WeaveReads

I thought I would really enjoy this concept — and maybe if I revisit it later, I’ll feel differently — but this time it just didn’t land the way I’d hoped. Telepathic and telekinetic children being kidnapped and tested on is a plot that should be right up my alley (hello, Stranger Things), but I found myself not as invested in the kids as I expected, and not as angry at the secret government agency behind it. The premise is strong, but the execution didn’t grab me the way King’s writing usually does. It reminded me of how I felt when reading The Tommyknockers — a cool idea, but I just wasn’t into it.

That said, I did love how clever the kids are. There’s something so satisfying about watching them outsmart the adults. It makes me feel like I am right there with them, getting revenge for the terrible things done to them. And Avery Dixon? Absolute hero. M-O-O-N, that spells HERO. His storyline made me tear up more than once; a sweet child whose only problems should have been the vegetables he was required to eat for dinner, or the bullies at his school. Annie also had some great standout lines — “You’re in the south now…” hit especially hard — and I wish King had expanded upon her (I’m hoping she still pops up in a book I haven’t read yet)!

One thing I couldn’t stop thinking about is how much the book would benefit from a visual adaptation. Sometimes King’s stories are easier to follow when given a cinematic treatment (Game of Thrones had the same effect for me). With so many kids, names, and processes happening at once, a TV version could really bring some clarity to moments like the transition to the Back Half or the unsettling “Stasi lights”.  I’ll definitely be checking out the MGM+ adaptation to see how it translates.

As always, I admire King’s ability to ground the supernatural in a layer of realism. Even with kids wielding powers, he explains it in a way that feels plausible, scientific (BDNF testing at birth), and unnervingly possible. But his endings? They can be frustrating. With The Institute, the conclusion felt a bit rushed — 400+ pages of buildup followed by maybe 20 pages of resolution. It’s not bad, but it’s anticlimactic in that distinctly “King” way: well-rounded, but leaving me grumpy nonetheless.