Freak the Mighty Short Summary

Freak the Mighty is a story written by Rodman Philbrick and published in 1993. It is about two boys who do not seem to fit in. Max is bigger for his age and towers all the other kids, and Kevin is a young boy referred to as “freak” intelligent and very tiny.

The novel begins with Max, who feels isolated and finds a tough time getting friends hence spends much of the time in his room nursing rejection from his age mates. Max’s father is a killer, and his staunch resemblance with his son makes people afraid of him. So, they do not have friends.

Max meets Kevin, also known as a freak by other kids. Kevin is disabled and walks with crutches, has leg braces and Morquio syndrome. Besides, he is resilient and intelligent. When school starts, both Max and Kevin’s grandparents and mother arrange so that the new friends can be in the same special education class. Max helps Kevin to get around while Kevin appreciates by assisting max in reading.

Max’s father, Kenny, is later released from jail on parole. This story fascinates readers. He is a known notorious criminal. On the eve of Christmas, he kidnaps Max and ties him in an abandoned building while looking for a car to drive away. A woman by the name Lorretta approaches and tries to help Max breakout. Kenny, who is responsible for the death of his wife, the mother of Max, comes back and starts chocking Lorretta and Max. Lorretta is surprised that Kenny killed his wife when he tried to defend himself. Max, however, confirms that he witnessed the killing and further claimed that it was through chocking the same way he was trying to chock both Lorretta and him. Kevin manages to show up with a squirt gun filled with what he claims is sulphuric acid. The solution turned out not to be a real acid but a caustic. He uses the solution to free max, and his father is arrested and taken back to jail.

On Kevin’s birthday, he experiences another seizure, and he is hurriedly taken to the hospital but eventually dies. Kevin’s death makes Max troubled, and he withdraws from the world for some time. After a year, Max gets inspiration from the dictionary Kevin made for him to write about their adventures and friendship. The story has a deep moral context.