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jodar's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I found this dystopian, science fiction novel of the future disappointing.
It’s a novel of two halves: The first half has a setting of almost Edenic innocence, which the author tries to reinforce through a whimsical tone, rather immature humour and the MC’s crude, adolescent-level sexual attitudes. The first half seems more like a YA rather than adult novel. The second half, which begins with a sort of expulsion from Eden, is much stronger. The MC character learns the truth about the world and his place in it. The tone of the writing is more cutting, albeit lightened from time to time with more of same silly humour. Although in the second part the action is rather melodramatic and the outcomes are quite predictable, it does at least present all the characters with dilemmas to face.
Some interesting themes are explored – friendship, personhood, forgiveness, free will – but for me this is done from a pretty superficial, “progressive” point of view without a lot of nuance. I come away from the story with a feeling of melancholy, moral grubbiness and cosmic brutality.
Addendum: The ebook I read came with a prequel short story, “Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!”, which explores many of the same themes and I thought was more compelling than the novel.
It’s a novel of two halves: The first half has a setting of almost Edenic innocence, which the author tries to reinforce through a whimsical tone, rather immature humour and the MC’s crude, adolescent-level sexual attitudes. The first half seems more like a YA rather than adult novel. The second half, which begins with a sort of expulsion from Eden, is much stronger. The MC character learns the truth about the world and his place in it. The tone of the writing is more cutting, albeit lightened from time to time with more of same silly humour. Although in the second part the action is rather melodramatic and the outcomes are quite predictable, it does at least present all the characters with dilemmas to face.
Some interesting themes are explored – friendship, personhood, forgiveness, free will – but for me this is done from a pretty superficial, “progressive” point of view without a lot of nuance. I come away from the story with a feeling of melancholy, moral grubbiness and cosmic brutality.
Addendum: The ebook I read came with a prequel short story, “Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!”, which explores many of the same themes and I thought was more compelling than the novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Confinement, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
20sidedbi's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Genocide, and Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
pastelmeganes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Grief, and Blood
lonelylooper's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Grief, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Torture, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, and Animal cruelty
elderwoodreads's review against another edition
I think almost every chapter has a character sexually harassing the protagonist and it's played off as funny. Not for me, big ick. Loved the story besides that though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Dementia, Death, Self harm, Blood, Sexual content, and War
Minor: Sexual harassment, Excrement, Outing, and Gore
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.75
Finished reading: January 14th 2024
"Sometimes, it's the smallest things that can change everything when you least expect it."
This book was one of my most anticipated releases last year, because there is something about the way T.J. Klune writes his stories that makes it SO easy to fall in love with both the characters and the writing. I admit that I was a bit worried that some people didn't seem to enjoy In The Lives Of Puppets as much as some of his previous releases... But thankfully I didn't end up being one of them. I knew that I was going to end up giving this story a high rating almost as soon as I started reading it. There is just something about the writing style that just works for me, and the author always does such a fantastic job creating the most wonderful, flawed and quirky characters... The cast in In The Lives Of Puppets is no different, and I loved spending more time with them. Rambo and Nurse Ratched are absolutely hilarious with their banter! It's true that there isn't really much happening in especially the first half, and I was expecting to have more worldbuilding with this strange world the story is set in. This is without a doubt a character-driven story, but somehow I didn't really mind the slightly weaker plot and lack of details. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that I was completely charmed by both the writing and characters, and I was more than happy to just soak everything up and treasure every moment spent in their company. I could have done without the sexual innuendos and references, but as a whole I liked what the connection between Vic and Hap added to the plot. This story is pretty obviously a retelling of both Pinoccio and other classics, and I personally enjoyed spotting the different references. All in all, while In The Lives Of Puppets isn't my absolute favorite T.J. Klune book, I still had a fantastic time reading this story. These characters will stay with me for a long time!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Death, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Abandonment, Animal death, Death of parent, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Violence
jqmnew's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Genocide
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual content
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 Klune’s “The House in the Cerulean Sea” novel greatly affected my reading of “In the Lives of Puppets.” 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 book’s theme of “children needing love” to these disgusting and traumatic real-life events.
Writing: 4.25⭐️/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: 5⭐️/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 Klune’s desire to make Victor’s 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: 5⭐️/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 4.75⭐️/5
The world is cool. There’s 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 – 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: 4.5⭐️/5
I did really enjoy the book. I also really liked the ending.
Final Rating: 4.5⭐️/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