first person

In Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, there are themes of friendship, acceptance, and persistence that drive the characters to change over the course of the story.

Kevin “Freak” Avery is a disabled, blonde-haired boy whom Max becomes best friends with. Kevin has Morquio syndrome, where the outside of his body cannot grow. He walks on crutches and wears a leg brace.

Violent and sad, but good storyline and interesting characters. This book is pretty good, but NOT for young kids. Max’s father nearly strangles Max to death, the same way he murdered Max’s mother. Also, there is a very, very sad death of a main character, who has known he was going to die since he was 7.

8th grade

In Chapter 17 of Freak the Mighty, Kenny Kane, Max’s father, who is also known as Killer Kane, has kidnapped Max. He has taken him to a hideout provided by none other than Iggy Lee, the notorious motorcycle gang leader, and Loretta Lee. When his dad sneaks up behind him, he asks if Max plans to run away.

What does everyone say would happen to Killer Kane? He would be blind the rest of his life. This time he would be locked up in a high-security prison. This time they would lock him up for good.

At the beginning of chapter 16, Killer Kane is in Max’s room kidnapping him.

When Max meets back up with Freak, Freak is in the cafeteria eating chop suey. Max goes to get him a second helping, and when he comes back, Freak has changed color and can’t breathe. This isn’t good. The nurse comes over and sticks something plastic down his throat to help him breathe.

After Freak’s death, Max hides in the basement, missing the funeral. His grandparents try to help him through it, but he just wants to mope by himself. Then it’s time for school to start again, and Max really doesn’t want to go. But Grim won’t have any of it; he says he is going, even if he has to drag him there.

In the twentieth chapter in Rodman Philbrick’s novel, Freak the Mighty, Max witnesses his father trying to kill Loretta for trying to help him escape. The sense of déjà vu nearly knocks Max off of his feet.

After Max’s father, Kenny, served ten years of a life sentence for killing Max’s mother, he was released on parole. On Christmas Eve, Kenny sneaks into Max’s room and kidnaps him. Iggy Lee, the notorious motorcycle gang leader, provides a hideout, but the police are getting close to tracking them down.

In chapter 8 of Freak the Mighty, the police take Max and Kevin home after their escape from Tony and his gang of thugs. This heroic act surprises the police a bit because they recognize Max as Kenny “Killer” Kane’s son. The police remark, in turn, surprises Max because he thinks of Kevin as the hero.