A review by katymul
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The humor and love in this book is a deep and rich as all of TJ Klune's work, but while many other books felt like a flurry of activity and worldbuilding at the start, In the Lives of Puppets brings the slowburn strategy not just to the love story but all of the revelations and difficult questions that the characters face. Everything is treated with the care it needs to payoff at crucial moments in the plot, and many of the elements of the book twist and turn to wring your heart again and again as the novel progresses. The Pinnocchio references initially felt almost unnecessary in comparison, but the beats the resonated with the original story also flipped on their heads enough times to be worth it and also complicate the questions the novel is asking. The way this book pulled tears from me only to make me laugh loud enough to startle my roommate in the next room over the next moment...everyone is complicated in this story, and everyone is worth loving, and everyone is a problem, and everyone is worth it in this, well, not just found family but built family.