PositiveLos Angeles Review of BooksThe Institute ultimately holds up well as an original and enjoyable text. The pages almost turn themselves, the descriptions facilitate rather than dominate the imagination, and King even elicits tears as we follow new characters...from far corners of the United States to their eventual meeting in a small South Carolina town ... nuanced webs of action and consequence...comprise this engaging narrative. At its core, The Institute is indeed a story of good versus evil, children versus adults, the haves versus the have-nots, but there are clear motivations behind the actions of each character, and these motivations turn the \'hinges\' that drive the events of the story ... To be certain, at times King goes for the easy emotional reactions ... but again, he is ultimately careful to make sure that The Institute is far from a pity party that elicits easy emotions ... subtle insights into the adults within The Institute slowly and methodically propel readers toward a greater sense of animosity for injustice than they may have held before reading the novel, rather than promoting simplistic rhetoric for the sake of a cheap sale. King’s layered approach to the conflicted morality of The Institute’s adult world contrasts with his endearing treatment of these same turning points within his child characters ... King is careful to only point toward compassion and concern for the children of whom he writes instead of engaging in insipid didacticism. King never resorts to maudlin sentiment and instead carefully places enough breadcrumbs throughout the story for even the most cold-hearted reader to follow, leading them to feel both horror and compassion for children denied happiness and comfort.
Stephen King
MixedLos Angeles Review of BooksAll of these tracts demonstrate a particular polish that King has developed for his short writings over the years, yet the sharper stories are a bit further back in the mouth of this collection.
