Three ways maxwell and leaving began there friendships

Max and Freak relate to one another through their experience of loneliness. Surrounded by tons of peers on a daily basis, neither of them connect well with the popular kids. They both also experience bullying -- Max for his height and his dad and Freak for his height and illness. Because the kids at school don't understand what Max and Frank's home lives are like, they treat them poorly out of ignorance. They cannot relate to the two boys' abnormalities and are intimated by them, causing them to reject the boys. Having connected through this shared experience of rejection and loneliness, Max and Freak rush into their friendship. They become best friends quickly, but they both keep secrets for fear of distancing their one friend. By the end of the book, Freak has given Max the gift of true relationship which is enough hope to inspire Max to survive the sever loneliness of losing his friend.