Gwendy’s Button Box

Gwendy knows not to talk to strangers, but something draws her to the mysterious man in black jeans, a black coat, and a black hat. Mr. Farris gives Gwendy a mysterious gift: the button box. This button box has eight buttons of various colors and a lever. The box gives Gwendy mysterious silver dollars and chocolates, but press one of the buttons, and who knows what will happen. Castle Rock has seen some strange things in it’s days, but Gwendy may be guarding one of the strangest. What will the box do when Gwendy decides to push a button, or worse, ignore the box entirely?

With only 164 pages, this novella is proof that Stephen King is one of the greatest storytellers of our time. Immediately the reader is standing at Castle View wrapped in a world where anything is possible, even the scariest of options. The novella takes readers through ten years of Gwendy’s life in a blink of an eye and in a way that feels truthful to the process of growing up. King has the ability to transport readers into his world in only a few short pages. Throughout the chapters one question lingers: what would you do if you had a button that could do unthinkable things? He includes historical references, like Jonestown, to help the reader dive into this reality. The story unfolds quickly and seamlessly, pushing to be read in one sitting.