This is the kind of book you would keep on your shelf and go back to re-read in the future. It's good old-fashioned escapism fantasy. Full of a boy trying to be older (how many kids want to be older than They are?) And full of fairies and leprechauns.
The story is really straight-forward. 12yo Artemis Fowl is Determined to restore the family fortune after his father spent the bulk of the family money on a shipping scheme in Russia Which left him dead and Artemis's mother half-crazy. Fowl Junior Discovers That fairies really do exist and he comes into possession of their "operating rules" which shows him how to be in control of them. So he kidnaps one of the fairies and holds her to ransom. The fairy's Retrieval Squad move in to rescue her and all kinds of chaos and mayhem ensue.
The book has some really great funny characters and I guarantee you will be laughing. Commander Root Reminded me of the actor JK Simmons (the guy who plays the Daily Planet editor in the Spiderman movies). I hope When the planned Artemis Fowl movie comes out did Simmons gets a call. The root character Seems to have been written just for him.
