Alison Jeffries wakes up at St. Luke's Hospital, her mind foggy from psychotropic meds. From there, it's to Pine Hills, or "Fine Pills," as fellow patients have christened the psychiatric hospital. There, she meets Dr. Minta, who petitions to extend her stay involuntarily. Ali is having none of this, and she investigates how to appeal the decision.

Alison's classmate Tori Beaugrand is missing, and Alison is a suspect. Upon finding her daughter with blood on her hands and crying in her bedroom, her mother called the police. She is scared of her daughter, and she does not want her home. She fears that Alison will harm her 11-year-old brother, Christopher.

Her mother has always thought that Alison is crazy. She got very irate when her young daughter saw stars as sounds clinked together. Alison tastes lies, and she experiences color as sound. Dr. Faraday introduces Alison to the concept of synesthesia, which explains the sensory linkage. The teen is relieved and delighted to have someone validate the way in which she sees the world.

Alison meets a variety of interesting patients at Fine Pills. Kirk is bipolar, and he seems to always be sweet on Alison. Cherie is anorexic and forever moving food around on her plate. Micheline is a self-mutilator, Roberto is depressed, and Sanjay thinks that aliens are out to get him. The kids move in and out of the Red and Yellow Wards in the hospital, depending upon their behavior, and some use the welcoming entrance of the facility as a revolving door.

Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson, 2011

This book was an intriguing science fiction novel that includes an exploration of  synesthesia.

• American Synesthesia Association
• R. J. Anderson's web site
• Books about psychiatric hospitals
• Books about synesthesia