Book+Summary

Max and Kevin met for the first time when they were both in day care. Max was an angry kid called Kicker because he kicked everyone, while Kevin called himself Robot Man because of the leg braces he had to wear. Then Kevin stopped coming to day care, and the boys lost contact until they saw one another briefly in third grade.

The summer before eighth grade, Kevin and his mother moved in next door to Max’s grandparents’ house, where he lives in the basement. The boys meet again when Max helps Kevin get his mechanical bird from the tree where it is stuck. The two boys become friends, and the two families start visiting each other.

On the Fourth of July, the boys are on their way to see the fireworks when they run into Tony D. and his gang of teenage thugs. Kevin teases them, and the situation potentially turns dangerous until a police car shows up. The boys have a great time watching the fireworks, with Kevin sitting on Max’s shoulders, or standing high, but as the crowd breaks up, Tony D. and his friends find them again. Kevin guides Max as they run away, leaving Tony and his gang stranded in a muddy pond.

Max’s grandparents are happy that Max was there to help Kevin (though Max knows it was really Kevin whose quick mind helped him). This starts a happy and extended partnership between the two boys. Every morning Kevin comes over to awaken Max, who carries Kevin all over town. They have imaginary quests, such as looking for dragons, and as they do, Kevin encourages Max to think, dream, and read. On one of these quests, Kevin guides Max to the hospital’s medical research building, claiming that the hospital staff is developing robot bodies and when they are ready he will be the first to get one.

On Christmas Eve, Max is kidnapped by his dangerous father who has been in jail most of his life. Killer Kane, Max's father, ties him up so he can't run away. While trying to leave town with Max, he is betrayed by a man named Iggy, which Max and Kevin have run into before when trying to return a purse stolen by Tony. Iggy's girlfriend Lorretta Lee, who's purse was stolen, comes to save him. When his father realizes this, he places hi hands around her neck and sqeezes really tight. This reminds Max of when he was little and his father did the same thing to his mom.Max tries to stop his dad, but he is much bigger than Max so he fails. Then Max figures if he cant stop him, then he can distract him. Max tells him everything about what he saw. Then Killer Kane comes towards Max and starts strangaling him. just before Max loses his breath in comes Kevin to the rescue. He has a squirt gun and says it is filled with a dangerous chemical. He sprays it ito killer Kane's eyes and they all un out with Killer Kane trying to catch them "blind". Afterwards Kevin tells Max that it was really vinegar, soap, and curry powder.

They escape that mayhem, but aother one comes up. Sadly, Kevin has a seizure on his birthday and must be rushed to the hospital. They won't let Max visit him on the first day, so he walks to the hospital. When he goes in Kevin's room he sees hat they have him sitting up with tons of tubes gonig into his arms and up his nose. Kevin's voie is weak, faint, and kind of whistley. He tells Max that he's getting his bionic surgery and then he will come home. The next time Max goes to the hospital he goes on a rampage and cops have to be called. A doctor tells Max that he isn't allowed to see Kevin. After going off on the doctor she tells him that he isn't allowed to see kevin because he wasn't there. Kevin's heart grew too big for his body and he died. Max is so upset that he locks hmself in the down under (his basement room) for days and days. During this period he misses Kevin's funeral and the Fair Gwen (Kevin's Mom) going away.

About a year later Max runs into Lorretta again and she asks him what was up with him. He says "Nothing" and loretta tells him that nothing is a drag and that he should think about it. He does think about it the entire way home and that's how this book was created.