Victor Lawson is a human boy being raised in the forest by Giovanni, the AI who created him. His life is filled with adventure and experimentation, spent in the company of Gio, the AI vacuum Rambo and Nurse Ratched, but he is growing up now and beginning to wonder about the rest of the world. One day while exploring the Scrapyards, the friends come across an AI that is almost, but not quite, “dead”; Vic decides to save it, unaware that he is aiding a killing machine. Hap, as the AI comes to be called, is himself unsure of his purpose, but when the AI overlords discover the hidden family, he joins forces with Vic, Rambo and Nurse Ratched to reunite the family and maybe save the world…. I loved T.J. Klune’s previous novels, “The House In the Cerulean Sea” and “Under the Whispering Door,” so was happy to find this new work; unlike the previous books, however, I’m left a bit conflicted with this one. It has something to do with the original Pinocchio story (not the Disney movie), something to do with futuristic sf/f and something along the lines of queer coming-of-age story, but not all of it quite jells for me. There is some frank language about human anatomy and sexuality that might not be suitable for younger readers, and the fact that aside from self-professed “sociopathic” Nurse Ratched there are no female characters in this entirely male/masculine-adjacent world bothered me, a female reader. That said, there’s a great deal of inventiveness here, and Mr. Klune’s knack for creating characters that the reader becomes easily emotionally engaged with still stand out in this work. So, a mixed review from me; I’d recommend starting with the two earlier books mentioned and going on from there. ( )

ARC Review:

TJ Klune's writing feels like coming home. With rich character diversity and skill at bringing unique worlds to life, I was submerged in this heartfelt journey of what it means to be human, to love those who are not, and what the future holds when we must face mortality and loss. It's beautiful, funny, and heart-wrenching. It was worth every page. ( )

While I am familiar with Klune's first two books, this is my first actual reading. It was a wonderful experience. Klune creates a vivid world in which robots have seemingly destroyed humanity. Victor, perhaps the last remaining living person, embarks on a quest to save his father, Gio the creator robot. The references to Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio are frequent and should be familiar even to those that only know the Disney film. The LGBT themes in the book are understated and, most encouragingly, integrated comfortably into the story. The duo of Nurse Ratched, the sociopathic medical robot, and Rambo, the vacuum robot, are the new great comedic duo. Please make this a film. ( )

It took me awhile to get into this book but I stayed with it and I'm glad I did. The characters were incredible like his previous books. This family of mismatched robots, Nurse Ratched, the nurse; Rambo, a little vacuum and Giovanni Larson are raising a boy, Victor in the woods far away from civilization. Victor and his cohorts find a decommissioned android in the scrap pile and decide to give him a heart. When Victor's father, Giovanni, is taken back to the City of Electric Dreams, the others follow to rescue him. Some parts set in the City weren't my favorite but I stayed with it. T.J. Klune has an imagination that produces books that are a joy to listen to! ( )

This book started off amazing. It was hilarious and somehow felt familiar and just overall enjoyed it. The robots' humor was so funny. But as the book continued, it sort of just fell apart for me. The humor wasn't quite the same. It took me a little to get through. In the afterward, it said something about changing the book because the world wasn't ready for it. I would love to know originally what the book was about that changed. Maybe that's the piece that was missing for me? I'd still recommend this book to people, but maybe audio book would be better. ( )