The Giant Slayer by Iain Lawrence

I rated this book a 4 out of 5, although it's much different from other books I've read. It's mostly realistic fiction, but a great deal of it is fantasy. The conflict begins in 1950 when Laurie's best friend is stricken with polio. She visits him in the hospital and creates a fantasy story to entertain the three children in iron lungs. Iron lungs were used to keep serious polio victims alive, since they could not breathe on their own. The conflict grows to a climax when Laurie herself is stricken by the disease.

The fantasy story revolves around a small boy who is destined to kill a giant. The small boy will never grow beyond the height of 31 and 3/4 inches due to the greedy deal his father made with a wishman. The plot features greed, love, kindness, ingenuity, and folklore. The author chose to include creatures from various mythologies, but that was not a problem for me. The small boy meets up with various creatures and characters during his adventures to fulfill his quest to kill the giant. The polio victims begin to identify themselves as characters in the story and make analogies with their own lives. They immediately identify the giant as a symbol for polio.

I would guess that some readers may not enjoy this book due the combination of genres. The fantasy itself isn't overly creative, but the true plot of the book is about the polio victims' battles with the deadly disease. They all take the fantasy story personally and use it as motivation in their own lives. They even struggle together to finish the story, because they are convinced that Laurie will not survive without it. The story is even more compelling when you realize that many of the facts about polio included in the plot are actually true.