(Cover picture courtesy of TweenCity.)

Stay back, human.  You don’t know what you’re dealing with.

Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius—and, above all, a criminal mastermind.  But even Artemis doesn’t know what he’s taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit.  These aren’t the fairies of bedtime stories—they’re dangerous!  Full of unexpected twists and turns, Artemis Fowl is a riveting, magical adventure.

Artemis Fowl may be a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind, but readers of all ages will be able to identify with him.  He can be cold and ruthless, but we see hints of the boy inside when he is with his mentally ill mother or thinking of his father, who has been missing for over a year.  And while he may be a genius, he is flawed and does make a mistake that almost ends his fairy ransoming scheme.

Eoin Colfer’s amazing characterization is second only to his world-building.  He has created a compelling history of fairies by mixing folklore with his own highly creative ideas.  The technology described in Artemis Fowl is highly futuristic and some of it expands upon older ideas in science fiction.  The Neutrino 2000, a laser gun is just one example of this.  His explanation for the origin of the word ‘leprechaun’ is also slightly humourous.

Spectacular characters, fantastic world-building and a riveting plot…what more can YA readers ask for?  Artemis Fowl certainly deserves to be among the YA greats, therefore I would recommend it to both tweens and teens.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble