Julie Oleszek

The Fifth Floor Julie Oleszek

Publisher Marketing: Seven-year-old Anna, the ninth child of ten, adores the constant commotion of a large family in suburban Chicago in the 1970s. Mostly, Anna idolizes her ten-year-old sister Liz. Together they make kites, climb trees, and play acrobatic games on their backyard swing set. Then, Anna's carefree life is upended. One moment the two girls are playing; the next, everything changes...and Anna will never be the same. In the constant hubbub of life in a huge family, Anna's distress is overlooked at home and school until she completely stops eating at the age of seventeen. Fearing the worst, Anna's mother takes her to see Dr. Ellison, a cool competent psychiatrist who immediately hospitalizes Anna on the fifth floor of the local hospital. Anna begins to interact with a variety of other interesting characters on the fifth floor. Ben, a half-Vietnamese teen whose body is covered with scars bequeaths his precious library copy of To Kill a Mockingbird to Anna. Showing a wisdom far beyond his years, Ben's words become a beacon of light, guiding Anna through her anguish. This inspiration gives Anna the strength to reach out to Robert, one of the floor's most wounded residents. Under the guidance of Dr. Ellison and the caring staff, Anna very reluctantly begins to confront her nightmarish childhood memories. But Anna still fears the worst. Can she keep hidden the unspeakable truth of years ago?