Young ambition and flatulent trolls.
Eoin does a very good job building a cast of characters and allowing us to see the situation from everyone's point of views.
Artemis is a wealthy kid with the desire to find the secrets and be the first human to steal a fairies gold. With the help of Butler, he gains access to the fairies law book and decodes it. The trap is set, sprung, and chaos ensues!
Even though this is a story of man vs. fairy, they are able to see the others point of view and appreciate their differences and separate accomplishments.
There's tech, explosions, jail breaks, gold, and a whole lot of fun! ( )

Artemis Fowl has a child’s curious mind with the authority of an adult. Every plan made by Fowl is complete with counters to any possible action of his target. An ability to anticipate many moves ahead of his target is not the only think that makes him a genius, an affinity for complex though is primary. This causes Fowl deal with most situations in a calm and collected manner. The Fowl ancestry had always been supported by the Butlers, an organization of supremely trained bodyguards. A Fowl and a Butler is a paring for life. Artemis Fowl being only twelve, his Butler takes care of all the heavy lifting. The bond between them is of trust and understanding.

The story is about the mystical People and their gold. The People, losing the war to humans, now live mostly underground. Although the People have magic, it was no advantage to numbers. The fantasy species include trolls, fairies (pixies), dwarfs, and goblins. From the People’s perspective, humans are considered mud people. Human lore claims that leprechauns hid gold. In fact, the gold is actually prisoner exchange fund which no human ever got their hands on (expect Fowl). Leprechauns are actually a misnomer, as it is a job title LEPrecon which stands for Lower Element Police Reconnaissance.

An easy read book with humor, strategy, and moral lessons. Many human actions are taken from the perspective of the People. With different ways to handle the same life issues, provide alternatives from what is. Another anomaly that the People see in humans is their inability to co-exist with others. In the fantasy society, there are problems with co-existence, but they do co-exist while humans have trouble co-existing with each other. ( )

independent reading level: grades 5-8
awards:
Odyssey Award
Winner of British Book Awards: WH Smith Children's Book of the Year Award 2002 and WHSmith Book Awards (Children's Book of the Year) 2002. Runner-up for The BBC Big Read Top 100 2003. Shortlisted for Whitbread Book Awards: Children's Book Category 2001 and Blue Peter Book Award (Book I Couldn't Put Down Prize) 2002 and Blue Peter Children's Book Awards: The Book I Couldn't Put Down 2002 and Whitbread Children's Book of the Year 2001 and BBC Big Read Top 100 2003.

A pleasant enough read. Think I would really have loved it when I was younger, but unfortunately the quirkiness of it doesn't quite work for me as an adult.
Interesting enough ideas and Artemis is a different type of character. ( )

This was a great comfort read. I really enjoy the characters and how everything sets up for future books. ( )