Chris O'Dowd

More like 3.5 since this is essentially the Diary of a Wimpy Kid -- Irish edition. But hilarious. I discovered the TV show (international Emmy winner) on PBS last year and it is a hoot. Sadly, it is not available on DVD (or at least wasn't then) so I've only see what I can catch with the DVR. This book has filled in some of the missing pieces. The Moone family lives in Boyle, Ireland in the 80s. Dad Liam, Mom Debra, 3 girls and Martin, aka Moone boy are so understately funny, that I often laugh out loud when watching. This book explains how Martin got his imaginary friend, a grown man, who figures prominently in the series -- despite the fact that no one else can see him. Martin is a little beleaugered in his house of sisters - Fidelma, the oldest is a high school senior (?) and pregnant and properly engaged, Trisha is the family rebel (though not pregnant) and appears to be a Boy George devotee based on apparel and make-up, and Sinead is the closest in age to Martin and his mortal enemy. Thus Martin's need for another guy in the house. Martin is the typical nerdy, picked-on kid, but he is so happy about it and accepting of his place in the world that he is truly a loveable loser. Without the TV series, the book would seem rather annoying, but without the book, the TV series feels like it's missing a few pieces. Though I grabbed this book from the Middle School LMC, the show is more adult-oriented and the book has some language/innuendo issues.… (mere)

This book is a prequel to the events of the Sky One and Hulu TV series “Moone Boy”, created by Chris O’Dowd and Nick Vincent Murphy. In it, we learn how Martin Moone ended up with his imaginary friend, Sean “Caution” Murphy. The book also intersects with the first episode or so of the TV series, making it a special treat for fans of the show. The audio edition is read by the authors, with Chris O’Dowd doing most of the narration and Nick Vincent Murphy voicing Martin and reading the abundance of footnotes scattered throughout the book.

As with the print edition of the book, I did wonder about the exact audience this book was aiming for. Some of the footnotes seemed *really* simplistic, while others would go right over the heads of younger readers. That said, I still guffawed rather a lot while listening, because the delivery of many of those footnotes was very good. And of course O’Dowd narrated most amusingly. My favourite parts involved Martin’s dad, Liam, being clueless or adorably well-meaning. I also laughed rather a lot at the bits when Martin was acting particularly dumb or embarrassing, remembering my own incredibly stupid 12-year-old self.

I’m not sure who I’d recommend this to, but I’d maybe suggest at least knowing the general concept of the show before diving in to the book.… (mere)

Martin Moone is a 12-year-old boy in the west of Ireland, the youngest of four and the only son. He decides he needs some male companionship in his life, so naturally he decides to get himself an imaginary friend. Hijinks ensue as the first friend proves unsuitable and Martin decides to adopt a second... but a realsie can have only one imaginary friend at a time! What to do?

This was an enjoyable book but somewhat difficult for me to pin down a rating. In the end I settled for four stars, because the actual story was a lot of fun. It is somewhat of a prequel to the television series Moone Boy and then overlaps with events of the first few episodes in Series 1. The text is also liberally sprinkled with footnotes to explain certain concepts or make silly jokes. The footnotes could be hit or miss for me, perhaps because this is intended for a much younger audience. I'm not sure how well it would work for a person who hasn't heard of Moone Boy, so I'd recommend it more to established fans of the show (and would recommend that those who haven't seen it get a copy and start watching!).… (mere)