In 1948 a fire devastated Huighland Hospital, a mental hospital in North Carolina, killing 9 patients, including Zelda Firzgerald, the wife of author F. Scott Fitzgerald. This book is a fictional account of that hospital as seen through the eyes of one of its patients, who is admitted at the age of 13, and who spends most of her life there as she grows to womanhood. The hospital becomes a home for her, and the patients and staff a kind of famly.

In spite of the tragedy of the patients' lives and the ultimate tragedy of the fire, I loved this book. The narrator, Evalina Toussaint, was engaging, and her voice was so genuine as were the voices of all the characters.

I forgot that there was an author at all. The characters seemed to speak directly. That is a hallmark of a talented writer, IMO.

The book was somehow almost magical as well, in spite of the dark, difficult subject. I'm not even sure I know why that is.

This was a brilliant book, and I will definitely be seeking more of Ms. Lee's work!

Enjoy!