L’istituto-Sperling & Kupfer (2019)

After classics like The Fireman and It, Stephen King once again puts himself to the test with a story of kids overwhelmed by the forces of evil, in a novel as always compelling, which also has a lot to do with our times. "King overwhelms the reader with a story of children triumphing over evil as he has not written since the days of "It." Entering the minds of his young characters, does he create a sense of magical menace and intimacy? There's not a word too much in this perfect novel, which proves once again why King is the King." – Publishers Weekly "With The Institute, the King of the Thrill is back to its heyday" – Robinson It's late at night in Minneapolis, when a mysterious group of people breaks into Luke Ellis' house, kills his parents and takes him away in a black SUV. It only takes two minutes, plunged into the unreal silence of a quiet suburban street, to upend Luke's life, forever. When he wakes up, the boy is in a room quite similar to his, but without windows, in the infamous Institute where other children like him are locked up. Behind doors all the same, along corridors illuminated by spectral lights, lie small genes with special powers – telepathy, telekinesis. As soon as they arrive, they are destined for the First House, where Luke finds his companions Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris and Avery Dixon, who is only ten years old. Then, someone ends up in the Second House. "It's like the motel of a horror movie," says Kalisha. "Those who take a room don't come out." These are the rules of the fierce Mrs. Sigsby, director of the Institute, convinced that she can extract their gifts: by any means, at any cost. Those who do not adapt are subjected to relentless punishment. And so, one at a time, Luke's companions disappear, while he desperately tries a way out. Only no one, so far, has ever managed to escape from the Institute.