{"id":135,"date":"2025-07-29T10:51:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T10:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/?p=135"},"modified":"2025-07-29T10:51:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T10:51:16","slug":"puppet-people-by-hannah-strom-a-ya-sci-fi-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/?p=135","title":{"rendered":"Puppet People, by Hannah Strom – A YA Sci-Fi Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Good morning everyone!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Tuesday. Today is the day we review our first indie book, Puppet People<\/em> by Hannah Strom<\/a>. In this review, I will give you my honest opinion of what is working, what doesn\u2019t work, and what I think of the book overall. This will also work as a template for future reviews, so let\u2019s get to it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note this review applies to the Kindle version.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What\u2019s the book about?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Puppet People<\/a><\/em> follows a girl named Kindle who was in an accident that left her with fragmented memories. Early on, we learn Kindle is an orphan who lives with an adoptive family. They care for her and even drive her to Florida so she can bury puppet representations of her family\u2014whose bodies were never found after the accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this trip, Kindle is abducted by aliens and forced into slave labor as a marionette puppet. From there, the book follows Kindle as she struggles to remember who she is, fighting for her freedom and the freedom of the other puppets\u2014all while staying under the radar of the mysterious Puppeteer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What works?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Saying I loved this story would be an understatement. The premise is unique and takes alien abduction in a fresh direction while staying tame enough for a young adult audience. This could have easily been a gory bloodbath, but Hannah took a softer approach that speaks well to younger readers without downplaying the danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She found creative ways to use body horror that didn\u2019t come across as disgusting or inappropriate for YA. Everything in the book is well grounded in the reality Hannah built, and the world feels lived in and believable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What isn\u2019t working?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, the story is well thought out, and it\u2019s clear each step was carefully planned to tell a coherent narrative. There isn\u2019t much that \u201cdoesn\u2019t work,\u201d but a few of the twists felt a bit predictable. Younger readers might not notice, but as an adult I saw some of the turns coming. That said, it didn\u2019t take away from my enjoyment of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only other thing that could use improvement is some of the editing. Lightly scattered throughout are double spaces, missing periods, and a missing quotation mark or two. We have to remember indie authors often edit themselves, and small mistakes happen. Even big publishing houses have the occasional error slip through. Overall, the editing isn\u2019t bad and won\u2019t pull you out of the story unless you\u2019re a hardcore \u201cediting snob.\u201d Spelling, however, was spot-on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thoughts on Pricing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Puppet People<\/em> is $2.99 for the eBook and $14.99 for the paperback. Personally, I think the eBook is underpriced and a great value! The paperback is a fair price for a 328-page book. There\u2019s currently no hardcover option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can read it for free! Overall, the pricing is more than fair for the content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Final Thoughts and Scores<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In conclusion, Puppet People<\/em> by Hannah Strom is a strong young adult sci-fi novel. It\u2019s a complete, satisfying story that works really well. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves weird sci-fi or YA stories with a slightly creepy edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scores:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n