A review by couisant
The Institute by Stephen King

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did for not having read any of King's newer stuff (at the time this had been released).  Slow and long-winded at times

(things got kind of hard to follow near the end of the book, ending/resolve felt rushed, and honestly could've been written way earlier in the story and not have had all the filler text. Then again, this IS Stephen King we're talking about here.)

but if you're a fan of King you can kind of expect that. Before I knew it, I was sucked in and couldn't put it down. Really great cast of characters that are mostly children (the MC is a 12 year-old boy), well-written villains, lots mystery and suspense,

with two separate character perspectives that tie together near the end of the book .

. There is a lot of graphic content in this book, I don't think I've ever tagged a book with this many tags before. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence

Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Alcohol

Minor: Kidnapping, Murder

Gritty and violent at times. Troubled Teen Industry vibe but

for children that have psychic abilities that the "government" wants to use. There's also cigarettes, oxys, and alcohol readily available for the children within the Institute in vending machines (i think? been awhile since I read it but I recall a vending machine with shooters in it). The main character is twelve years old as well, and the other children in the institute aren't much older (some are younger!) hence the child abuse. Lots of swearing. If the children misbehave or don't listen, the caretakers zap them with "zap-sticks", a cattle prod like device.

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