Stephen King

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. Then one day when Gwendy gets to the top of Castle View, after catching her breath and hearing the shouts of kids on the playground below, a stranger calls to her. There on a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small, neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat.

Gwendy's button box

Richard Chizmar

'A resonant novella set in one of King's signature locales: the small town of Castle Rock, Maine' Washington Post The small 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.' On a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black suit coat, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat... Journey back to Castle Rock in this chilling new novella by Stephen King, bestselling author of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, and Richard Chizmar, award-winning author of A Long December.

(The Button Box Series)

Gwendy's Button Box

Mari

simple read. actually felt my heart drop when i read that part. easy wording that anyone can understand!

chloe

Gwendy's Button Box: A Novella

Lara Engle

A nice little story about what happens when a nice little girl is entrusted with limitless power and a fair amount of luck.

Dimitris Papastergiou

If this was supposed to be a horror novel, it failed. Bad. But it was well written and it was interesting up until the point I realized how it's going to go from that point until the end and then I've lost interest but suddenly the story ended so I didn't get to get bored of the story, but I didn't like it either. It was ok and I'd like to say that I'll read the next of the series but I doubt it, not anytime soon, especially since I have to read a bunch of King's other more successful novels. 

I wouldn't recommend this. No payoff at the end.

Celeste Richardson

Full review now posted!
Original review can be found at Booknest.

Actual rating: 4.5/5 stars

Evidently I really dig novellas now. And Stephen King. It’s so weird.

I never thought I would be a King fan, but I definitely am. The more I read from him, the more I want to read. Seriously, now I have a regular To-Be-Read list, and a Stephen King TBR list. And I think the Stephen King list is growing faster than its less specific brother. There are so many of his books that I have a hard time deciding where to go next. But honestly, I’m not sure this book would have even been on my radar if not for the cool cover. It’s a novella, and has a coauthor, so I was hesitant. Also, the 165 page book was 25 dollars. Why? But my library got a copy, so I decided to give a go, since it wouldn’t take long.

And it made for such a fun evening! As stated above, it was very short, and only took about an hour and a half to read. The print was fairly large and there were illustrations, which made for an even faster read. But what added the most readability was the story itself. King and Chizmar did a wonderful job crafting Gwendy and the box that would dominate her life.

When we meet her, Gwendy is a chubby, self-conscious girl trying to lose weight before she starts middle school. On her run up the Suicide Stairs in Castle Rock (does that town sound familiar, King fans?), she meets a man in a tiny black bowler hat. His name is Richard Farris (does that name remind you of other names with the same initials, King fans?). Mr. Farris entrusts Gwendy with a magical mahogany box, which has two tiny levers that dispense magical chocolates and rare silver dollars. But those are just little rewards the box doles out to those entrusted with its care. Because this box is a button box, and the power of those buttons is more than any person should wield, much less a twelve-year-old girl. 

The story follows Gwendy through middle school, high school, and college. We see her grow up and change, and how her view of the button box changes. We see what the box does for her, and what she does with the box. And we see how the box’s effects impact others in Gwendy’s life. It doesn’t sound nearly as fascinating as it actually is. There’s a lot more to the box, and to Gwendy’s life with the box, but I’ll leave those things to be discovered. 

One thing that a lot of King fans agree on is the fact that he’s not the best at writing endings. But guess what? This little book had a great ending! I don’t know if that’s because it was short or because King was writing with a partner or what. However it came to be, I loved the ending. I loved the novella all the way through. Hopefully the price will eventually drop, because I would love to own this little book and reread it. If you’re a King fan, I think you’ll really enjoy this novella. If you’re new to King, this would be a great way to dip a toe into the ocean of his works. And even if you haven’t been a fan of King’s work in the past, I think you should give this one a try. It’s without a doubt a novella worth reading.

Caroline Lewicki

A really fascinating quick read. Gwendy is given a mysterious box by a stranger who tells her the box belongs to her. It has two levers and 9 buttons. The levers reward Gwendy but the buttons cause her to think hard about her morals. She receives it when she is 12, and the book ends when she is about 23, so you see Gwendy grow and her feelings about the box change.

I really enjoyed this book. I flew through it in about three hours. It has great art throughout and the story is really compelling. You want to know what Gwendy does with the coins and the buttons, how she'll make important decisions that could change people's lives. 

I haven't read anything else by Stephen King but have seen several King movies, this one is definitely not as creepy as his usual material, but it will make you think.

Alexis Rader

Adrianna Giunta

This was really good! I loved the concept and the fact that the Mr Farris and the box were a complete mystery. At times the book was slow but it's a novella so that's not bothersome. I want to read the rest in the series now!

Nothing happened. This was a tale that constantly teased the reader with hints to the monkey paw story and that a pin was going to drop, but nothing ever did.

It wasn't poorly written, it just wasn't really that great of a tale. A good, short listen though.

Valentina Cherednichenko

"... secrets are a problem, maybe the biggest problem of all. They weigh on the mind and take up space in the world." 

I love Stephen King, there's no doubt about that, but sometimes, I don't want want to jump into his universe fully, sometimes I just wanna dip my toe in. That's exactly what this book did to me. It's short, easy to follow, no real mystery (other than the box). Gwendy is a lovable character who we watch grow up and mature while in posession of this Button Box. You are hooked from the beginning, and rushing thru to the end. Highly recommend if you'd like a shorter read, somewhere in between a short story and full novel.

Casie Blevins

I loved this delightful little book from the cover to the characters to the plot. My only complaint was that it wasnt really a novel. More like a short story. I hope that Chizmar and King collaborate in the future. They spun a very interesting story!

Joana Guerreiro 

Alex Webster

Mareike Heller

'A resonant novella set in one of King's signature locales: the small town of Castle Rock, Maine' Washington Post The small 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 takes the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside. One day, while Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the kids on the playground and the chink of an aluminium bat hitting a baseball, a stranger calls out to her. On a bench in the shade sits a man in a small, neat black hat. He offers Gwendy a mahogany box with coloured buttons. The buttons will produce gifts, such as chocolate which can make you slimmer. But he warns her that the gifts will be 'small recompense for the responsibility.' Journey back to Castle Rock in this chilling new novella by Stephen King, bestselling author of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, and Richard Chizmar, award-winning author of A Long December

Gwendy's button box

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