Synopsis

This book is about Maxwell Kane. He lives in the basement of his grandparent's house which he calls the "down under". Over the summer, before his eighth grade year, he gets a new neighbor. He had previously met his neighbor in preschool, only then he was called Robot Boy because of his leg braces. Max isn't able to tease him because he kicked everyone, therefore he was called Kicker. When Freak (robot boy) stopped going to preschool the only other time that they met was a breif period in third grade. Max goes over to Freak's house to help him get a mechanical bird from the tree it was stuck in. They become good friends and thier families join, almost as one. When school starts Max and Freak have all of the same classes because Freak's mom insisted it. Max doesn't feel comfortable in his new classes because before he was in remedial classes. He is a smart boy, but everyone thought that he had an adult body with a pea brain. Freak teaches Max that he is able to read, write, and think as long as he beleives in himself. The boys have battles, quests, and other fairytale like adventures. They also have some real life difficulties, but through it all they stay the best of friends. By: Tiye Rosier