Gingerman: In Search of the Toymaker — Tony Bertauski

The 8th standalone novel in the Claus Universe. His real name is Christmas. It's embarrassing. He's been accepted into the Institute of Creative Mind, a prestigious institute for eccentrics, outliers, and gifted students. A school located in the middle of nowhere with two-hundred-year-old castles and a formidable stone wall. A school where Christmas is celebrated the entire year. Christmas trees, ornaments, and lights decorate the castles. Presents are given out every month, and students are pitted against each other in creative challenges. Chris soon finds out, however, the stakes are high. The losers are expelled. He spends sleepless nights keeping up with his homework to not disappoint his parents and to keep a cruel guidance counsellor off his back. But this place is more than a demanding school for gifted students. Chris finds a clue in a textbook his first night, written in code. Run, run as fast as you can. When he's presented with an impossibility that defies all laws of physics and biology, anything becomes possible. Chris discovers students aren't chosen for their artistic abilities but because of a DNA test. He doesn't know what the school is really after. If he doesn't stop them, Christmas will end forever. Everything depends on his courage. And a strange little friend.