Book Review - Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King

Title: Gwendy’s Button Box

Series: The Button Box # 1

Author: Stephen King

Description: 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. On a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat like for a suit, 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...

Review: “Gwendy’s Button Box”, unlike most Stephen King’s work, is only a very thin book. It is a novella, which you can usually read very quickly. The cover is beautiful and inside are wonderful illustrations.

The story follows Gwendy, who struggles with various aspects of her life, including her weight. After she gets a button box ins a special way, it seems to change her whole life. She loses wight, gets better grades, and excels at sports and work. The button box in particular is very appealing to the imagination of this story. The tension is well built.

There is a clear message in the novella. As you reas, you get the idea that you need to read the book again, to fully grasp the meaning of the story. We experience the story mainly through Gwendy’s eyes, although due to the length of the story we don’t really get to know her as a character.

The book combines several elements and genres, including fantasy, horror, life lessons and young adulthood. The ending of “Gwendy’s Button Box” is surprising, because the evens make you expect the novella to end differently.

Stephen King never disappoint, and he didn’t with this short story.

Rating: 3,5/ 5