Who is Artemis Fowl and Why Should You Care?

I was a little reticent to start the Artemis Fowl series. While managing a public library branch, I have seen the Fowl books check out over and over, without really getting any feedback from the kids. Also, the Fowl books never seemed to be picked up by the adults like the Harry Potter series and some of the other fantasy and YA titles.

I purchased a copy of the graphic novel for my library and decided to give it a go. I enjoyed it, but it never sunk its teeth into me. It wasn't until I downloaded the audio version of the book (from my library's Overdrive service) that I was able to enjoy it fully.

Before I listened to the audiobook, I would peruse my shelves for something to read during lunch. I would often skip the Fowl book due to my lack of knowledge of the character. What I had skimmed from the cover made me think that this was a book about a spoiled and brilliant rich kid that had an evil side to him. For some reason, I aligned it with the Series of Unfortunate Events, which I could never get into.

After listening to the first book, I devoured the next three in the series and I am happily making my way through the next few. Eoin Colfer has created a truly believable world where the Faerie realm does exist. And it exists in a plausible nature through the use of extremely advanced technology and magic. The Faerie magic is grounded in nature and never moves past a utilitarian Swiss Army Knife-type of use. There aren't complex spells and nothing to scare away the parents who are frightened of Harry Potter.

The more of the Fowl books that I read, the more that Artemis' world view and family change. We first meet Artemis at age 12 and we learn that his missing father is the last in the line of the Fowl Family Criminal Syndicate. And Artemis must do everything that he can to keep his family coffers intact and constantly replenished. He hatches an overtly evil scheme that starts his ascent to a more natural moral code.

Through the Fowl series, we meet an intriguing and well-developed cadre of characters. Butler is Artemis' protector, bodyguard and moral ambassador. He reminds me of a very dangerous Jiminy Cricket. There is a regular cast of Faerie characters that become part of Artemis' family and we become as attached as he does. I won't go into detail here, because the Faerie characters are an amazing creation and need to be discovered for yourself.

I like to recommend the Fowl books to tweens and teens that are a little hesitant to jump into fantasy and scifi. Artemis is a good role model for tweens--which might sound funny after reading the first book--but you see his growth and his desire to make the world a better place. Plus, he has really cool techie toys!