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.