The Fowl Twins by Eoin Colfer

Myles and Beckett have been raised on stories of fairy folk and the LepRecon forces that live underground.  As much as they loved their brother's stories, they always thought they were just that-- stories.  Then one day a tiny troll shows up on the island where the Fowl twins now live, and their lives change forever.  Myles (the brainy one) and Beckett (the action one) find themselves joining forces with beings they always thought were fairy tales and running from not one, but two evil masterminds. 

I am a big fan of the Artemis Fowl series and was excited that Colfer would revisit the series with this new generation.  I enjoyed the book.  It was fast paced, clever and funny.  I thought the target age group was a little younger than the original series. It had all the fun and excitement of the original series, but lacked some of the deeper moral questions that made the original Artemis Fowl books special. I also wasn't 100% pleased with the reader.  I think he made Beckett sound too lacking in intelligence, when I don't think that was Colfer's intent.  Beckett isn't dumb, he just has a very different set of intelligences than his brother, and that is why they are such a good team.  Still, it was a delightful read and I will probably read more in the series. (368 p. 2019)