Artemis Fowl

Amazon.com Review

Eoin Colfer describes his new book, Artemis Fowl, as "Die Hard with fairies." He's not far wrong.

Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history. With two trusty sidekicks in tow, he hatches a cunning plot to divest the fairyfolk of their pot of gold. Of course, he isn't foolish enough to believe in all that "gold at the end of the rainbow" nonsense. Rather, he knows that the only way to separate the little people from their stash is to kidnap one of them and wait for the ransom to arrive. But when the time comes to put his plan into action, he doesn't count on the appearance of the extrasmall, pointy-eared Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaisance) Unit--and her senior officer, Commander Root, a man (sorry, elf) who will stop at nothing to get her back.

Fantastic stuff from beginning to end, Artemis Fowl is a rip-roaring, 21st-century romp of the highest order. The author has let his imagination run riot by combining folklore, fantasy, and a fistful of high-tech funk in an outrageously devilish book that could well do for fairies what Harry Potter has done for wizardry. But be warned: this is no gentle frolic, so don't be fooled by the fairy subject matter. Instead, what we have here is well-written, sophisticated, rough 'n' tumble storytelling with enough high-octane attitude to make it a seriously cool read for anyone over the age of 10. --Susan Harrison --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Colfer's (Benny and Omar) crime caper fantasy, the first in a series, starts off with a slam-bang premise: anti-hero Artemis Fowl is a boy-genius last in line of a legendary crime family teetering on the brink of destruction. With the assistance of his bodyguard, Butler, he masterminds his plan to regain the Fowls' former glory: capture a fairy and hold her ransom for the legendary fairy gold. However, his feisty mark, Holly, turns out to be a member of the "LEPrecon, an elite branch of the Lower Elements Police," so a wisecracking team of satyrs, trolls, dwarfs and fellow fairies set out to rescue her. Despite numerous clever gadgets and an innovative take on traditional fairy lore, the author falls short of the bar. The rapid-fire dialogue may work as a screenplay with the aid of visual effects (a film is due out from Talk/Miramax in 2002) but, on the page, it often falls flat. The narrative hops from character to character, so readers intrigued by Artemis's wily, autocratic personality have to kill a good deal of time with the relatively bland Holly and her cohorts [...]. Technology buffs may appreciate the imaginative fairy-world inventions and action-lovers will get some kicks, but the series is no classic in the making. Ages 12-up.

I included both reviews because one likes the book and the other doesn't.  I enjoyed the book and think it's good for middle school.  

Crusher

From Publisher's Weekly...
2013 Edgar YA Nominee

Irish-born screenwriter Leonard (husband of Fifty Shades of Grey author E.L. James) makes his YA debut with a hard-hitting adventure that plunges its hero into a bleak, crime-ridden London. Seventeen-year-old Finn Maguire's life is dismal—he's a dyslexic dropout with a criminal record, working at the seedy Max Snack restaurant. After his father, a washed-up actor-turned-screenwriter, is murdered and Finn becomes the primary suspect, he feels he has nothing to lose by hunting the killer himself. Convinced that local mob boss Joseph McGovern is to blame, Finn digs for evidence, even getting a job in one of his restaurants; when his life is threatened, he senses that he's on the right path. With both killers and police after him, Finn's only ally is the beautiful yet unpredictable Zoe. Leonard is clearly writing for the screen, with well-drawn action scenes, snappy patter, and a brand of noir undercoated with fast food grease. Last-minute revelations and a hasty conclusion diffuse some of the story's skillfully developed tension, but the thriller travels at a gripping pace, and has a thick-skinned, yet sympathetic protagonist at the head. Ages 14–up Agent: Valerie Hoskins Associates. (Sept.)

Good, but definitely not appropriate for middle school...profanity and sexual situations make it not suitable.  

Spy School

From Publisher's Weekly

In Gibbs’s (Belly Up) addition to the “child spy” genre, the CIA is (yet again) secretly recruiting kids, and Ben Ripley is the awkward 12-year-old brought into the academy, in this case under the pretense of attending a science-oriented boarding school in Virginia. The clichés (and plot holes) come as expected, from the ease with which Ben’s parents accept his leaving immediately for a school they’ve never visited, to Ben’s early struggles at the school and the presence of a traitor in the program. Depending on the dictates of the plot, the spies shift from hypercompetent (the CIA knows everything about Ben, including the extent of his hidden crush, and secretly inserts questions into standardized tests to assess children nationwide) to ineffectual (they are unable to identify a teenage mole or detect intruders). The supporting cast is occasionally interesting (school bully Chip makes a good early antagonist), but Gibbs doesn’t offer much in the way of originality to readers who have seen this plot before. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM. (Mar.)

