What a strange yet enjoyable little book. A young boy is growing up in Ireland. He watches his mother and older sister go about their lives. He watches the people in the village. He picks up the phone, and hears the threats.

The boy, who is wild and angry and sad narrates his story, shocked by the changes that are happening around him. It is hard to be young and to see your family dynamic shift when all you want is for everything to stay the same.

At first I loved this book, then I struggled, then I loved it again. I don't think I've ever read anything quite like it. It's hard to describe without spoiling things, but I think if you're looking for a short read then you should give this a go. The audio is also great, with two narrators, one for the boy and one for Jerry, the boy's enemy who is changing everything about his family. I think they both did a great job. Children can often find it hard to accept a new parental figure, and the brief chapters from Jerry's perspective also show how challenging this can be for the adult as well.

Frogs for Watchdogs, follows a single parent family of 3 , over a year or so I. 80's rural Ireland. The story is told through eyes of a 7 year old boy and a man Jerry/Gearoid as their lives crossover.
I am a bit conflicted about this Audiobook it was almost a did not finish for me , but I persevered and I did love the ending.

The writer had a meandering style and it did well to capture how a young child thinks especially when things aren't really explained to them, but it was over done. This was emphasised by the narration. The small snippets from Gearoid's point of view were a nice juxtaposition to the child's. More from Gearoid would have improved the book for me.

The final third of the book were beautifully done, and told a very common story that's not touched upon often in fiction.

Worth persevering with

A coming of age story told from the perspective of a young Irish boy.

Having grown up in the countryside surrounded by only his mum and sister, we watch as the main character strives to find a variety of methods to stabilise his life amongst a whole host of change.

Moving from childish innocence and belief in magic to murderous intentions, we see the young boy slowly come to terms with the most threatening of changes, ahead of the largest one...joining his sister at boarding school.

Excellently narrated, the audiobook captures the tone and pacing of the novel perfectly.

'Frogs for Watchdogs' is a touching, humorous story with that rarest of literary achievements - a convincing child narrator. The majority of the book is from the perspective of a ten year old boy growing up in rural Ireland in 1989. His domineering older sister is away at boarding school, leaving just him and his mother, an alternative medicine practitioner. He takes against a local farmer, 'Jerry Drain', whom he believes is the man behind the abusive phone calls his mother is receiving. But his mum seems rather keener on Jerry, much to the boy's alarm.

The boy (I don't think we are ever told his name) is a loveable character and I believed his voice. Child narrators are often a mistake as few authors can manage to write them realistically. But Farrell manages to hit the sweet spot that retains a child's innocence and naive world view, without diminishing his intelligence. The boy's interpretation of events is perfectly reasonable based on the information he has and the lack of experience he has to enable him to read between the lines. Farrell also captures the intensity of childhood emotions and how one blends into another. The action takes place over a year, but it feels like a longer time span, I think because the child's perception of time rubs off on the reader.

I'd feared this might be a 'misery memoir' type of novel, but it's not at all. It actually has an overall positive, hopeful tone, and is often funny. The boy and his mother are not well off and their lifestyle can be precarious, but she is a loving mother and he enjoys plenty of freedom and the support of several kindly adults. The main theme of the story is the boy's adjustment to his mother meeting a new partner, a cataclysmic event in his young life. The story unfolds beautifully, with some short sections from the perspective of his potential stepfather which give the reader a level of insight the boy doesn't have.

If you enjoy well written literary fiction I would highly recommend this book. It's got a light touch and is not depressing, but is also deep and moving - a good choice if you are feeling emotionally vulnerable. It works well as an audiobook and is well read by the two narrators, both of whom have voices that are pleasant to listen to.

A quintessential Irish voice, I really enjoyed this. It's been a while since I've read a book with a child's perspective, sometimes it can be done really badly but this was quite charming and sweet. The aspect of adapting to a new blended family and the violent rage felt in parts by the child, the humourous method in which he deals with life and the pride he takes in trying to protect his mother. It was so charming and enjoyable.

I listened to the Bolinda audiobook narration of Frogs for Watchdogs by Sean Farrell and it was excellent!

The story is told almost entirely by the young boy with some contributions by Jerry Drain, the man that the boy tells us is stealing hay from their barn.

The family comprises the English mother, the sister who spends weekdays at boarding school and himself, living on a farm in rural county Meath. The neighbour Jerry drives a distinctive vehicle the he can easily identify and watches for it coming. He tries to protect his family property but often is dismissed by his mother who is busy making remedies for the townspeople.

There are some fantastic characters in this story and I fell for a good few of them.

Farrell is very skilled telling the story through the boy and it works very well.

I loved it!

Told from the perspective of a young boy, a family lives a simple live in the Irish countryside plagued by looming threats. One being a local farmer Jerry Drain who the boy detests for stealing hay, and his mother refuses to take this threat seriously. As the story unfolds Jerry becomes closer to the family and the bout feels compelled to protect them at any costs in the absence of his father.

This book offers a unique narrative perspective which is a lot of fun and I think the author did a great job of observing the world from that characters lens. There is also an occasional Jerry POV chapter which weren’t totally necessary but I enjoyed some of them. I think it contrasted well against the unreliable narrator but I could take or leave it. Audiobook note - multiple narrators is all well and good (and they both did a great job) but pleaseeeee make sure all narrators speak at the same pace, I hate having to constantly change playback speed when I’m in the zone and then one narrator talks significantly faster than the other.

This book does a great job of building the environment through the eyes of a child and it definitely gives you a rural vibe. All characters had interesting traits and there were was great suspense that you don’t always see in literary fiction. This book just took a long time to grip me and I even considered not finishing a couple times throughout the first half. I was engrossed by the end but I wish it didn’t have such a slow start.

