- Comedy
- Finn's Epic Fails collection
- Ages 9–12
Finn's Epic Fails
Part of the collectionFinn's Epic Fails→Wimpy Kid-style comedy with a Fail-o-metre and a warm heart; snappy chapters and gross-out gags over a tender divorce thread make it ideal for reluctant readers.
- Books2
- Arcs1
- Span2026
- StatusOngoing
The series
At a glance.
Phil Earle and illustrator Al Murphy's Finn's Epic Fails is a Diary of a Wimpy Kid-style comedy told as the not-a-diary of Finn N.O. Hope, a boy who attracts disaster the way others attract friends. Each book logs a fresh run of catastrophes, Year 7 humiliations, a superglued unicorn horn, 278 wedgies, a Tenerife holiday of lost luggage, hotel rats and dads in tiny mankinis, each rated on Finn's built-in Fail-o-metre. Short, snappy chapters and scribbly, laugh-out-loud illustrations on every page keep the pace relentless, while underneath the gross-out gags sits something warmer: friendship, resilience and a tender, honest thread about Finn's parents' divorce and a family changing shape. Ideal for reluctant readers who want laughs with real heart.
Wimpy Kid-style comedy with a Fail-o-metre and a warm heart; snappy chapters and gross-out gags over a tender divorce thread make it ideal for reluctant readers.
Primary themes
Overall tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Irreverent
- Warm
Read in publication order. Each book is a fresh run of fails, but Finn's family situation and relationships develop across the series, with a third book on the way.
One arc
The shape of the series.
- INarrative arcModerate sensitivity
Finn N.O. Hope's not-a-diary
Disaster-magnet Finn logs a Fail-o-metre-rated run of school and holiday catastrophes while his family quietly changes shape.
The series follows Finn N.O. Hope through his own not-a-diary as calamity after calamity befalls him. Book one is Year 7: a unicorn-obsessed little sister, an evil older brother's 278 wedgies, and one long parade of classroom fails, all shadowed by the quiet ache of his parents' divorce. Book two takes the chaos on holiday to Tenerife, with lost luggage, a rat-infested hotel, mankini-clad dads and an unwelcome run-in with his mum's new boyfriend. Al Murphy's riotous art and Phil Earle's short, punchy chapters carry the gross-out comedy, while the ongoing thread, a family finding a new shape after separation, gives the laughs real warmth and continuity across the run.
Fit check
Right for your reader?
Where the series lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- 15
- 17
- 19
- Best fit · 9–12
- Read aloud · 8–11
- Independent · 8–12
Reluctant-reader friendliness
Very high
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Adult crossover
Low
Grows with the reader
Not especially
Sensitivity envelope
Moderate overall, and consistent.
Content notes
- Parental separation
Where it sits
In conversation with other series.
About the author