by Stephen King
First published 2019
Luke Ellis sleeps peacefully in his Minneapolis bedroom when strangers murder his parents and kidnap him in under two minutes. He awakens in an identical room at The Institute, but this one has no windows. Beyond his door, Luke discovers other imprisoned children who possess telekinetic and telepathic abilities. Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and young Avery Dixon all arrived the same brutal way. They live in Front Half under the watch of Director Mrs. Sigsby, who extracts their psychic powers through ruthless methods. Cooperation earns tokens for vending machines. Resistance brings severe punishment. The children who advance to Back Half never return, like a roach motel where you check in but never leave. As Luke watches more kids vanish to Back Half, his desperation grows. He must find a way to escape this sinister institution and seek help, but no child has ever broken free from The Institute. Luke faces an impossible choice between submission and fighting a system designed to consume him.
Genres: fiction, science-fiction, horror, thriller, young-adult
Vibes: claustrophobic, dark, fast-paced, sinister, suspenseful
Tropes: escape-attempt, found-family, resistance-against-oppression, survival
Setting: Minneapolis, The Institute, Front Half, Back Half
Period: 21st-century
576 pages · Paperback · Gallery Books
Content warnings: child-abuse, kidnapping, violence