Jaclyn’s Review: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl #1)
written by Eoin Colfer
published by Hyperion Books, 2009

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Apple Books, Target, Walmart, Kobo, Book Depository, Goodreads

Did I enjoy this book? In my ever-present goal to get my middle grade son to enjoy reading, I found this book on a list of “if you liked Harry Potter, you may also like . . .” This is book one of a series, and I bought him books one and two to get started. Additionally, Disney combined both of these books and made a TV movie adaptation. As someone who loved Harry Potter and loves Disney, this should be a no brainer . . . right??

Wrong! I did not enjoy this book at all! I thought Artemis was a terribile child–not that I was looking for a role model per se, but he was mean and arrogant. Not something I want my son to emulate. The fairy world wasn’t well developed, so it was difficult to understand these mythical characters, which were crucial to the entire plot of the story. So now we have unlikeable characters in a world that is difficult to understand, and remember, this is a middle grade book, and I was reading it as an adult! Some of the characters behaved in obnoxious and disgusting ways, clearly meant to appeal to children; however, it just came across as icky and gimmicky. One of the characters periodically swears. Finally, there was no real redemption arc. This story could have been salvaged if the reader eventually sees that Artemis is worth liking or was secretly altruistic. Nope. I thought this was a terrible story with a terrible ending.

My son didn’t like the book either. We actually disliked it so much that we never bothered to read the second book and haven’t bothered to watch the Disney movie!

Would I recommend it? Absolutely not. I don’t really have anything positive to say about this book. I know that it is part of a much longer series, so I would love to know if someone else has read further into the series and has a more positive opinion. Perhaps it starts slowly and the series improves as we go? Otherwise, this one is a big thumbs-down from me.

 

 

About the book – from Goodreads: 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 fairies of bedtime stories; these fairies are armed and dangerous.

Artemis thinks he has them right where he wants them…but then they stop playing by the rules.

 

 

 

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** This post first appeared on Every Free Chance Books (everyfreechance.com) on April 22, 2021.