The Giant-Slayer (2009)

Book Info

Author

Iain Lawrence

Genre

Historical Fiction

Rating

3.99 of 5 Votes: 2

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ISBN

0385733763 (ISBN13: 9780385733762)

Language

English

Publisher

Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Shops

Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble

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About book The Giant-Slayer (2009)

A skillful intertwining of two stories, one set in 1955 during the polio epidemic, and one, a story-within-a-story set in a fantasy world. Laurie begins the fantasy story to entertain her polio-stricken friends, who are hospitalized and breathing with the help of iron lungs. As the story expands to include a killer giant, a tiny but brave hero, and several trusty and not-so-trusty sidekicks, it takes on a purpose far beyond entertainment. I have conflicting feelings about this book. The idea of a fantasy-adventure story being told by children trapped in a 1950's polio ward is a pretty great premise. And I generally love stories that intermingle folktale with real-world problems. In this book, however, the fantasy story seemed scattered and failed to draw me in. The visual descriptions were great, and Lawrence's use of symbolism was fun, but it was sort of a slog to get through since I wasn't attached to the characters or the plot. Sort of a sad waste of an awesome idea.