Vic, a human, and his unconventional family of robots.

The story introduces us to a peculiar home nestled in the branches of trees, where three robots reside: Giovanni, an inventor android who serves as a father figure; Nurse Ratched a machine with a ...more

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Jan 02, 2023 Nick Vallina (MisterGhostReads) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, 2023, tj-klune, netgalley, lgbtqia

Victor Lawson, son of Gio Lawson, is a human, which is pretty unique among his circle of friends. They're all robots. His dad is an android. His best friends are a Roomba vacuum cleaner with faded paint named Rambo that's a bit extra and has a huge heart ,and Nurse Ratched, a medical droid (whose name is an acronym for Nurse Registered Automaton to Care, heal, Educate, and Drill) who is a bit of sociopath but loves her friends deeply (though she will drill you if you ever tell anyone...she hasn' ...more

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Sep 26, 2023 Rae rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I LOVED this book. So beautiful and so sweet. A real boy and his wooden heart no strings attached ❤️😭❤️

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May 01, 2023 InfirmBookwyrm rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, lgbtqia, gen-lit-fiction

Well folks, TJ has done it again. In the Lives of Puppets is another marvel. It’s yet another brilliant and meaningful novel that everyone should read! This is one more example of why Mr. Klune is my favorite author.

There are just so many significant themes in this one book, there’s no way I could begin to discuss them here with any actual intelligence. That’s one reason I was waiting to write a review of this one, thinking that after I had more time to process, I would be able to write somethi Well folks, TJ has done it again. In the Lives of Puppets is another marvel. It’s yet another brilliant and meaningful novel that everyone should read! This is one more example of why Mr. Klune is my favorite author.

There are just so many significant themes in this one book, there’s no way I could begin to discuss them here with any actual intelligence. That’s one reason I was waiting to write a review of this one, thinking that after I had more time to process, I would be able to write something coherent and meaningful. But I actually think I need to re-read the book entirely, highlighter in hand, in order to write anything that will do it justice. For now, though, I will just say that I (obviously) absolutely fell in love with this story and these characters. And I don’t see how any other readers would not do the same. How in the world Klune manages to make us care so deeply for robots, androids, machines(!) I will never understand. Quite simply, the man must be magic.

And yes, I’m aware it’s obvious, if anyone looks at my past reviews, that it doesn’t take a great big whole lot for a book to be enjoyed, or even loved, by me, and for me to give out 5-star ratings. BUT—listen—you just GOTTA READ THIS BOOK! BECAUSE IT’S REALLY, REALLY GOOD! BEAUTIFUL, EVEN! JUST READ IT! BUY IT! I PROMISE YOU WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED. 🥰 💜💜💜💜💜

PS…if it’s of any significance, I loved this one so much that I got the audiobook (which, btw, is wonderfully brought to life by its super-talented narrator, Daniel Henning! Amazing 5-star performance—I vehemently recommend the audiobook!), then I had to have a digital copy right then to keep, and to highlight and make notations of certain passages, etc., but then I saw that there was a Barnes & Noble exclusive hardback edition, and I just had to have it in collection. ALL totally worth it too! 💜

PPS… Off topic, but have you seen the new Barnes & Noble exclusive paperback editions of The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door?! They’re both gorgeous and have art covering the page ends(?) (what do you call that part of a book? Not the actual spine, but all the other sides? Idk. Surely you know what I’m rambling about, right?) Anyway, they’re both so pretty! I wish I could’ve gotten those too! 🥺 Maybe one day…

Anyway—more importantly—READ In the Lives of Puppets!!! ...more

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Oct 12, 2023 peg rated it it was amazing

I cannot begin to tell you how much I LOVE THIS BOOK. I laughed and I cried. I would read it while being on public transit to my work and would just be seen chuckling in public like a weirdo or I would be reading it before bed next to my husband, sniffling and wiping away tears. The characters in this book are absolutely lovely. I miss them now that the book is over. This is a must read for such beautiful depictions of queer neurodivergent characters. I will love this book forever

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Apr 03, 2024 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Heart and soul once again torn apart by TJ Klune and his wholesome, adorable, gut wrenching, heartwarming/heartbreakingly incredible found family stories 😭❤️

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