Freak the Mighty

Freak the Mighty  

Freak the Mighty paperback cover
Author(s) Rodman Philbrick
Original title Freak the Mighty
Translator Rodman Philbrick
Cover artist David Shannon
Country United States
Genre(s) Young-adult fiction
Publisher Blue Sky/Scholastic
Publication date 1993
Media type Print
Pages 160038739172930
ISBN 0-785-76594-8
Followed by Max the Mighty

Freak the Mighty is a young adult novel by Rodman Philbrick. Published in 1993, it was l Max the Mighty in 1998. The primary characters are friends Maxwell Kane, a large, very slow, but kind-hearted boy, and Kevin Avery, nicknamed “Freak,” who is physically crippled but very intelligent. (In the film, Kevin's last name was changed to Dillon.) Kevin is diagnosed with Morquio syndrome. At the end of the book is Freak's Dictionary of words.[1]

The novel was adapted for the screen under the title The Mighty by Charles Leavitt; the film was shot in Toronto, Canada and Cincinnati, Ohio, and directed by Peter Chelsom, and released in 1998.[2]

Plot

Many years after his times in Daycare, Maxwell Kane, narrating the book, has failed seventh grade twice in Middle School when he finds out that Freak (Kevin Avery), his only buddy from Daycare, is moving into the house next door with his mother, Gwen Avery (the Fair Guinevere). Freak has Morquio syndrome and wears leg braces and uses crutches and is two feet (0.6 meters) tall and thinks of himself as a robot since he was crippled. After Maxwell helps Freak get his toy bird out of the tree, they become best friends again. They name themselves "Freak the Mighty" when Freak starts to ride on Maxwell's shoulders, they equal nine feet (three meters) tall. In a part of this story Max gets kidnapped by his dad (Killer Kane) and Freak comes to rescue him with a water gun and they ended up getting away and Killer Kane was arrested. On Freak's 13th birthday, he, sadly, has a seizure and is taken to the hospital. Max later finds out Freak died because his heart got too big for his body. Max refuses to come out of the "Down Under", missing Freak's funeral and other events. In the end, Loretta Lee tells Max "nothing is a drag, kid" and Max pulls out an empty book that Kevin gave him before he died and Max writes "Freak the Mighty."

Characters

References

  1. ^ Rodman Philbrick, Freak the Mighty, Scholastic Books, 1993.
  2. ^ Peter Chelsom, The Mighty, Chaos Productions, 1998. In the film, Kevin's last name is changed from Avery to Dillon.