I really enjoyed this book. I was not sure i would like it at first but when I finally started reading it I could not stop. It was like I was a moth and this book was the flame. I recomend this book for all ages and family reading. I still like this book two to three years after innitially reading this book. ( )

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Themes: Young Adult, Mythical Creatures, Fairies, Trolls, Criminal Mastermind

Age / Grade Appropriateness: Teen - Grade 7-9, Age 12-14

Awards:
• BBC's Big Read (Best loved novel, 2003, No 59)
• South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee (2003-2004)
• British Book Award (Children's Book of the Year, 2002)
• Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice (2004)
• Garden State Book Award (Teen Fiction Grades 6-8, 2004)
• Whitbread Shortlist (Children's Book, 2001)
• BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (2001)
• ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (2003.03 | Flights of Fantasy: Beyond Harry and Frodo, 2003)
• Book Sense Book of the Year (Children's Literature Honor Book, 2004)
• Iowa Teen Award Nominee (2004-2005)

Censorship Issues:

• Magical characters
• Child Criminal
• kidnapping

Plot Summary (Summarize the plot in 250 words or less):

The story of Artemis Fowl begins with the description of Artemis himself, an accomplished child criminal. Artemis is on the hunt for a fairy to steal his book of magical secrets. Once the book is secured, Fowl uses the information to abduct a fairy trooper as she is attempting to replenish her magical powers. Fowl holds the fairy hostage to ransom the fairy government for gold.
The fairy government refuses to negotiate with Fowl and the place Fowl’s mansion under a time-stop, which encapsulates the estate in a time frozen space while the rest of the world continues as if nothing has happened. Through a series of “invasions” into the mansion, Fowl establishes his position over the Fairies through the knowledge he has gained from the book of magical secrets. In the end, the fairies hand over their gold, thinking that they will “bio-bomb” the Fowl estate, thus reclaiming their gold. However, Fowl outsmarts them again and wins the gold in the end, but he begins to respect the Fairies.

Critique:
My opinion of this book was that it was that it tried to fit the criteria we discussed, but it misses the mark. The story incorporates the viewpoint of a twelve year old, but he is a jet-setting, criminal mastermind. What other twelve year old can relate to that? The only aspect of the book that would appeal to YAs is the fantasy element. The creation of a new world complete with its own set of rules is engaging to the reader to “figure out,” but the story was definitely geared towards the younger audience due to the simplicity of the story. After finishing reading this book, I was not interested in continuing the story in the remaining books.

Curriculum Uses:

The only possible curriculum uses that I could come up with are (1) to encourage reluctant readers and (2) to encourage young criminals? (haha) ( )

I read this out of an interest in popular children's fantasy. The Artemis Fowl books had gained enough popularity to show up on my radar (and I am around children basically none of the time), so I figured I might as well check it out. Artemis is a 12-year-old criminal mastermind with a faithful bodyguard named Butler, a missing father, and a mother who has completely lost touch with reality. Despite this, there remains a good deal of humor in Artemis's kidnapping of a fairy and her people's attempts to retrieve her. Artemis, while believable as a criminal genius, is not very convincing as a 12-year-old boy. Holly the fairy is pretty one-dimensional, but her comrades Root and the centaur Foaly are entertaining enough to keep the plot moving forward. In short, this is a decent story for children but not engaging enough to convince this adult reader to check out the sequels. ( )

Twelve year old genuis Artemis Fowl schemes a plan to gain riches into his family and kidnaps a fairy. A special fairy team is sent in to retrieve their missing one. A riveting fantasy for all ages. ( )

I've been intrigued by this series for how long and I was able to borrow it from a friend. I have to admit it started slow but soon picked up the pace when the fantasy kicks in. Eoin Colfer has a very vivid imagination, there's the magic in the technological, not paranormal sense and he was able to create another world in this series. This first book was very promising and characters were really likeable. Artemis reminds me of Richie Rich but definitely way smarter and more cunning. I liked the part where the hero is the villain because he was able to infiltrate the fairy world, learn their language, and create a language only he could understand. Colfer gives new meaning to fairy as not beings you could see in a Disney movie. There's no genius I like better than Artemis, and of course there's always Butler. He's the brawn where Artemis is the brain. They make a good tandem and while others might not appreciate the humor, I do. ( )