A guide to TJ Klune’s books: from Wolfsong to In the Lives of Puppets

Leaning more towards sci-fi than fantasy, The Bones Beneath My Skin introduces Nate Cartwright, in the spring of 1995. Parentless, disowned by his older brother, and recently fired, he travels to Oregon, and his family's summer cabin. There he meets Alex, and a little girl who says her name is Artemis Darth Vader. They are not supposed to be here. But when it becomes clear just how powerful Art really is, Nate must decide whether to fight for her, or drown in his past.

Ox Matheson grew up feeling like he was destined to be alone. So, when Joe Bennett moves in next door and the pair strike up a friendship, Ox is determined to hold onto him. As he gets to know the mysterious Bennetts better, Ox discovers their secret: the family are shapeshifting werewolves, immersed in a magical world he has never known. As Joe and Ox grow up together, Ox feels drawn to his best friend in a way he doesn’t understand but can’t ignore. The book that began TJ Klune’s cult queer fantasy series, Wolfsong is an absolute must-read. 

Outcasted and left to fend for himself when tragedy split the pack, shapeshifting werewolf Gordo Livingstone vowed never to get involved in the affairs of wolves again, until Mark Bennett came back, begging for his help. A year later and alone again, Gordo struggles to push away his feelings for Mark, despite everything that has happened between them and the heartache he has caused. The second book in TJ Klune's Green Creek series, Ravensong is a story of queer love, loyalty and loss, set in the same world as Wolfsong.

Step back into the dreamy backwoods of Green Creek in Heartsong, the penultimate book in TJ Klune's queer fantasy series. Werewolf Robbie Fontaine has always been a loner, travelling from pack to pack and never quite belonging. That is, until he's summoned to become second to Alpha Michelle Hughes, and join the wolf stronghold in Caswell, Maine. Finding a new sense of belonging, Robbie discovers a short lived happiness and a mate, until whispers of treachery and betrayal in the pack threaten to destroy his new life and rip them apart.

The fourth and final book in TJ Klune's Green Creek series. In the ruins of Caswell, Maine, Carter Bennett glimpsed the truth of what had been right in front of him the entire time. And then it was ripped away from him. Desperate for answers, he leaves his family and pack behind.. Alone, he tracks the feral wolf Gavin, son of Robert Livingstone and half-brother to Gordo Livingstone. But Gavin’s history with the Bennett family runs deeper than anyone knew, involving a secret kept by Carter’s father, Thomas Bennett. And uncovering this secret comes at a cost: the sins of the fathers will burden their sons.

A tale of chosen family, The House in the Cerulean Sea is one of TJ Klune’s best-loved novels. It’s the story of Linus, a forty-something social worker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, whose existence is flipping upside down when he’s tasked with monitoring six extremely dangerous youths, including six-year-old Antichrist, Lucy. Spending time at their orphanage, he realises he’ll do anything to protect these very special children. But, with his feelings for their eccentric guardian Arthur Parnassus growing stronger each day, he’s forced to choose between his duty and his heart. 

Arthur Parnassus has built a good life on the ashes of a bad one. He is headmaster at an orphanage for magical children on a peculiar island, assisted by the love of his life, Linus Baker. However, when Arthur is forced to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself fighting for those under his care. Then when a new magical child joins their island home, Arthur knows they’ve reached breaking point. Challenged from within and without, their volatile family might grow stronger. Or everything Arthur loves could fall apart. This hugely-anticipated sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea is a cosy-fantasy triumph.

Wallace was one of those men who spent his whole life at work. Until he died, that is. Given just seven days and the help of a mysterious tea merchant to get out of his own personal purgatory and pass over to the other life, Wallace quickly realises that maybe there is more to life than work. Witty, charming and utterly unique, Under the Whispering Door will make you reflect on whether you’re working to live or living to work.

Witty, queer and packed with romance, In The Lives of Puppets is TJ Klune's reimagining of classic fairytale Pinocchio. Vic lives a quiet life with his chosen family; a sadistic nurse machine, a needy vacuum cleaner, and inventor-robot Gio. The family remain hidden from the rest of the world until Vic meets ‘HAP’, an android who knows Gio from their secret pasts. Vic and Hap soon feel a magnetism to one another they can't control, but, when Hap reveals the family's location and their enemies hunt them down, Vic and the robots must embark on a mission to another world to save Gio, and Vic must choose if their love is worth the risk.