Everyone thinks their family is messed up—and most people are right!—but it's one thing to have embarrassing dinner conversations and another to have Killer Kane for a dad. In Freak the Mighty, we have a boatload of sweet moms, but some majorly absent (slash murderous) fathers. Family is supposed to be a place of safety and security, right? Well, for Max, it's the opposite. That's probably why, despite the fact that his grandparents love him like whoa, he won't really give them a chance.
Questions About Family
- What does family mean to Kenny Kane? What does it mean to Grim and Gram? Is Max able to differentiate between the two?
- How would Max's life have been different if he had an older sibling? A younger sibling?
- Would Freak's story be any different if he had a father figure in the picture?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Max should give his grandparents more of a chance. It's not their fault their son-in-law is a murderer, and they're just trying to help.
Throughout the novel, Freak becomes almost like a father figure to Max.