Asylum is a novel by writer Madeleine Roux. In this novel, Dan Crawford is spending his summer at the New Hampshire College Prep program. Always an outsider, Dan hopes that this summer will bring a change, allowing him to make friends with interests similar to his own. Dan’s hopes seem to come true when he befriends Abby and Jordan. However, things begin to change after they begin exploring the basement rooms of the old asylum where their dorm rooms are housed. Asylum is a novel of the supernatural as well as a novel of friendship and overcoming difficult obstacles.

Dan Crawford arrives at New Hampshire College and immediately goes to Brookline, the former asylum that now houses the dorm rooms for the summer program Dan is there to attend. Dan finds an odd photo in a drawer in his room. When Dan tells his roommate, Felix, he learns that the former warden’s office is on the first floor and there are more photos there.

Dan goes to the ice cream social for the program attendees and meets a girl, Abby. Abby introduces Dan to her friend, Jordan. The trio immediately hit it off. During a discussion of Brookline and its history, Dan tells his new friends what Felix told him about the warden’s office. The trio decides to go explore the offices. Dan finds the pictures Felix mentioned and Abby finds another photo of a young girl with vacant eyes. Abby is so taken with the photo that she decides to take it.

The following day, Dan and his friends choose their first set of classes, deciding to take several classes together. They become inseparable during this first week of the program. Dan even gets up the nerve to take Abby out on a date. However, things begin to change. First, Jordan is annoyed with them for not informing him of their date. Jordan also becomes obsessed with a mathematical problem that is supposed to be unsolvable. At the same time, Abby has become oddly obsessed with the picture she took from the warden’s office.

The trio make another trip into the basement, this time going much further than before. What they see is creepy and they come to the conclusion they should not go again. However, among the patient files, Abby finds an admittance card that suggests her aunt was once a patient at Brookline. Abby becomes obsessed with learning more about her.

As Abby and Jordan become distracted by their own problems, Dan finds himself drawn into the history of Brookline. Dan even goes to visit a local man who has published a website about the asylum. However, Dan’s visit is not welcome particularly since his name is the same as the last warden.

A boy is killed at Brookline. Another is injured. Dan is then drawn into the criminal case when a man attacks his roommate and himself. The police suspect Dan of lying, but Dan feels that the asylum and its most famous inmate, a serial killer known as the Sculptor. Therefore, when Dan is invited into the basement by the killer, he goes. Dan is confronted by his roommate, Felix, who apparently has been taken over by the consciousness of the Sculptor. A fight ensues, but with the help of his friends, Dan comes out victorious.

In the aftermath of Dan’s ordeal, Abby finds her aunt. Jordan reveals that his parents, who do not accept his sexuality, might kick him out. Dan, whose adoptive parents are kind and open minded, invites Jordan to come live with him with the hopes that the trio will remain close for years to come.