Gwendy's Button Box

by Stephen King, Richard Chizmar

Overview

Set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine

Stephen King teams up with long-time friend and award-winning author Richard Chizmar for the first time in this original, chilling novella that revisits the mysterious town of Castle Rock.

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 precarious 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…

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501188305
Publisher:	Gallery Books
Publication date:	08/07/2017
Series:	Gwendy's Button Box Trilogy , #1
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	2,624
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, and Doctor Sleep are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. 

Richard Chizmar is the coauthor (with Stephen King) of the New York Times bestselling novella, Gwendy’s Button Box and Gwendy’s Final Task. Recent books include The Girl on the Porch; The Long Way Home, his fourth short story collection; and Widow’s Point, a chilling tale about a haunted lighthouse written with his son, Billy Chizmar, which was recently made into a feature film. His short fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA’s Board of Trustee’s award. Chizmar’s work has been translated into more than fifteen languages throughout the world, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, guest speaker, panelist, and guest of honor. He is the author of Chasing the Boogeyman. Follow him on Twitter @RichardChizmar or visit his website at: RichardChizmar.com.

Hometown:

Bangor, Maine

Date of Birth:

September 21, 1947

Place of Birth:

Portland, Maine

Education:

B.S., University of Maine at Orono, 1970

Website:

http://www.stephenking.com

Editorial Reviews

04/17/2017
This absorbing novella by horror giants King (End of Watch) and Chizmar (A Long December) revisits one of King’s most popular locales. It’s 1974 when 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson is offered a magic box by a man named Richard Farris, whom she meets at the top of one of the cliffside Suicide Stairs in Castle Rock, Maine. Farris wears a “small neat black hat” and seems to know just who Gwendy is and what she wants. Eight buttons grace the mahogany box he offers to Gwendy, and a lever dispenses silver dollars and intricate chocolates that Farris claims will help Gwendy lose weight and escape being called “Goodyear” by her classmates. Lose weight she does, but that’s not all. Wonderful things keep happening in Gwendy’s life, and she’s happier than she’s ever been. But when she decides to press one of the buttons, the consequences are horrendous. The novella follows Gwendy through high school and beyond, capturing the golden-hued joy of childhood and the wonder of friendship and first love, all under the shadow of temptation. This bite-size gem of a story packs quite a punch, and the only complaint readers will likely have is that it isn’t longer. (June)

Publishers Weekly

11/01/2017
No evil clowns or rabid dogs in this novella—instead King and Chizmar have created a tale of what-ifs. Gwendy is only 12 when taunts from classmates spur her to attempt to lose weight. Every day, she runs up the steep metal steps on the side of the cliffs in Castle Rock, ME. Even though she knows not to talk to strangers, let alone take gifts from them, she can't resist the man in the dark coat and bowler hat. She has been chosen to receive a box with buttons on it, and he quickly instructs Gwendy on its use. What do the buttons do? Destroy. As Gwendy matures, the box also graces her with intelligence, luck, and beauty, but what happens when she can't resist pushing a button? Nine somber illustrations help set the tone, but readers are left to imagine the infamous box. Depictions of Gwendy's loss of her virginity and an attempted sexual assault aren't overly graphic. VERDICT This smooth, fast-paced suspense is a great introduction to King's work and a good choice for reluctant readers and mystery and horror fans.—Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL

School Library Journal