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A review by tortello_alla_zucca
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
4.0
This is the kind of book that makes you glad you are a reader.
As always, TJ Klune's strenght is the characters, who display a perfect combination of relatable and weird characteristics, making them as adorable as a bunch of somewhat murderous robots (and a human) can be.
The plot is simple and easy to follow, which leaves space for the characters to fully be their loveable selves, and different enough from "Pinocchio", while still making many references to it, to make it by far the best children's story retelling I have ever read.
That being said, the book has its flaws, perhaps the most noticeable being that, having now met a few of TJ Klune's characters, I can see some being recycled from other books.
Also, as good as the writer is at crafing cozy, hearwarming stories, he is a lot weaker when he gets "philosophical" and tries to make statements about the human experience, which I found pretty weak.
As always, TJ Klune's strenght is the characters, who display a perfect combination of relatable and weird characteristics, making them as adorable as a bunch of somewhat murderous robots (and a human) can be.
The plot is simple and easy to follow, which leaves space for the characters to fully be their loveable selves, and different enough from "Pinocchio", while still making many references to it, to make it by far the best children's story retelling I have ever read.
That being said, the book has its flaws, perhaps the most noticeable being that, having now met a few of TJ Klune's characters, I can see some being recycled from other books.
Also, as good as the writer is at crafing cozy, hearwarming stories, he is a lot weaker when he gets "philosophical" and tries to make statements about the human experience, which I found pretty weak.