"Gwendy's Button Box," written by Stephen King and his friend Richard Chizmar is definitely written for the teen aged reader, yet possesses enough flair for all ages, or does it?
Make no mistake, Stephen King is one of my favorite writers, yet his best years of intensely gripping novels have passed.
Originally released on hardback in May, then re released on paperback on Oct.,31, "Gwendy's Button Box" is a quick afternoon read at a mere 170 pages of large print.
King's bouquet of blood still exists in this book and it touches on the harsh norms of adolescence bullying. This book is also tuned in to the realms of what goes on in the hearts and minds of young girls in elementary school and all the way through high school.
Although written this year, "Gwendy's Button Box" begins in 1974 and focuses on the main character, 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson who receives the Button Box from Richard Farris whose in his 30s. Is Richard a creepy adult man preying on an uncertain 12-year-girl or is he the devil recruiting young mortals to persuade others into consuming the desserts of the devil itself?
Farris gives Gwendy the stylishly looking mahogany box with several colored buttons on it. The box produces chocolate that makes it easy to control your weight and enhance your mind. The box also begets 1891 silver dollars that are worth $800.0 each. Each colored button represent various countries such as Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe and other countries.
The box has fantastic powers that can be used for evil or good. By the time Gwendy goes to high school she has at least a hundred silver dollars stashed away, and the box makes her life much better.
She's in love and is loved back by photog Harry Streeter, she's the fastest person in the county running track, she gets straight A's in school with little studying and her alcoholic parents stop drinking and the three become a happy family again, but what is the price of possessing such a powerful box?
At 16-years-old, Gwendy is a beautiful young women. An intense moment seized my senses as I was reading the part when she was alone on her bicycle and two creepy high-school guys from her school encounter her in her short cut-offs and a tank top. Frankie Stone and his equally demented pal Jimmy Shines are eager to rape her. This gripping part in the book involves a flick-knife which is not Gwendy's. Want to know what happens next? Read the book.
Keith Minnion, artist
Destined for doom and destruction or live a long life loving and being loved? Suicide and murder happens in the town of Castle Rock, but who are the victims? I say again, read the book if you want to know.
The buttons on the box work for both peace and hate. When Frankie Stone gets a hold of the box...
"Gwendy's Button Box" is a four-star read, it's both gripping and entertaining for both the young and the old, and yes, King's phrase, 'A bouquet of blood' is a cool word combination to me.
