The Artemis Fowl Series of kid's books by Eoin Colfer are great fun to read and will be enjoyed by most kids (and some adults) 9-13 years old. Many of the books have reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. The first book, Artemis Fowl, won the 2004 Young Reader's Choice Award.
Plotline
Artemis Fowl II is a twelve year old criminal genius who, upon the disappearance of his father, is determined to recover his family's wealth. Artemis has discovered the existence of the underground fairy world and plans to use this to his advantage. Within the fairy world there exists a police force of fairies whose main job is to keep humans from learning about the fairy world and ruining it. This force is call the LEP (Lower Elements Police). One of the LEPs star officers is Holly Short. She's the first female LEPrecon (recon for reconnaissance) officer and feels she has something to prove. Holly and Artemis are in a battle of wits and nerve throughout the series. The story is fun, adventure, mystery, and action all in one. The perspective changes characters from chapter to chapter. Sometimes the story is told from a human perspective and at other times it's told from one of the fairy's viewpoints. It's well written, fast paced, and clever.
Major Characters
Holly Short - Holly is the main fairy character in the series. She is the first female member of the LEPrecon Police force (Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance). She's proud of this and is committed to do the best job possible. However, Holly often follows her gut instinct instead of following the rules. As a result she ends up in all sorts of trouble, but she also ends up solving the most difficult cases.
Artemis Fowl II - Artemis Fowl is a twelve year old criminal mastermind. He plans to restore his family's fortune by any means necessary. He tries to take advantage of the fairy world to regain his wealth and runs afoul of Holly Short on many occasions.
Domovoi Butler - Butler is Fowls bodyguard and butler. He is highly trained in hand to hand combat and has a number of useful skills. He is completely loyal to Artemis.
Julius Root - Commander of the fairy LEPrecon police force, Julius Root is a hard driving rule following leader. He cares for Holly, but can't stand it when she bends the rules, especially when she puts her life in danger.
Foaly - A technology expert who invents all sorts of gadgets for the LEPrecon force. Foaly is a Centaur with a sarcastic sense of humor.
Mulch Diggums - Mulch is a dwarf and a criminal who seems to get pulled into every story whether he wants to or not. He can tunnel through just about anything, but don't get behind him when he's digging!
Juliet Butler - Butler's little sister, Juliet is training to become a butler and bodyguard. She is daring and skilled at hand-to-hand combat.
