Meet the Cast
Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee
Remember when you were ten or so, and a mouth full of braces and mom's special haircut were completely ruining your life? We do. We would have given anything to be as cool as Maniac. He can catch a...
Earl Grayson
When we first meet Grayson, frankly, he's a little depressing. Yes, he rescued Maniac, but he's an old guy doing a menial job, living at the Y. How'd he end up here, anyway? That's the million-doll...
Amanda Beale
Yup, we lined up to reserve Amanda Beale as our BFF, too. What's not to love? She's loyal, bossy, determined, bossy, loving, bossy. And sometimes she's a little bossy. And we find this out about he...
Mars Bar Thompson
Don't lie: when you first met Mars Bar, didn't you think he was going be the bad guy? He's got all the right attributes: a huge ego, can be a little mean, seems to hate our hero. They even go head...
John McNab
Were you quaking in your boots when you first met Big John? We won't tell. This guy is big 5 foot 8 and pushing 180—and he's no gentle giant. Giant JohnHe's big, he's strong, he's more than a lit...
Piper and Russell McNab
These may be two little boys, but they're about as different from Hester and Lester Beale as you can get. Hester and Lester are naturally loving, but Russell and Piper are naturally ready to fight....
Hester and Lester Beale
Ok, Amanda, we're sure the drawing on everything is super annoying and all. But really we'd love to have Hester and Lester as our little sibs. Not only do they have adorable names, but they are sup...
Mrs. Beale
What if Amanda had brought Maniac home to her house and it was Sam's mom from iCarly instead of Mrs. Beale? There's a reason Maniac is able to stay with the Beales so long when he first shows up in...
Uncle Dan and Aunt Dot
Uncle Dan and Aunt Dot don't get a lot of time in Maniac, but we feel their effect through the whole book. It's because of them that Maniac even starts out on his journey. See, Uncle Dan and Aunt D...
The East Enders
The Old ManThe grumpy old man helps Maniac see the prejudice all around him in the East End. Gee, thanks, grumpy old man. Yeah, this old dude is mean, but something had to give. Maniac had no idea...
The West Enders
The PickwellsMrs. Pickwell, Mr. Pickwell, Grandmother Pickwell, Grandfather Pickwell, Great-Grandfather Pickwell, baby Didi, Dominic, Duke, Donald, Dion, Deirdre, Dolly Pickwell. Plus a few more Pi...