Title: Gwendy’s Button Box
Author: Stephen King
First published May 16, 2017
171 pages, Hardcover
ISBN: 9781587676109 (ISBN10: 1587676109)
Rating: 3.92
Overview
The quiet town of Millfield has always been peaceful, but there is one secret that has never been uncovered… until now.
There is a mysterious button box that has been passed down for generations. One summer day in 1983, twelve-year-old Cassie finds herself in possession of the box.
The box has eight buttons, each button with its own unique power. Cassie quickly learns the consequences of pushing the wrong button.
The box also attracts the attention of a stranger who appears out of nowhere. He offers Cassie a chance to palaver and warns her about the dangers of the box.
Cassie soon realizes that the box may be too much for her to handle. Return to Millfield in this haunting new novella by Stephen King, bestselling author of It and The Shining, and Richard Chizmar, award-winning author of A Long December.
About the Author
Stephen Edwin King was born into a family with Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King as his parents. However, when Stephen was just two years old, his father left the family, leaving his mother to raise him and his older brother, David.
They spent some of their childhood in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father’s family lived, and in Stratford, Connecticut. Eventually, his mother brought them back to Durham, Maine, where Stephen spent most of his childhood.
His grandparents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, were getting old and incapacitated, so Ruth King was asked by her sisters to take care of them. Other family members provided a small house and financial support.
Stephen attended grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, where he graduated in 1966. During his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS, and was an active member of the Student Senate.
He became a supporter of the anti-war movement on the Orono campus and graduated in 1970 with a B.A. in English and was qualified to teach high school. However, he was deemed unfit for military service due to high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
Stephen met Tabitha Spruce while they worked at the Fogler Library at the University, and they were married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find a teaching job immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, Tabitha’s student loan and savings, and occasional short story sales to men’s magazines.
Stephen’s first professional short story sale was “The Glass Floor” in 1967. He continued to sell stories to men’s magazines throughout the early years of his marriage.
Many of these stories were gathered into a collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, a public high school in Hampden, Maine. He continued to write in the evenings and on weekends, producing both short stories and novels.
Editoral Review
Stephen Kings latest novella, Gwendys Button Box, is a chilling and thought-provoking addition to the horror genre. As one of the most prolific writers of horror novels of our time, Kings reputation precedes him, and readers will not be disappointed by his latest offering.
The novella follows the story of Gwendy Peterson, a twelve-year-old girl growing up in Castle Rock, Maine. While taking her daily run up Castle View, she encounters a mysterious man in black who gifts her with a button box.
The box has eight buttons, each representing a different power capable of granting her hearts desires, yet these powers also come with a horrifying price. Gwendy learns quickly that every decision she makes with the box causes a domino effect that could have terrible consequences.
King has a talent for creating realistic characters and placing them in impossible, terrifying situations. Gwendy, the protagonist, is no exception, and her internal moral conflict has the reader rooting for her from start to finish.
The man in black who gives Gwendy the box is the perfect embodiment of evil and gives the story an extra layer of tension. Kings novella is excellently paced without any wasted moments, and every scene is essential to the development of the story.
With this in mind, it is hard to find any major weaknesses in Gwendys Button Box. However, some readers may find the ending a bit abrupt, leaving them with more questions than answers.
King ties his story to his other works, including Castle Rock and The Dark Tower, lending a sense of familiarity to his devoted readers. The theme of power and its corruptible nature is central to the story and is relevant to current events, making the book even more compelling.
Gwendys Button Box is a must-read for Stephen King fans and anyone looking for a suspenseful and thought-provoking horror story. The novella is an excellent addition to Kings body of work, and it showcases Kings literary prowess.
Ultimately, this book is a satisfying and well-told story that will leave the reader questioning the price of unlimited power. On a scale of one to ten, Gwendys Button Box deserves an eight for its memorable characters, tight pacing, and compelling themes.
