The little town of Castle Rock, Maine has witnessed some strange events and unusual visitors over the years, but there is one story that has never been told… until now. There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974 twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by … strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside. At the top of the stairs, Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the kids on the playground. From a bit farther away comes the chink of an aluminum bat hitting a baseball as the Senior League kids practice for the Labor Day charity game. One day, a stranger calls to Gwendy: “Hey, girl. Come on over here for a bit. We ought to palaver, you and me.”
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This is a terrific read. I bought it with a twitter in my stomach–it seemed like such a King story, I wondered how the addition of Richard Chizmar as co-author might change the narrative or the style. It was an unfounded fear.
The two authors cranked out an unforgettable story, including an old favorite bad-guy whose initials are RF… There is no stylistic drift, no obvious tells as to which author wrote any particular part. The story is typical for King–vastly imaginative, yet “everyday” believable. They characters feel real, the town is..well, it’s like coming home if you are a King fan 🙂
It’s a novella, so it’s on the shorter side, but there is no loss of quality, no feeling of being rushed. It’s just good. Read it, you won’t regret it.
Gwendy’s Button Box had just the right touch of strange to keep my interest in an average girl in an average town. King is a master in capturing human reactions to odd events!
Stephen King, you brilliant devil, you’ve done it again… How on earth do you repeatedly managed to create magic that is horrifying and uplifting all at the same time? This is a delicious novella, full of all the slithery double-edged surprises expected from classic King because, new release or not, make no mistake, this is vintage work set in the original King universe of the 1970s/forward. There are familiar characters and settings, and that eerie, creepy-crawly, tiny-hairs-rising-on-your-arms feeling that his earliest stories so perfectly embodied, even when they weren’t trying to. It’s county fair horror, all sticky-sweet like the last bites of rotten taffy apples, a be-careful-what-you-wish-for tummy ache after peeling the last cotton candy off of a soggy paper tube… Gwendy is a delightful protagonist, a genuinely decent person with the devilish and hot-tempered impulses that plague all of us from time to time. Her quest as caretaker of the box is thoroughly enjoyable to read and sends the reader on a fascinating “what if?” mind-bend, thinking about the horrors of the world and what might *really* have caused them – at least in reality ala King…
I really enjoyed this short story. It’s the perfect thing to read when you only have an hour or so of free time. As always, I loved King’s imagination. The idea of the existence of a magical black box loaded with powers that could destroy virtually anything are mind boggling. In today’s society, the idea is relevant and quite frightening. I would love King to expand on this story because it really does have the potential to be so much more! Entertaining and definitely recommended!
Good overall. Not as suspenseful or dramatic as most of King ‘s books.
AMAZING! THIS BOOK IS NOT YOUR NORMAL STEPHEN KING! IT WAS A PAGE TURNER! I STARTED READING IT AND COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN TILL I WAS FINISHED. I READ IT ALL IN ONE SITTING.
I read every thing by king (good or bad) love his stories.
Stephen King doesn’t only write horror. This is what you need to know first. Some of King’s best work is outside the horror genre, my personal favorite being the Mr. Mercedes series. I don’t even know how to categorize Gwendy’s Button Box. Psychological Thriller, maybe? There is a sense of impending doom that runs throughout this story and makes me eager to read to follow-up, which was written by Richard Chizmar on his own this time.
“With great power goes great responsibility” – J. Hector Fezandie (also linked to Spider-Man )
My long-time favorite author Stephen King has teamed up with my newly discovered favorite author Richard Chizmar (if you haven’t read A LONG DECEMBER, you definitely should) and they bring us this neat, precise novella about average chubby twelve year-old girl Gwendy who has a monumental task dropped in her lap. It has its benefits but oh…the responsibilities that go with it.
This was a quick read but still thought provoking. What if this had happened to you? How would you have handled it?
As with a lot of both author’s short stories/novellas, I would have liked this lengthened into a full-length novel but I am happy to have read even this novella.
