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

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

 “I know it seems hard, but we have to be brave. Your brain is telling you that you can’t, but you don’t always have to listen to it. Sometimes it tells you white lies.” 

In the Lives of Puppets was my third T.J. Klune book and I loved it so much. According to the author, this is meant as a “queer retelling of Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio” and I was intrigued by that comparison from the start. The book follows Victor Lawson, a human who is surrounded by robots and lives with his father Giovanni at the edge of the woods. I thought this would be Fantasy, but I’d classify the story as more Sci-Fi, especially as it’s set in the far future where robots roam the Earth. 
Victor Lawson is a young man who loves salvaging and repairing robots. He loves his inventor father Giovanni and is always tempted to venture into the scrapyard to search for parts, despite the warnings. That’s how he finds HAP (Hysterically Angry Puppet), a decommissioned robot who cannot remember his purpose and might be dangerous. HAP and Victor’s dynamic was great! The angst, the yearning and the protectiveness between them made me root for them so much. Victor is also asexual and queer, which I loved to see! The humor in this book could be a bit more vulgar at times (in regard to bodily functions and sex), but it worked for me. I can definitely see not everyone being a fan of this specific humor though, it feels like either a hit or miss!   
 
“I’m also good” Rambo said. “You seem to be suffering from an intense anxiety disorder. But that is fine. We are all unique. Victor is asexual. Giovanni is old. And I have sociopathic tendencies that manifest themselves in dangerous situations.”
 “Hooray!” Rambo squealed.” 

The found family makes this book so special. Giovanni basically adopted Victor and both of them share a close bond despite not even being the same species. The same goes for the other robots that live with them. My favorite was definitely Rambo, a roomba with anxiety issues! As a fellow anxious person, the idea of an anxious robot really spoke to me 😄 Rambo was just cute, a bit naive and prone to catastrophizing, but that just made everything a lot more entertaining, especially in tense situations. Nurse Ratched (Nurse Registered Automaton to Care, Heal, Educate, and Drill) was a nice contrast to Rambo because she’s a sociopathic roboter with a tendency to threaten to drill others 😂 I loved the recurring engagement of her ‘empathy protocol’ where she’d say caring things and then the switch back to her sociopathic tendencies! The banter between Rambo, Ratched and Victor was golden and I loved their dynamic so much – it made me laugh multiple times! 

The mismatched team goes after Giovanni when he gets captured and taken to the City of Electric Dreams. Victor is desperate to get his father back and ventures outside their cozy home for the first time in his life. This is definitely a character-driven story and the very beginning is a bit slow as we get to know everyone. Since I loved the characters and was more invested in their interactions, this worked out fine for me! I also loved the discussions about hope, humanity and purpose that were incorporated into the story. Every robot has a function and specific programming, which raises the question of free will and being able to grow past your parameters!

“Humanity is awful, angry, and violent. But we are also magical and musical. We dance. We sing. We create. We live and laugh and rage and cry and despair and hope. We are a bundle of contradictions without rhyme or reason. And there is no one like us in all the universe.” 
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