secre's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The Institute is a slow burn, creepy, and unnerving novel. It's not terrifying or gory or over the top in the way some of King's horror books can go, but it's got a quiet horror for the fact that it's fairly realistic. The supernatural elements come in the telekinetic and telepathic powers of the children depicted, but the abuse of power and conditions in which the kids are kept is something you can see happening.
The novel opens with Tim Jamieson taking a chance and hitch hiking after losing his job as a police officer, only to find himself in the small town of DuPray. His journey stalls and he takes on the job of Night Knocker for the small little town. For a while I wondered what this had to do with the main plot, but before too long we switch to Luke, a genius child with a small parlour trick gift for telekenesis. That small gift however is enough to get him noticed and he's kidnapped in the middle of the night, his parents killed. He finds himself in the Institute, with a handful of other kids with similar powers. Those in the Front Half endure tests and shots, but they all know it's better than what happens in the Back Half. Yet it is the Back Half that they are all destined for in fairly short order.
This is a book that has taken me a long time to read, despite being relatively short for a King novel - just shy of 600 pages instead of well over a thousand. A lot of the horror is in the nitty gritty details of the children's lives. The tests and abuses and humiliations heaped upon them, even as those who behave earn tokens and those who don't endure punishments. The Institute itself is brought to life with it's bleakness and often petty cruelty. It's a slow build, where the tension is built throughout the novel as the cruelties ramp up and the stakes - always high - become more visible and tangible.
It's fairly tame for a King novel, yet it's disturbing in a creepy, realistic way rather than body horror and massacres. It's more of a YA novel than some other King novels I've read, yet it's also horrifying on a psychological level. He brings the tortures and abuses to live, even as the adults perpetrating the horror continue to justify their actions all the way to the very end.
All in all, a solid success for King here and one that reminds me how much I enjoy some - if not all - of his work.
The novel opens with Tim Jamieson taking a chance and hitch hiking after losing his job as a police officer, only to find himself in the small town of DuPray. His journey stalls and he takes on the job of Night Knocker for the small little town. For a while I wondered what this had to do with the main plot, but before too long we switch to Luke, a genius child with a small parlour trick gift for telekenesis. That small gift however is enough to get him noticed and he's kidnapped in the middle of the night, his parents killed. He finds himself in the Institute, with a handful of other kids with similar powers. Those in the Front Half endure tests and shots, but they all know it's better than what happens in the Back Half. Yet it is the Back Half that they are all destined for in fairly short order.
This is a book that has taken me a long time to read, despite being relatively short for a King novel - just shy of 600 pages instead of well over a thousand. A lot of the horror is in the nitty gritty details of the children's lives. The tests and abuses and humiliations heaped upon them, even as those who behave earn tokens and those who don't endure punishments. The Institute itself is brought to life with it's bleakness and often petty cruelty. It's a slow build, where the tension is built throughout the novel as the cruelties ramp up and the stakes - always high - become more visible and tangible.
It's fairly tame for a King novel, yet it's disturbing in a creepy, realistic way rather than body horror and massacres. It's more of a YA novel than some other King novels I've read, yet it's also horrifying on a psychological level. He brings the tortures and abuses to live, even as the adults perpetrating the horror continue to justify their actions all the way to the very end.
All in all, a solid success for King here and one that reminds me how much I enjoy some - if not all - of his work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping, and Suicide
Minor: Terminal illness
jurassicspark's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Child abuse
Moderate: Violence, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Trafficking, Murder, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Torture, and Gun violence
Minor: Alcohol and Blood
owls_rainbow's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Child abuse, and Child death
oz2021's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Torture, and Child death
cosyinyellow's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
It was such a good read. Honestly, kept me on my toes! I was in a bit of a reading slump when I started this book. But, when I got out of my slump, I was on high speed to finish it. I don't often read adult thriller due to me being sensitive to the violence and gore that usually found in this genre. I decided to give this one a go, since I was really intrigued by the synopsis of The Institute.
It's refreshing to read a book where the characters have superhuman abilities yet doesn't know how to use it, or they are not later trained to become a superhero in the story. If superhuman abilities exist, what happened in this book would be close to the reality. Abusive and forceful experiments carried out on those special human.
As much as I enjoyed reading this book, it wasn't all fun. There were heartbreaking moments. Moments when I wanted to break things around me because of how unfair and nasty the world was for the main characters- the children. The child abuse begun from the moment the children entered the institute. However, as a reader what started to break me was page 124. The children were tough cookies, but what occured here was what made all the children start to crack. I won't say what happened, but what was done to them was degrading. The adults at the institute disgust me. Horrible and heartless.
The first half of the book mostly followed Luke Ellis going through the many inhumane tests at the insitute, and the second half followed him as he tried to escape the insitute. (The second half was AHHHHHHHHH!!!, but worth the wait. Definitely.) I was rooting for him since he was first mentioned.
It has been a while since I really like a character from a book, and this book gave me more than one character to adore. Luke Ellis was a brave boy, and Avery Dixon. All the children were. My favourite are probably Luke and Nick. I loved that Nick kept fighting the staff, even though he lost most of the time, he still kept at it. I wanted them all to escape that horrid place and grow up in the real world.
There were parts in the book where I found the pacing to be rather slow, so I had to give this book a 4.5 instead of 5 stars rating.
Rating:
✿✿✿✿● (4.5 stars)
The Institute is a blend of Stranger Things and X-Men. I'd highly recommend this book for lovers of thriller and paranormal! Although content warning, child abuse (lots of it) and gore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
megantpetras's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
latham9's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Gun violence, and Torture
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, and Kidnapping
Minor: Bullying, Racial slurs, Ableism, and Body shaming
thebookesquire's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
8.75/10. This pulled me in from the very first chapter. I listened to it on audiobook and for three days I could do nothing else but listen to it. The characters are distinctive and endearing. They carve themselves right into your little heart and suddenly you can’t quite breathe when something bad happens to them in the book. The story is incredible, it keeps you guessing and leaves you at the absolute edge of your seat. It’s books like this that define why Stephen King is such a formative writer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Torture, Physical abuse, and Child death
horrorhomebodies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Stephen King’s ability to write a simple sentence with a plethora of meaning is absolutely brilliant. I gave 4.25 stars because the ending was a bit lackluster for my taste, but still warmed my heart enough to earn the .25 of the rating. I wish there had been a bit more of an insight into the characters backstory, but overall it was an enticing read. It really made me think beyond the scope of fiction, which is a large part of why I loved The Institute. Well worth the read in my opinion!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Murder, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Torture, Death, Kidnapping, Violence, Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Cancer, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Injury/injury detail, War, and Suicide
raelinton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The structure was a little strange, but the end packed an emotional punch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Medical content, Addiction, Bullying, Injury/injury detail, Racial slurs, and War