93 pages • 3 hours read
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Art is a central theme in the novel. Over the course of the novel, Lolly must learn how to cope with the death of his brother Jermaine while resisting pressure to follow in Jermaine’s footsteps and join a crew. Lolly feels most alive and excited when he is building his Lego castle, an artistic project that frees from the shackles of his grief. In the beginning of the novel, Lolly is so depressed that he doesn’t think he’ll ever be happy again. He has also only ever built Lego kits to match the models on the box. But when Steve gives him the book A Pattern of Architecture for Christmas, Lolly feels a spark of creativity that pushes aside his anger. He bursts with “crazy energy to want to rip apart all of [his] Legos and make them into something else. Something different” (26).
Lolly’s original Lego castle, House of Moneekrom, and its surrounding city of Harmonee make his grief feel more manageable. Crafting stories about the alien race who rule over the castle is the only thing keeping Lolly from sinking further into depression. The act of creating and using his imagination is helping him process emotions that otherwise are too painful to confront head on.
Plus, gain access to 8,650+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
African American Literature
View Collection
Art
View Collection
Black History Month Reads
View Collection
Books About Race in America
View Collection
Books that Teach Empathy
View Collection
Community
View Collection
Coping with Death
View Collection
Diverse Voices (Middle Grade)
View Collection
Family
View Collection
Juvenile Literature
View Collection
LGBTQ Literature
View Collection
Popular Study Guides
View Collection
Pride Month Reads
View Collection
Realistic Fiction (Middle Grade)
View Collection
Required Reading Lists
View Collection
Sexual Harassment & Violence
View Collection