In the Lives of Puppets (B&N Exclusive Edition)

by TJ Klune

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

If we're looking to find comfort in a book, we pick up TJ Klune. This is a story of found family, full of humor and heart.

This stunning exclusive Barnes & Noble paperback will include beautiful stenciled edges. There will be a new bonus story "Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!" by the author included in all editions as well as "Rambo's Care Manual" which appeared in the B&N exclusive hardcover.

A NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES AND INDIE BESTSELLER!

New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune invites you deep into the heart of a peculiar forest and on the extraordinary journey of a family assembled from spare parts.

The paperback edition of In the Lives of Puppets includes an original prequel short story, "Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!," and "How to Care for your Rambo," an instructional manual.

Featured in BookPage • Goodreads • The Nerd Daily • Paste Magazine • LitReactor • OverDrive • LGBTQ Reads • Tor.com • LibraryReads • more

“An enchanting tale of Pinocchio in the end times.” —P. Djèlí Clark

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots—fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio–a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

Inspired by Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, and like Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E, In the Lives of Puppets is a masterful stand-alone fantasy adventure from the beloved author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.

★ “An epic quest of rescue and discovery [with] the author’s trademark charm, heart, and bittersweetness.” —Library Journal, starred review

Praise for TJ Klune’s previous work: "Like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket." —V.E. SCHWAB • “Very close to perfect.” —SEANAN McGUIRE • “Utterly absorbing.” —GAIL CARRIGER • "It will renew your faith in humanity.” —TERRY BROOKS • “It healed me.” —CASSANDRA KHAW • “Compassionate.” —RYKA AOKI

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250339973
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/12/2024
Edition description:	B&N Exclusive Edition
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	7,688
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

TJ KLUNE is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door, The Extraordinaries, and more. Being queer himself, Klune believes it's important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories.

Editorial Reviews

For The House in the Cerulean Sea
A New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post Bestseller!
An Indie Next Pick!
An Alex Award-Winner

"I loved it. It is like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket. Simply perfect." —V.E. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

“This book is very close to perfect.” —Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of Every Heart a Doorway

“An utterly absorbing story of tolerance, found family, and defeating bureaucracy.” —Gail Carriger, New York Times bestselling author of Soulless

“A modern fairy tale about learning your true nature and what you love and will protect. It's a beautiful book.” —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"It will renew your faith in humanity.” —Terry Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of the Shannara series

“It’s a witty, wholesome fantasy that’s likely to cause heart-swelling.” —The Washington Post

"Readers will revel in Klune’s wit and ingenuity." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Remarkable.” —Amazon Book Review

For Under the Whispering Door
A New York Times, USA Today, and Indie Bestseller!
An Indie Next Pick!

“Under the Whispering Door is a kind book. It broke my heart with its unflinching understanding that grief never goes away. And then it healed me in the next breath.” —Cassandra Khaw, USA Today bestselling author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth

“There is so much to enjoy in Under the Whispering Door, but what I cherish the most is its compassion for the little things—a touch, a glance, a precious piece of dialogue—healing me, telling me that for all the strangenesses I hold, I am valued, valid—and maybe even worthy of love.” —Ryka Aoki author of Light from Uncommon Stars

“Klune's latest is a sweet tale of grief and second chances, and a ghost story about not giving up on even the most lost of souls.” —Booklist

“Tenderness, wit, and skillful worldbuilding elevate this delightful tale. Fans of queer fantasy won’t want to miss this.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher