The Last Martin

First I (Jill) must say, that I bought this book strictly because of the book trailer. I thought it was awesome. And I showed it to my son, Luke. After he watched it, he nodded at me, and I ordered the book. So, here is the trailer, for your viewing pleasure:[...]Martin Boyle lives a crazy life. His mother is a germaphobe and his father is never home--always off reenacting Civil War battles, his best friend is trying to steal the girl he likes, and on top of all that... Martin is cursed. In a graveyard of his ancestors, he discovers this horrible truth. When one Martin is born, the previous Martin dies. And Martin's aunt is about to give birth to a boy, who, according to family tradition, will be named Martin.I read this book aloud to my son, and we had a really hard time understanding what was going on at first. There were several places where Luke stopped my reading to asked a question. He was confused as to what had happened. So I read back to see what we had misunderstood. It was mostly the mom's character that had us puzzled. Once we realized that she was a germaphobe--and a beyond crazy one--things made a lot more sense. It would have been wise to have Martin think about her crazy, germaphobic tendencies in the first few pages, but maybe it was just us.About halfway through the book, it took off and we were hooked. We loved Poole. Once that guy came into the story, it was hysterical. Lani was also a fun character. And the idea of living each day as if it were the last, being yourself, and looking for joy in every moment made this a really powerful story. It turned out to be a lot of laugh-out-loud fun for both of us.

My 12 year old enjoyed the book a lot. A bit below her reading level, but not by much, and it made it a quick, fun read.

I bought my son this book , and he really loves it. It's funny, exciting and mysterious. Any boy (or girl) would love this book.

This book was very interesting and funny. I didn't want to put it down! This is obviously my new favorite book!!

Awesome book I love the suspension if he lives of dies by far the best book ever in my opinion

If your young person is tired of reading the same, ordinary kinds of literary material; if he is bored of being able to predict what will happen in stories he reads, then THIS book is the one for you, or him!!! With a glimpse of history, adventure, comedy, romance, and drama, this brilliant story-within-a-story will keep you on your toes.I had no idea what was going to happen from one moment to the next, but I was not anxious to reach the end to find out. Every part was worth soaking up. I was left interested and curious all along the way.The Last Martin is a quirky and eccentric work, with interesting word usage, and a surprisingly pleasing and different storyline.A lesson on gratitude curved out of humor kept me rolling in giggles and guffaws in this book where reality and fantasy collide. Check it out; it is unique and quite enjoyable.

I was not sure what to expect...but I loved it!"The Last Martin" is a quirky story about a boy named, Martin. His mother is neurotic in the very best sense and his father is somewhat disengaged. Martin has a sister named Lani who, as little sister's go, isn't so bad. Let's throw in a hick Uncle and a very pregnant Aunt and Martin's life is over before it even started. How, you ask? Well finding out that answer makes the story even more fun! I digress, let me get back to the beginning.Martin is afraid of just about everything thanks to his Mother being "overly" protective. Martin is sanitized, steamed and cleaned just about every second of the day. He cannot get dirty without breaking out in a sweat worrying about germs and microbes. Sigh. What a life for a kid, right?Martin lives in a fantasy world and his main character, the White Knight is a savior. He battles the Dark Knight and their story starts to parallel what is happening in real life to Martin.What happens next is an interesting mix of friendship, a prune fight, hilarity and of course, the curse.Martin realizes that with the birth of his new cousin, a boy also to be named Martin, that he will die...because there can only be one Martin in the family.Martin is now on quest. Break the curse, get the girl, make some friends and well...live like he is dying.The only challenges I had with this book was continuity, within the story within the story. You will get what I mean gentle reader when you get to the end of the book.I actually laughed reading certain parts of this book, which normally does not happen. I greatly enjoyed it and I would recommend to anyone...young and old alike.

There can only be one Martin Boyle. Just one. And, due to a centuries old curse and a pregnant aunt, Martin's the next in line... to die.This book is just weird. And pretty creepy too. For example, Martin's uncle is a ridiculously overblown "backwoodsman" stereotype, who launches into his gross hunting tales with the least bit of encouragement. Now that's just weird... and pretty creepy. It's like The Dreamhouse Kings meets Wally McDoogle on steroids, which makes for a strange, if hilarious, combination to say the least.All in all, if you don't like unbelievable stories that descend to pure stupidity every so often, The Last Martin is definitely not for you. Good thing I happen to like a bit of "unbelievable stupidity" in my books every once in a while. It makes for a good laugh.