"Down, down she fell. Into the cold. Into the dark. Into the bleak."
Eleanor Harper was not having a good day. She was a late acceptance to Wither Wood private school; a school parents would kill for if it meant their child's enrollment. Exciting as that may sound, her first impression could haunt her forever: she wore the wrong colors, was made fun of, got in trouble with the Head Mistress, tripped down the stairs and, to top it all off, she fell through the floor into a dark dimension! "The Bleak - Book 1, The Girl Who Fell Through the Floor", is a dark middle grade fiction series. It follows Eleanor, a girl who suffers from anxiety, disassociation and derealization.
Perils Below: She is drawn into a gothic world where she meets unscrupulous characters. In her quest to return to the land above, she makes new friends and discovers magical abilities beyond her imagination. Upon her return to school, she learns that she was only enrolled to replace a missing student. With the help of newly made friends, Eleanor must brave the dangers of the Bleak once more, filled with terrifying spirits and a monster who holds the missing student captive.
Perils Above: The Head Mistress is watching her, strange messages from ravens, a school counselor who knows more than she lets on, and an old dormitory that has been hidden away to conceal the school's dangerous past. Eleanor certainly has her work cut out for her.
The book contains elements of gender identity, gothic themes, bullying, forgiveness and mental illness.