The Institute (review, no spoilers)

 The Institute by Stephen King was the first book from my grab bag that I have completed reading. It is the story of a boy who is kidnapped and placed in a facility for gifted children.  I gave it a 2.75/5 stars. 

Pros:

• The author was easy to read, clear and used some interesting details.  
  
• The main character is easy to invest in emotionally. 

Cons:

• There is an epigraph that tells us the story will be about exploited children. I don't like stories about child abuse and would not have chosen this on my own. 
• The plot unfolds very unevenly with some good pacing in some parts and what seemed to be repetitive chapters in others. There were three chapters in the middle of the book that could easily have been summed up in one without losing plot or character meaning. I found a few other areas where I wanted to skip ahead but didn't. 
• One big con was that more than once the author inserts real time 2019 political comments into the story unnecessarily. He names the politician by name and uses insults. 
  

The grab bag by nature might contain some books I don't like or would never have chosen.
The Institute is a "science fiction horror thriller" genre book. I did not see that coming when I requested the science fiction / fantasy genre grab bag. I may have to qualify my next grab bag with "no horror" We'll see when I finish my 5 books. 
I am currently listening to "The Eye of the World" alongside my other books. So far, I like it, but I've only finished 3 /25 discs. 
Next up - The Martian by Andy Weir.