# In the Lives of Puppets

By TJ Klune

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/in-the-lives-of-puppets-040d391e/

Victor is human; his forest family includes an android father, a nurse machine and a small vacuum robot. Repairing a discarded android named Hap exposes a past his father has kept hidden. When Gio is captured, Victor and his companions leave their treehouse home to bring him back.

## What makes it funny?

A vacuum desperate for affection and a nurse with a sadistic streak give Victor very different kinds of company. Their quips and the nurse’s sarcasm recur throughout the adventure. Readers in book groups, including people who seldom choose fantasy, enjoy the characters and report laughing as they read.

### The comedy at work

The robots carry recognizably human anxieties and emotional needs into their unfamiliar bodies. The found-family adventure gives the anxious vacuum and sarcastic nurse room for jokes alongside the effort to rescue Gio.

### Try this if…

A Pinocchio-inspired adventure for readers who enjoy chosen families, robot companions and emotional stakes with recurring comic dialogue.

### Good to know

The Chicago Review of Books found the opening slow and thought the sidekicks’ repeated jokes eventually distracted from the plot and romance. It still praised the imaginative standalone adventure and found-family relationships.

## What to expect

- Genre: Fantasy · Science fiction
- On the shelf: Fairy-tale retelling
- Kind of humor: Banter
- The atmosphere: Warmhearted
- Story ingredients: Found family
- Format: Novel

## Sources & further reading

- Review: [Chicago Review of Books review](https://chireviewofbooks.com/2023/05/02/found-family-forests-and-fantastical-storytelling-from-in-the-lives-of-puppets)
- Publisher: [Publisher: book and synopsis](https://read.macmillan.com/lp/in-the-lives-of-puppets-by-tj-klune)
- Reader discussion: [Reader discussion](https://facebook.com/groups/bookrecommendations/permalink/9733985320009527)
- Reading sample: [Reactor: authorized opening excerpt](https://reactormag.com/excerpts-in-the-lives-of-puppets-by-tj-klune)