Review: The Arctic Incident

The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I read something in Guys Read: Funny Business (I think. I know it was a Guys Read book though) about where Artemis Fowl got his start. Apparently it had to do with one of Colfer's brothers who had a mischievous streak. That actually made me appreciate the character a whole lot more. Never let it be said that knowing the background of an author or the origin of a character ruins a story. If anything, I think it enhances it.

I realize that the series continues, and it makes me wonder what Artemis's motivation is in the rest of the series. For the first two books, he was concerned with finding and rescuing his father. This mission is over? So what's next for Artemis? Warding off the people who may come after his father? Figuring out why he was kidnapped in the first place? And what about the fairies? They and Artemis are square now. I'll be interested to see what happens next.



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Ah...Testing...

This year's standardized testing has been an interesting experience for me. Instead of testing an entire class, as I've done in the past, I'm proctoring the tests of two students taking the test one at a time with a scribe. What that means is either 1. I stare at student while student is testing or 2. I do something that isn't distracting while sitting at the same table as student, like reading. So I've been reading. We still have 2 1/2 days of testing left next week, but I thought I'd go ahead and share the novels I've read in the last two weeks.

I found it interesting that I picked a few novels with similar thematic content in close succession. On Friday, I finished the 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation. On Saturday, I read I, Q: Independence Hall, which also discusses terrorism. During the week I read Bystander by James Preller and The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, both of which have to do with bullying and are not pictured here because I checked them out from the school library. The Tomorrow Code by Brian Faulkner was particularly interesting and reminded me quite a bit of A Wrinkle in Time. I liked that it didn't take place in the United States (it's set in New Zealand) but the language isn't so difficult to understand that an adolescent from the US couldn't understand it. Quantum Prophecy: The Awakening #1 was okay--a Heroes/The Incredibles type read. It's one of those series novels where I didn't feel compelled to run out and buy the next book. I did enjoy the second Artemis Fowl novel, The Arctic Incident, as well as Edward Bloor's Taken. The twist in that novel wasn't one I expected. I read The Compound by S.A. Bodeen on recommendation from another blogger, and enjoyed it as well. I realize I'm being vague as far as plot, etc. is concerned here. My goal was to list the novels I've been reading rather than reflect on them this time. What I really need to do is a reader response project. Maybe this week.

I'm thinking about going the Skeleton Creek route. I'm interested to see how the videos add to the story.