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Valerie's review

Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1)
by Eoin Colfer

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249747.Artemis_Fowl?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1)" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HTQ9YASCL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249747.Artemis_Fowl?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Artemis Fowl</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10896.Eoin_Colfer">Eoin Colfer</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15500314?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 3 of 5 stars I liked Artemis Fowl, but I didn't love it. I ended up reading it after I heard someone say that they wouldn't want their kids to read it because the main character was unlikable and a criminal... and since I was under the impression that this was a popular series for kids, that comment piqued my interest and I decided to read it myself.
 
 I'd never limit what my child read because the main character was a jerk or a criminal or whatever - I feel like part of reading is being able to safely step into someone else's shoes. But I could see where this person was coming from. Artemis isn't Harry Potter - you're definitely not rooting for him. Instead, he's a brilliant twelve-year-old boy who leads a life outside the law, trying to restore his family's fortune by hatching and executing a devious plot to steal fairy gold.
 
 We're not really supposed to like Artemis, but I was surprised to see a bit of general human-hating going on as well... the People (the fairy folk) despise the Mud People (humans) for their treatment of the earth and its animal inhabitants. At one point in the story, as Holly (one of the fairy folk) sees dolphins as she's flying over the ocean (and I quote):
 
 She could see the pollution in them, bleaching their skin white and giving them red sores on their backs. And although she smiled, her heart was breaking. Mud People had a lot to answer for.
 
 Alright, I can see giving kids a healthy dose of environmental moralism, but dolphins? Using dolphins as the vehicle for the message... it's almost like slaughtering kittens. And dolphins with bleached skin and red sores on their backs, no less. A little heavy-handed, I thought.
 
 There are other characters in the book who share the spotlight with Artemis and bring a friendlier vibe to the book. Holly, a fairy who works in LEP Re-con (Lower Elements Patrol Re-con - leprechaun, get it?) is an engaging, likable character (although I found it strange that she's the first woman ever in her field... apparently a little bit of sexism is not uncommon among the fairy folk). She's an obvious foil to Artemis, bringing some humanity (fairy-style, of course) to the story.
 
 Without giving any spoilers, Artemis does grow a bit throughout the book. He's not the same evil genius at the end that he was in the beginning, and he does become a slightly more sympathetic character. I'll probably read the next book in the series just to see what he gets up to next.
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/543625?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Valerie's review
rating:
bookshelves: fantasy, young-adult

I liked Artemis Fowl, but I didn't love it. I ended up reading it after I heard someone say that they wouldn't want their kids to read it because the main character was unlikable and a criminal... and since I was under the impression that this was a popular series for kids, that comment piqued my interest and I decided to read it myself.

I'd never limit what my child read because the main character was a jerk or a criminal or whatever - I feel like part of reading is being able to safely step into someone else's shoes. But I could see where this person was coming from. Artemis isn't Harry Potter - you're definitely not rooting for him. Instead, he's a brilliant twelve-year-old boy who leads a life outside the law, trying to restore his family's fortune by hatching and executing a devious plot to steal fairy gold.

We're not really supposed to like Artemis, but I was surprised to see a bit of general human-hating going on as well... the People (the fairy folk) despise the Mud Peopl...more I liked Artemis Fowl, but I didn't love it. I ended up reading it after I heard someone say that they wouldn't want their kids to read it because the main character was unlikable and a criminal... and since I was under the impression that this was a popular series for kids, that comment piqued my interest and I decided to read it myself.

I'd never limit what my child read because the main character was a jerk or a criminal or whatever - I feel like part of reading is being able to safely step into someone else's shoes. But I could see where this person was coming from. Artemis isn't Harry Potter - you're definitely not rooting for him. Instead, he's a brilliant twelve-year-old boy who leads a life outside the law, trying to restore his family's fortune by hatching and executing a devious plot to steal fairy gold.

We're not really supposed to like Artemis, but I was surprised to see a bit of general human-hating going on as well... the People (the fairy folk) despise the Mud People (humans) for their treatment of the earth and its animal inhabitants. At one point in the story, as Holly (one of the fairy folk) sees dolphins as she's flying over the ocean (and I quote):

She could see the pollution in them, bleaching their skin white and giving them red sores on their backs. And although she smiled, her heart was breaking. Mud People had a lot to answer for.

Alright, I can see giving kids a healthy dose of environmental moralism, but dolphins? Using dolphins as the vehicle for the message... it's almost like slaughtering kittens. And dolphins with bleached skin and red sores on their backs, no less. A little heavy-handed, I thought.

There are other characters in the book who share the spotlight with Artemis and bring a friendlier vibe to the book. Holly, a fairy who works in LEP Re-con (Lower Elements Patrol Re-con - leprechaun, get it?) is an engaging, likable character (although I found it strange that she's the first woman ever in her field... apparently a little bit of sexism is not uncommon among the fairy folk). She's an obvious foil to Artemis, bringing some humanity (fairy-style, of course) to the story.

Without giving any spoilers, Artemis does grow a bit throughout the book. He's not the same evil genius at the end that he was in the beginning, and he does become a slightly more sympathetic character. I'll probably read the next book in the series just to see what he gets up to next....less

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