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Jeffrey Lionel “Maniac” Magee
Amanda is the first person who talks to Maniac in Two Mills. She is a kind, studious, spirited girl. Amanda carries her entire book collection around town in a suitcase so that her younger siblings, Hester and Lester, won’t color on them. Her suitcase piques Maniac’s curiosity when he arrives in town, and when he convinces Amanda to lend him a book, they soon become friends. Amanda is a loyal sister and friend who fiercely defends Maniac, even when others in the East End question whether Maniac belongs in a black neighborhood and give the Beale family a hard time as a result. She even hatches a plan for Maniac to undo Cobble’s Knot in hopes of winning everyone’s approval. When Maniac resorts to living in a buffalo pen at the end of the book, Amanda climbs in and scolds Maniac in a sisterly way until he agrees to move in with the Beales once more.
Amanda Beale Quotes in Maniac Magee
The Maniac Magee quotes below are all either spoken by Amanda Beale or refer to Amanda Beale. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 3 Quotes
“Where are you from? West End?”
“No.”
She stared at him, at the flap-soled sneakers. Back in those days the town was pretty much divided. The East End was blacks, the West End was whites. “I know you’re not from the East End. […] So where do you live?”
Jeffrey looked around. “I don’t know … maybe … here?”
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Chapter 46 Quotes
Maniac said nothing. He was quite content to let Amanda do the talking, for he knew that behind her grumbling was all that he had ever wanted. He knew that finally, truly, at long last, someone was calling him home.
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Amanda Beale Character Timeline in Maniac Magee
The timeline below shows where the character Amanda Beale appears in Maniac Magee. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
The first person who talks with Maniac is Amanda Beale, and that happens by accident. It’s around eight in the morning, and Maniac sees...
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...books. There are all kinds, including an encyclopedia volume, the one for the letter A. Amanda proudly explains that it’s her library. Then she suddenly realizes that the street is emptying...
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Amanda asks who Jeffrey is—she knows he isn’t from the East End, like her. Two Mills,...
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Jeffrey asks why Amanda is carrying a suitcase full of books to school. She explains that her little brother...
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Amanda glares at the “grungy” stranger, wondering why he isn’t bothering some white girl in the...
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Chapter 8
...must have said, “Kid’s gotta be a maniac,” and everybody else agreed. Before long, only Amanda Beale knows him as anything else.
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...deer’s apples, carrots, and stale bread. He reads and re-reads the book he borrowed from Amanda Beale. He spends the rest of his time wandering—which, for Maniac, means running, all the...
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Chapter 10
When Maniac asks, hoping to find Amanda’s house, the kid declines to tell him where Sycamore Street is. Other kids call encouragement...
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Chapter 11
Maniac smooths out the crumpled page of Amanda’s book and wonders how he can give it back to her in this condition. Eventually...
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Chapter 12
At Amanda’s house, Mrs. Beale is busily scrubbing purple crayon marks off the TV. Amanda introduces him,...
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Amanda is tucked in with Hester and Lester so that Maniac can have her bedroom. Before...
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Chapter 13
...house. For example, Hester and Lester stop coloring on everything—they have Maniac to distract them. Amanda no longer feels the need to lug her books around in a suitcase. Everyone’s fingertips...
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Chapter 15
Another thing Maniac loves about his new life is his access to Amanda’s library. He even wakes up early in the morning so he can sneakily read her...
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Chapter 17
...around Two Mills. One day, at the end of a jog, Hester and Lester and Amanda run out and try to distract Maniac from approaching their house. When Maniac breaks away...
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Chapter 18
Amanda tries to talk a sullen Maniac out of leaving the Beales. She doesn’t understand that...
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Chapter 19
Amanda convinces Maniac that if he successfully unties the knot, he’ll become a hero, and nobody...
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Chapter 20
...the knot within moments, the gathered spectators eventually grow bored and wander off, everyone except Amanda. Gradually, throughout the day, people drift back, both black and white (Cobble’s Corner is on...
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Chapter 21
...coiled string, which turns out to be four and a half blocks long. Eventually, though, Amanda grabs a piece of homemade confetti that’s flying through the air. Soon she’s running, grabbing...
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Chapter 38
...suddenly he hears the familiar squeals of Hester and Lester. He’s on Sycamore Street, and Amanda and Mrs. Beale, beaming, are coming out of their house.
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Chapter 45
...other side of the fence. Mars Bar is incredulous that Maniac actually sleeps at the zoo—Amanda Beale told him, but he didn’t believe it. They’re silent for a while, but finally...
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Chapter 46
Maniac is awakened by someone wrenching his ear. It’s Amanda, angrily flinging straw at him. She yells at Maniac that he has a lot to...
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When Maniac refuses to come to Amanda’s house, either, she rants at him—she’s not asking him, she’s telling him. Maniac is going...
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Maniac finally gets up and follows Amanda, boosting her out of the buffalo pen and walking along with her and Snickers/Mars Bar....
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