Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1) (original 2001; edition 2003)

2.5 stars

Artemis Fowl was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Disney-Hyperion.

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This was admittedly quite a lot more fun than I had anticipated. Although, I do admit I would have enjoyed this much more a decade ago when this first came out (and I was of course a decade younger!) Artemis Fowl, a genius criminal mastermind, has a plan to restore his family's prior standing: he's going to steal a pot of gold.

Artemis was quite funny and incredibly enjoyable but was an extremely immature humor at times (i.e. fairy flatulence was referenced frequently). I can definitely see the appeal and why this is so well loved by the younger crowd. Will I be continuing the series? Doubtful. Will I be recommending this series to my younger kids? Most definitely. ( )

Artemis Fowl would be a good book to use for a literature circle group, as the main character Artmemis and the action in the story will engage boys, while the inclusion of fairy characters will appeal to girls. This is an example of a book that goes beyond the typical expectations of fantasy and makes a strong and cohesive story that will appeal to a wide variety of students.

Reading Level: 6.2 ( )

Artemis Fowl is one smart twelve-year-old but is he genius enough to outsmart Holly, a lethal gun toting fairy?

Arty, as his mother calls him, searched the world over to find `The Book' that would help him achieve his goals. You will be introduced to a world of fairies, trolls, a centaur, and a dirt eating dwarf, all involved in a high tech war with Artemis Fowl. Our young protagonist is ahead of them because they don't realize he has the book of secrets unlocking the power and wealth in their hidden world.

You can describe this book as anything but ordinary. It is a fast paced, good read. The author, Eoin Colfer, will keep you guessing to the very end. ( )

I actually would give it more of a 4.5 for writing quality and a 3-3.5 star rating for how much I enjoyed it.

Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this type of book. The writing is excellent,the naration is great, but I didn't relate or really care about any of the characters.

Also, the goodreads blurb compares this book to Harry Potter, but I would have compared it more closely with [b:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|11|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide, #1)|Douglas Adams|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1262728063s/11.jpg|3078186]. So, I didn't really get what I was expecting. ( )

I read the first Artemis Fowl book when it first came out, I think, but I'd almost forgotten it. I don't think that's really a bad sign -- I don't think I was interested in this kind of thing at the time. I read it today on the train, and it was perfect for that: it doesn't take much effort to get deeply absorbed in it, and it's a quick read, not something you need to take breaks from.

It helps, too, that my housemate is writing a part of her dissertation on this book, so I spent the whole book thinking about how it relates to her theories (about the representation of criminals/villains in children's literature and how it develops through time). You lit students who write about modern texts have it easy, really.

Anyway, it's a wonderful book for kids. A couple of bits of the narration struck me as a bit patronising to the child reader (the bits about not translating swearing because this is not an adult book, for example), but it was also reasonably funny in that. And heck, I'm not a child, so who am I to know? ( )