Conversation Starter

While on vacation last month, I read and enjoyed Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl. Since then I picked up Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident, and I'm enjoying it even more. What is really interesting and pleasant about these books is how it they work as a magnet for ten to fifteen year olds. This demographic doesn't (in my experience) generally strike up conversations with women my age. However, in the past few weeks, as I've sat at swim meets, our local lake, and our library reading it, kids of that age group, seeing the cover, have felt compelled to say things like, "Isn't that a great book" and "You should read the next one." A ten year old girl struck up a conversation with me today after seeing the book poking out of my bag. She highly recommends that I read Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony. I have to say that as much as I have enjoyed the humor, action, and characters in these books, I've enjoyed these interactions with random kids as much or more. Who knew?!