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nelli_lakatos's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
โ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐พ๐๐๐, ๐พ๐'๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ ๐ธ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฝ๐พ๐๐ ๐๐ฝ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐ธ๐ ๐พ๐."
A unique and inspiring tale of family, self-discovery, love and adventure.
In the Lives of Puppets was the most heartwarming and meaningful story that Iโve read in a while. I have grown so attached to the characters I wished them the best because they deserve everything.
I highly recommend this masterpiece of a book to everyone!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Animal death, Violence, Bullying, Death, Dementia, and Genocide
mattiedancer's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Please Note: TJ Kluneโs โThe House in the Cerulean Seaโ novel greatly affected my reading of โIn the Lives of Puppets.โ THitCS uses the residential school system in Canada, as well as the Sixties Scoop (a genocidal event where Indigenous children were ripped from their homes and sent to white families and/or residential schools in an effort to destroy Indigenous families and culture), as a base for a light-hearted fantasy story. While I understand that inspiration can come from a number of points, this simplification is dangerous and ignorant of the ongoing generational trauma caused to Indigenous peoples. He has mentioned that this is where he got his inspiration, and to make that connection explicit and known, compares the books to the events, thus connecting the bookโs theme of โchildren needing loveโ to these disgusting and traumatic real-life events.
Writing: 4.25โญ๏ธ/5
Klune is a good writer. While many parts of this book seemed to oversimplify and overexplain certain obvious plot points, the overall writing and pacing of the story was extremely well-done. I enjoyed reading it.
Characters: 5โญ๏ธ/5
The characters are extremely cool. Listen, I wanted to not like the book, but the characters were incredibly well-written. I loved Nurse Ratched. I loved Rambo. And I really did love Victor and his unique perspective on the world. Personally, I really enjoyed that he seemed to be Autistic-coded, without making direct reference to him being a person with autism. I also really did enjoy the love interest, Hap, and his slow way of discovering his personality and humanity.
Note: After some digging about Kluneโs desire to make Victorโs autism named and more significant to the theme, I really think that the sensitivity reader who pushed back against that version did a good favour.
Plot: 5โญ๏ธ/5
Oh, I really did love the plot. The Pinocchio-inspired story really worked well, and I enjoyed the references to the story without it seeming too heavy-handed, or at least not too heavy-handed for my tastes. I also adore a good slow start to a story, where it all builds to a great and final unspiralling of all the events we built up. Really well-paced and earned.
World 4.75โญ๏ธ/5
The world is cool. Thereโs a believability about how the robots remove humans to save the world. I loved the world the robots created, and their attempts to mimic humanity more perfectly โ but they naturally misunderstand it a bit. The world felt clear and vibrant, though I would have loved a bit more clarity around the city.
Who Should Read This Book?
- As someone who does not intend to read Klune again, I will not be recommending it to anyone.
Content Warnings?
Murder, death of parent, death, grief, violence, gun violence, gore, blood, injury, injury detail,
Post-Reading Rating: 4.5โญ๏ธ/5
I did really enjoy the book. I also really liked the ending.
Final Rating: 4.5โญ๏ธ/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Genocide, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Bullying, Dementia, Gaslighting, Grief, and Gun violence
handful_of_frogs's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
A huge disappointment, Klune seems to be regressing as a writer- this is coming from someone who loved Under the Whispering Door and The House in the Cerulean Sea. If he wants to write an asexual character accurately maybe he should find a premise for them that doesn't involve being attracted to androids. This entire book is a mix of material stolen from Spielberg's AI film, Pinocchio (of course), and a bland d&d campaign. The most interesting character is an anxious Roomba but even a quipping vacuum can't make this novel worth the time it took to read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Police brutality, War, Violence, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
starsnstitchin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This book was different than his other books, and had more (for lack of ability to think of a more clear word choice) "adult content," talking about genitals, pooping, and sex more than expected (and more than necessary or comfortable). The world building didn't make sense in some parts, which made it hard to get immersed in the story. It's painfully clear that the ace character was written from the perspective of a non-ace author. It's not the worst rep I've read, but it didn't feel like an actually ace character. The whole book was a bit of a let down, and the ending feels a bit loose and lacks a lot of desired closure, with some story elements that had been built up left hanging and anticlimatically unaddressed. It felt like the story was building up around something, but the something never arrived or got explained. The acknowledgements at the end by the author sounded very bitter, but made me wonder if the slightly out of tune feel to the book as well as the loose ending was because there's supposed to be something more to the book than we're given. Not his best work, but it did make me laugh at times, and it was enjoyable in parts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment
Moderate: Self harm, Animal death, Death, Excrement, Police brutality, Cursing, Bullying, Terminal illness, and War
kelseyr713's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Beautiful in many ways, a little grating in a few others. Overall an enjoyable adventure, although Nurse Ratchet and Rambo are definitely an acquired taste. I would be curious to read the original vision TJ Klune had for the book that he alludes to in the acknowledgements.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Bullying, Death, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Child death, and Confinement
Minor: Self harm, Blood, and Animal death
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