If you go just by literature, Ireland is one of the worst places to be as a child. Probably the weight of history, but Sean Farrell's Irish village story has a sense of disaster all through despite having the heart in the right place.

The story set in the farm house has only a handful of characters. Told from the POV of the youngest wild boy who is trying to protect his family after his Irish father disappears on them. There is a neighbors Jerry Drain, whose intentions he doesn't trust and marks him his enemy. The mother is a healer and the sister is in boarding school. And there is an old neighbor who is the boy's confidant.

The book is scarily dark and yet funny and tender in places. A child who thinks he is a grown-up is such an universal truth. What does a child do when he thinks the adults don't get it? We have been there and the author gives voice to the thought process. Except he also does act on it giving you a thriller and mystery as well.

Interspersed by the POV Mr.Drain, we also see the intent and the evolving dynamics.
A nicely written book that joins the long list of Irish books narrated by children and yet unique in it's voice. The narrator too has a huge role to play in setting the right mood by giving voice to the child's thought process.

Thank you Netgalley and Bolinda audio for the ARC of this book.

A charming and engaging coming of age story about a young boy in rural Ireland. His father has left the household and his mother, who is English and from a wealthy family who is paying for his sister’s education, works as a healer. The boy, who isn’t named, is fiercely protective of his family and takes against a local farmer, Jerry Drain, who rents the barn and fields surrounding their rented home. After answering a malicious telephone call which he believes to be from Jerry Drain, he resolves to protect his family by any means possible and decides to tamper with the potion his mother has prepared for him. The boy’s view of the world is beautifully narrated by Ciaran O’Brien, and Jerry’s perspective is narrated by Brendan Dempsey. The thawing of the relationship between the two is heart warming and although a lot of the story remains unresolved and unexplored - the source of the anonymous telephone calls and the complete absence of the Dad from the family’s lives - the narrative is compelling and often tense.

With thanks to the author, Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book

-Thanks to NetGalley and Bolinda Audio for the ARC.-

Look. I love this one. Nothing happens but in the best way possible.

We see the world through the eyes of a young boy, adapting to life, ever-changing and yet always the same in a way, just like the boy is: growing, changing, but with unwavering love for his family, and a need to protect them. Whoever his family is, and whoever might become his family.

3.5⭐️ rounded up

I absolutely loved the premise of this book as it's rare to read / listen to something in a fictional sense from a child perspective unless it involves abuse, sadly.

This book manages to give the view of a young boy who is trying to understand life and who and why this man has appeared in their family life along with all that growing up entails. He really doesn't like Jerry and just wants his dad back, with his mum being a healer and making various potions for people to help their ailments he is often sent on errands to deliver them living in the countryside.

He decided that he could just amend the dose he is to tell Jerry to take and see what happens, this is just one example of how a child's mind works in trying to navigate having someone around that they can't understand or voice anything about although there were no actual problems with Jerry infact he was extremely helpful to his mum with the lambs etc however Jerry wasn't his dad and he was someone who was coming into the family that simply seemed to just appear and not leave!

I usually always love the Irish accent however the narration on this one I found a little harder than most I think it was a timing thing tbh just trying to get my head in the space of putting together the plot with the understanding this was effectively a child (although it wasnt)

With thanks to Netgalley & Bolinda Audio for this ELC. Best wishes for publication. I'm sure this will do well.

This is a unique and charming novel told from the perspective of a young boy in Ireland who narrates the book from his understanding of what is happening with his family. His dad has left him and his sister with their mother who is a healer. They move to a remote house and he sees danger all around. His attempts to protect his family while navigating these threats is the basis for the story.

I know a lot of kids, and now I'm wondering are they all this wild in their own heads?
This guy is funny, smart, a little bit dark, and a bit of a worry.
It's one of those books that work so well as audio. I felt I got to know our guy far better having him talk to me.
I had a lot of sympathy for Jerry... he seemed like a good honest hard working guy.
I have a lot of warmth for the whole family.
An excellent listen.

4.5⭐️

I had the audiobook of this debut rural Irish literary fiction of a young boy telling the story of his family’s life. Read by Ciaran O’Brien and Brendan Dempsey who do a good job.

We get the story told from the 7 year old boy’s perspective and also get little snippets from Jerry, a farmer who enters their lives.
The language used mixes the boys own stilted matter of fact language, with sentences that he has obviously picked up and regurgitated from adults which made me smile. We get the family history in the form of stories told to the boy from his big sister B.

It’s heartwarming even if it had a slightly dark undertone to it at one point, but I couldn’t help but like our nameless boy with a wild streak. I’m not sure why he was left nameless.
I really felt for Jerry who is so hard working, and really trying, what a lovely guy, he melted my heart.

It’s a lovely quick easy listen, I recommend giving it a try. Although do try the sample first in case you don’t gel with the writing style.
I still don’t know the relevance of the title, and not convinced about it. There was a minor point that wasn’t addressed (unless I missed it)

Frogs for Watchdogs is a story about a young boy with a very active imagination. He lives with his mother and his sister Bea but isn’t happy about his mum spending time with this new man, Jerry. This is a brilliant debut and I particularly loved the narration of the audiobook. A really great read.

Absolutely brimming with all the charm of an impish child, Frogs for Watchdogs is an absolute masterpiece, written in a beautifully executed script we journey with a little boy who’s world is changing in front of his very eyes. So he does what all children do, he escapes to fairytales, but not all tales come alive like the boys do., and not all little boys know how to get rid of a man like Jerry Drain.

A stunning insight into the mind of a child learning to accept a step parent, the reeling against it the slow acceptance and ending with the nearest thing to family you can get.

I particularly loved the little snippets from Jerry himself. We forget that it’s equally hard on the new adult.

Touching, heartfelt,darkly funny and lyrically beautiful! I loved it!