The Institute is a supernatural novel by Stephen King, first published in 2019. The book tells the story of Luke Ellis, a 12-year old boy who's not only gifted by a brilliant mind and loving parents, but also by a latent power to move things with his mind. His life turned upside-down when he was kidnapped from his house and woke up inside a closed facility called the Institute where kids like him were taken from all across the country by people that want to use their hidden psychic abilities. Luke and the new friends he met at the Institute need to work together to find a way to get back to their old lives before they're sent to the Back Half, a section of the facility that, once you got in, you'll never get out of.

Although from a glance this book bears a great resemblance to the writer's other book about psychic ability, Carrie, The Institute is a very different kind of book from that infamous book. The main appeal of this book and what separates it from Carrie is the main characters who are just teenage kids going against the ruthless trained caretakers that run the facility. Even though they have psychic power, they're still just a scared teenage kid at the core. It's really interesting to see how Luke and his friends use what little of they have to outsmart the caretakers and find a way to survive from their inevitable death.

Aside from the physical and emotional struggles that the kids endure in the facility, the writer also doesn't forget to build the world's lore in a way that keeps you engaged throughout the story. Adding plot twists here and there. They may not be Agatha Christie's level of plot twists, but it's still fascinating to follow them regardless.

Even though there are some horrifying imageries within the story (as always), the book itself leans in more to the coming-of-age genre rather than horror. The theme is more centralized to Luke's friendship and his moral and emotional struggles, and less to the psychic ability itself. Definitely a good book to read in your spare time.