Well, I liked this book a lot...very entertaining, and so I don't agree with the review too much.  It's a good read for 6th graders, but a little young for 8th graders.  

Tortilla Sun

From Publisher's Weekly...
2011 New Mexico Book Award Winner

In this strong debut, Cervantes relies on the tried-and-tried recipe of a preadolescent forced to spend summer in an unfamiliar environment, but spices it up with a dash of magical realism and a vibrant New Mexico landscape. Twelveyear-old Izzy, whose father died before she was born, is sent to live with her grandmother while her mother completes a research project. An aspiring writer, Izzy is haunted by the mystery of her father's death and frustrated by her mother's refusal to talk about him. Once in her parents' native village, she begins to find answers to her questions about his life and death— and her own birth. Colorful characters— an orphaned six-year-old girl; a prophetic storyteller; a handsome 13-year-old neighbor—accompany Izzy on her quest for her heritage; mouthwatering descriptions of her grandmother's culinary gifts waft tantalizingly through the tale. Cervantes fills her story with mystical possibilities— talking with spirits, hearing what the wind whispers, gathering powerful herbs by moonlight—but also with the inescapable realities of illness, death, and mourning. The result is an imaginative yet grounded novel. Ages 8–12. (June)

I really enjoyed this book, but it moves a little slow.  It's the kind of book that needs to be read slowly with attention to detail so that the reader forms the images, smells, and feels of the story.  The story takes place in NM, one of the reasons I like it.  A little young for middle school.  

The Dead and the Gone

From Publisher's Weekly....

As riveting as Life as We Knew It and even grittier, this companion novel returns to the premise of that previous book to show how New York City responds to the global disasters that ensue when an asteroid knocks the moon out of orbit. This time Pfeffer focuses on high school junior Alex Morales, whose parents go missing after the catastrophe. It's up to him to find a way to keep himself and his two younger sisters alive while the planet is rocked by famine, floods, freezing temperatures and widespread disease. Once again Pfeffer creates tension not only through her protagonist's day-to-day struggles but also through chilling moral dilemmas: whether to rob the dead, who to save during a food riot, how long to preserve the hope that his parents might return. She depicts death and destruction more graphically than before, making the horror of Alex's ordeal all the more real. Religion also plays a larger role. A devout Catholic, Alex finds his faith in God shaken, but he relies on the guidance, compassion and sacrifice of church leaders in order to stay alive. The powerful images and wrenching tragedies will haunt readers. Ages 12–up. (June)

I stumbled upon this book in the LBJ library and decided to read it even though I liked the first book (Life as We Knew It), but found it depressing.  I think I liked this book a little better...I liked the religious faith of the main characters.  

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

From Publisher's Weekly...
National Book Award Winner

Screenwriter, novelist and poet, Alexie bounds into YA with what might be a Native American equivalent of Angela’s Ashes, a coming-of-age story so well observed that its very rootedness in one specific culture is also what lends it universality, and so emotionally honest that the humor almost always proves painful. Presented as the diary of hydrocephalic 14-year-old cartoonist and Spokane Indian Arnold Spirit Jr., the novel revolves around Junior’s desperate hope of escaping the reservation. As he says of his drawings, “I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats.” He transfers to a public school 22 miles away in a rich farm town where the only other Indian is the team mascot. Although his parents support his decision, everyone else on the rez sees him as a traitor, an apple (“red on the outside and white on the inside”), while at school most teachers and students project stereotypes onto him: “I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other.” Readers begin to understand Junior’s determination as, over the course of the school year, alcoholism and self-destructive behaviors lead to the deaths of close relatives. Unlike protagonists in many YA novels who reclaim or retain ethnic ties in order to find their true selves, Junior must separate from his tribe in order to preserve his identity. Jazzy syntax and Forney’s witty cartoons examining Indian versus White attire and behavior transmute despair into dark humor; Alexie’s no-holds-barred jokes have the effect of throwing the seriousness of his themes into high relief. Ages 14-up. (Sept.)

Excellent book!  A little mature for younger middle schoolers.