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 the 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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I have heard amazing things about the Artemis Fowl Series for a very long time, but I haven’t picked up the series until now.  My first impression?  Well, Artemis is a genius, but his actions within the novel, kidnapping a faery, for one, put me off of him and I spent a lot of the novel really disliking him.  However, the more I read, the more I realized he was just putting on a façade.  Artemis is good at heart, though he’s committing multiple crimes, and I actually really liked him by the end. 

I was afraid that this novel might be a bit childish for my tastes, but I was so very wrong.  I actually spent much of the novel on pins and needles, dying to know what would happen next a Colfer entices the reader deeper into the story, jumping back and forth between scenes and giving the reader an omniscient glimpse into everything that is happening simultaneously, both above, and under, the ground.  This is a great read.

Overall, this is a really cute story that I think any MG, YA, or adult will really enjoy.  Colfer has a way with words and he spins an intriguing tale, giving the reader access to another world as he builds the race of the faeries, bringing everything to a head as Artemis and the faeries square off against one another.  I found a lot of the situations to be quite comical and the explanations to be perfect, making me an Artemis Fowl fan for life. Four stars.

I purchased a copy of this novel from Barnes and Nobel.