This was a lightning fast read for me. First, it’s only 171 pages, probably less than 50,000 words, so it’s sort of on that borderline of novella and novel. Second, it’s an easy read, short chapters, nothing complicated or difficult about it. Third, it’s another one of those King-scenarios where I had to know what happens.
I believe I read that King wrote part of this story and then shelved it, unable to finish it. Later Richard Chizmar and King collaborated back and forth for a month to finish it. Chizmar has since written a sequel titled ‘Gwendy’s Magic Feather’.
Here’s the amazing thing about this story – it’s mostly narration and it is third person past tense. That’s often a recipe for disaster. With very little dialog and the action described as past events, it’s usually difficult to pull a reader in and tough to evoke emotion. But, I HAD TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! King is so good at creating scenarios that create a level of intrigue that is almost an obsession (at least for me). So, yeah, we don’t really get engaged from an emotional standpoint, but I will say I felt a bit of dread and pity for Gwendy along the way. And the action, begin told from a historical context, never raced along, like it has in some of King’s books. But, you almost appreciate that story never dives into scenes deeply, because – YOU JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! Lol So, we skim along through swaths of Gwendy’s life, picking up bits and pieces of the story, and ultimately, we get, surprise, a pretty satisfying conclusion. IMHO, King’s endings don’t always stand up to the amazing scenarios he creates, so I was relieved to get a solid ending. I have to think maybe Mr. Chirzmar had something to do that with.
This is not a literary masterpiece. It’s not an emotional rollercoaster where you become deeply invested in the characters. It is a fast, fun, captivating tale, that feels more like a story told around the campfire. I enjoyed it and it just flew by. A strong four stars for me!
Very engaging reading, I was flying through the pages- I read 122 pages in an hour. That is EXTREMELY fast for me… I never read that many pages in a sitting. Feels more like a short story for that reason.
I was originally drawn to this book because of the cover. Not only is the cover stunning, but the inside pages are, as well. I love how visually appealing these aspects are inside and out. Even the font is gorgeous, I am swooning over here!!!
I was so engaged in reading this when it came to the end, I was a little distraught, that is until I found out there is to be a book 2 released in November. My problem with the end was she grew up and boom there’s the end. After 122 amazing pages of not being able to put the book down, thinking that was all I was getting, I felt let down momentarily. Now knowing there is a second book and we WILL see more on the adult life of the main character Gwendy, I’m finding myself able to “cope” much better. Does that change how I feel about those last pages? Yes. Do I like the overall book more now? Yes. Am I following the main character to the next book? Yes.
I loved the MC Gwendy. She’s a good girl, with too much weight on her shoulders. Oh, how trouble seems to find even the purest of souls…
I’m very intrigued by this second book called “Gwendy’s Magic Feather” and the author Richard Chizmar. I look forward to reading other works by Chizmar, to see how much of his style was incorporated into “Gwendy’s Button Box”. Stephen King is also someone I have been reading.
The intrigue, empathy, anticipation, it’s all there. There’s something about this I really liked. I think it’s all the anticipation it created. I love having fun when reading books!
I liked it. Didn’t love it, but it’s Stephen, so… But over all it was pretty good.
Fantastic read! The story is gripping and was such a fun, easy to enjoy tale.
I have one small negative, and I didnt think it was enough to reduce my rating;
I wish there was an epilogue!
Highly recommended.
What would you do if you unknowingly accepted responsibility for something unspeakably powerful?
This novella is very good. Creepy and truly makes you think about the world.
I thought custody of the button box gave Gwendy a lot of responsibility and made
her grow up faster.
I enjoyed this short book and read it in one afternoon. Well written and just a good story that propels you right to the end. The ending was unfortunately a bit predictable, but in stories of this genre, it seems to be the norm. Dont let that keep you from this engaging story, though. It is worth reading.
Simple story. Reads like a twilight zone episode. Worth reading, but just ok.
Loved it. Didn’t want it to end
Was a great read. Thought-provoking. Scary in an anticipatory way, rather than a horror way. Not at all the ending I thought it would be!