Osbert’s broad head and high forehead proclaimed him to be a genius and so, after sitting the entrance exam, he was accepted into The Institute. The Institute is grim and the teachers are cruel. Osbert and Isabella, the only other child accepted that year, become friends and when Isabella is given a cruel punishment, Osbert determines to avenge her and uses his genius to devise some spectacular punishments for the teachers.
This is a amusingly gruesome tale in the style of the Lemony Snicket books with a hint of Dahl thrown in. It is the first in the series Tales from Schwartzgarten and would appeal to children aged 9 and up with a taste for the macabre. ( )