Freak the Mighty

Max is looked upon as dangerous, both because of his enormous size and the fact that his father is in jail for murder. Only Kevin, aka Freak, isn't afraid of Max. With Max's big body and Freak's big brain, they become more powerful combined, and take on the town bully and other quests.

This was an inspiring story which really benefited from Max's perspective. I had a feeling the story would end the way it did, but it still felt like a happy ending because of how much Max grows from his friendship with Freak. Most of the kids in my book club already read this for school, and all of them said they really enjoyed it. It is short and fairly easy reading, with vocabulary words worked in nicely. I also enjoyed the dictionary Freak made for Max at the end.

I would recomend this book to people, but I wouldnt read it again.I just didnt like it, its not my type of book. My type of book would be a mystery book. Although some people may consider this book a mystery, I could tell what was going to happen next. It was way too obvious. For example, I knew Kenny Kane would get parole, I knew he would kidnap max, I knew Kenny was going to end up back in jail, I knew Freak was lying about getting a new/bionic body, and i knew Freak was going to die.

But it's not like the book seemed unrealistic, all that could happen to someone and probably already has. It wasn't difficult either, I followed along just fine. It wasn't confusing either, i understood pretty much everything that was going on.

Some things also made the book not as interesting. Like some of the characters just didn't fit, the people who wrote Freak the Mighty could have have better or more interresting things happen to them. I don't know what they could have done to make them more interesting but, the I do know that the characters were just boring.

Freak the Mighty could have been better, way better. This book is not in any way, my type of book, but I would recomend it to others because I could be the only one who feels it isn't a mystery. I want others opinions on what they thought of the book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I feel fondly about a lot of aspects - the characters were enjoyable and I felt pretty captured in the story. However, I think that has a lot more to do with me having read this as a child and coming back to it as an adult. I found that my enjoyment dropped significantly once I removed myself from the book and thought about it again as an adult, with less focus on my nostalgia.

I enjoy that there was an explanation for why we are reading from Max's perspective, I think that's fun. I think the idea of opposites coming together and being better together is generally good, but it feels a bit excessive here. I think the personalities of the characters are really well portrayed and stand out, which adds to the emotional pull the author clearly wanted. I think the best things about this story are the spunk in Kevin's character and the incredibly real portrayal of trauma responses.

This is very unlike me to say, but I honestly feel that the writer tried a bit too hard to get an emotional reaction from the reader. He did get it from me, again largely due to nostalgia. It all builds a bit too perfectly, to a point of really taking away from believability. It also relies too much on subverting expectations of people with disabilities to be incapable, while still essentially portraying them as incapable.

The two characters are frequently described as essentially being replacements for each other's disabled parts, which is excessive to say the least and offensive to be honest. Kevin has legs, but he has mobility challenges. Max is repeatedly described as BEING his legs. Max is portrayed to have some unspecified learning disability, and Kevin is repeatedly described as BEING his brain. It would be easy to say that is simply how those characters viewed it, but that removes the responsibility that this author chose to write the characters this way. He took two disabilities and simultaneously insulted them and framed it in a way that also had them insulting themselves and each other.

The characters themselves also show too heavy of an emphasis on opposites, which really loses its power in a story when used excessively. Small, weak boy with limited mobility but extreme intelligence and a fairly aggressive personality. Large, strong boy who struggles with learning and is extremely quiet and introverted. It's a lot, honestly. It is also romanticized in a way, like it should be beautiful that Kevin is smart, not because he's incredibly smart but because he's DISABLED and incredibly smart. Max's kindness should be beautiful not because he is kind, but because he is BIG and kind. They are good friends not just because they like each other or even because they relate on having disabilities, but because they learn to essentially "fix" each other's disabilities by relying extremely on each other to a point of not being able to separate for classes, which is portrayed as a good thing.

The intensity of the trauma aspects feels extreme and out of nowhere. There is mention of Max's father being in jail for murder, yes, but then suddenly, out of nowhere, we go from slow paced slice of life to intense and violent trauma content. It's a lot, it's sudden, and the end is frankly predictable.

Ultimately, while I enjoyed rereading it for nostalgia sake, I would not recommend this book to adults as it is predictable, over the top, unbelievable, jarring, and offensive. I would not recommend it to kids because it is a terrible example of how to talk about and treat people with disabilities, as well as having very jarring and sudden violence at the end.

You may be asking…
Maddie are you making a review on a book you were required to read?
And the answer is yes
I like to review/ trash talk books on this app
Anyway I give this book a 3/5 because it was a very good book but was always predictable. I was honestly able to predict freaks death from a mile away. But like molly says “ it’s a good book when someone dies” . With this information I knew it would be a good book. Another error with the book is how annoying freak is. I was glad he died. Like imagine if you asked your friend a question and they handed you a dictionary. Freak was the kind of kid to answer a question with “

It was a horrible book and as Quinn said, it should never have been written. If I could of, I would have given it a -5

"Freak the Mighty" is a fantastic book that follows the stories of two boys, Max and Kevin. Although they have differences, they come together and make up for what they are lacking and continue to help each other grow as they go on journeys and quests. Each boy has their own disability, but their disabilities are what makes each character special and unique. The story teaches the reader how people can make judgements of others in the beginning, yet discover appearances aren't what they seem. The story builds using suspense and foreshadowing, which engages the reader, and every character is brought to life through characterization of unique qualities and dialogue. I won't spoil the end for you, but many consider the story tragic, but the lesson learned from the book is one that we can all or will relate to as we grow older and experience life. I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves books with interesting characters, action, and themes that any young teen can relate to.

I think the book Freak the Mighty, by Rodman Philbrick, is a lot like me and my friends. In the story, Maxwell and Kevin are really bored without each other, and they rely on each other a lot for homework, staying out of trouble, and avoiding bullies. I think this is also partly the case for me and my friends. We help each other with homework, problems, and other things.

Freak the Mighty is about the friendship of two boys living in a small town who balance each other out beautifully. One's strength is the others weakness. They need each other to face a world that does not always understand the challenges faced by disabled/ special needs individuals. Themes tackled throughout the books include stereotypes, coming of age, death, domestic violence, loss of parents, and appreciating differences. Although this book is geared towards middle schoolers, some of the humorous references (for example The Wonder Years,Leave it to Beaver) might be missed by today's kids.