Firestarter

Stephen King's Firestarter follows Andy McGee and his young daughter Charlie as they flee the Shop, a secret government agency that wants to control their unusual abilities. Years earlier, Andy and Charlie's mother participated in an experiment with a drug called Lot Six. Andy developed a limited power of mental influence; Charlie, by contrast, inherited a far more dangerous gift: she can start fires with her mind.

Their flight turns a family bond into a struggle over who may define and use a child's power. Andy tries to protect Charlie without teaching her that destruction is the only form of safety. The Shop, meanwhile, treats her less as a person than as a strategic asset. That conflict gives the novel both its chase structure and its emotional center.

Read for the contrast between parental care and institutional possession, and for the mounting cost of suppressing an ability that responds to fear. This spoiler-light guide establishes the experiment, the pursuit, and Charlie's power but does not reveal the later captivity, confrontations, or final outcome.