Maniac Magee

Maniac Magee Summary | Plot Summary

Magee had a normal life until his parents were killed when their trolley crashed into the river. He then went to live with his aunt and uncle, but ran away because they fought all the time. Magee ends up in the town of Two Mills where the first person he meets is a girl named Amanda Beale who lets him borrow one of her books. Among other talked about feats, such as running on a metal rail, Magee is able to hit many homeruns off of John McNab, the best little league pitcher in town. All of these actions cause him to get the nickname of Maniac.

Meanwhile, Magee was living in the deer pen of the zoo. John McNab did not like Magee hitting homeruns off him. So McNab and his friends, The Cobras, chase Magee and only stop when he enters the East End, the black part of town. Here Magee meets a boy named Mars Bar who instantly dislikes Magee and it is during one confrontation that Magee is saved by Amanda Beale. Amanda brings him back to her house where he becomes one of the family, and he loves the fact that he finally has a home. One hot day a man yells at Magee telling him to leave the East End. Then someone writes, "fishbelly go home" on the side of the Beale's home. Magee wants to leave but Amanda convinces him that he would be a hero if the untied the huge Cobble's Knot. He is able to do this, but during the celebration, one of Amanda's favorite books is destroyed. Not wanting to cause the Beales anymore trouble, Magee not only leaves the East End, but also the town.

Magee goes to live in the buffalo pen at the zoo. One day he falls and is found by an old grounds keeper named Grayson who takes Magee to a storage shed. Grayson takes care of Magee, feeding him, giving him clean clothes and even tries to get him to go to school. The two become fast friends. Magee learns that Grayson use to be a minor league baseball pitcher and Magee loves hearing stories about Grayson's adventures. Grayson asks Magee to teach him hold to read and Grayson gives Magee baseball tips. Grayson moves in and the two celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas together. Magee finally has a home. However, shortly have Christmas, Grayson dies in his sleep and Magee starts running, as he is once again without a home.

Deeply depressed and freezing, Magee runs around aimlessly, ending up in Valley Forge National Park wanting to die. It is there that he meets the brothers Russell and Piper, who are running away from home. Magee convinces the boys to go back home and it turns out that they are the brothers of John McNab. Magee goes back to their house with them and it is a complete mess from top to bottom. Magee starts making deals with the boys to get them to go to school. This ranges from a free pizza to various stunts. One day they challenge him to go over to the feared East End. Magee does this without a problem and in the East End he meets up with Mars Bar who challenges him to a race. Magee wins the race running backwards and later wonders to himself why he had to show off. Back at the McNab's, the brothers are no longer listening to Magee. Fed up he leaves only to have the boys find him and invite him to come to Piper's birthday party. Magee convince Mars Bar to go with him to the party. Once there, racial tensions rise and Magee gets Mars Bar out of there. Magee goes back to living in the buffalo pen and runs early in the morning where he finds that Mars Bar is also running. One morning they find Russell trapped on the trolley bridge where Magee's parents were killed. Magee is unable to help and runs away. Later Mars Bar finds Magee to tell him that he had saved Russell and Mars Bar invites Magee to stay at his house. Magee turns him down and Mars Bar returns with Amanda, who forces him to come home with her. Finally Magee has a home.