Inside your wall, no one can touch you
It was Randall's sister who first told him about the invisible wall that protected her from the cruelty of her classmates. By the time Randall is in fifth grade, he's had his own wall for years. Inside his wall, he doesn't have to think about his abusive father, gone for several months, or his thin, suffering mother, who never leaves the house -- the house with no running water for laundry or baths. Inside his wall, he can dream about picnics, about riding on his Uncle Luke's motorcycle, and, always, he can lose himself in his drawing.
But one day Randall makes a friend, and slowly, frighteningly, his wall begins to crumble. And miraculously, the gift that comforted Randall within his wall opens up a new world outside it.