Artemis Fowl is 12, with the brain of a criminal mastermind. He comes by it honestly, what with being the son of Artemis Fowl Sr. renowned thief. Artemis (the kid) kidnaps a fairy named Holly after learning all the secrets of The People from one of their own secret books. He holds the fairy captive for a large ransom of 24-carat gold, hoping to restore the Fowl family fortune. An adventure ensues that includes trolls, fairies, dwarfs, and magic. Will the fairies beat Artemis at his own game and stop the entire world from knowing their existence? Not if Artemis Fowl has anything to say about it.
Artemis Fowl is a fun, breezy read for kids grades 3rd - 8th. However, the main character, Artemis seems older than his age in the book, and it's eluded to many times. It could be that events in his life have made him grow up faster than he wanted to and it leaves the reader forgetting that he is only 12. I think if he didn't have Butler with him (as really the only adult in the book) I would question how he can do all that he can. But that was me thinking as an adult. If an adult is going to read Artemis Fowl, they have to remember to read with the eyes and imagination of a child. I read Artemis Fowl with my two son's who are in 2nd and 4th grade. Neither of my boys questioned the antics Artemis Fowl went through and the length he went to when achieving his goals. There are hints here and there of the little boy he actually is and I thought it was nice to see him not so grown up every now and then. I also loved the world Eoin Colfer creates for the fairies and magical creatures. It's full of fantasy and magic, igniting any child's imagination.
We made Artemis a family read-aloud book and in that regard I found it very easy to read. Both of my kids were engaged in the story and wanted to know what was going to happen next. It didn't take us long to read through the book either, which I think helped to keep their attention. I think this is a great book for anyone interested in fantasy and even Sci-Fi as it has a little bit of both elements in it.