| Title | : | Gwendys Magic Feather (The Button Box, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1587677318 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781587677311 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 333 |
| Publication | : | First published November 19, 2019 |
In Washington D.C., thirty-seven-year-old Gwendy Peterson couldn't be more different from the self-conscious teenaged girl who once spent a summer running up Castle Rock's Suicide Stairs. That same summer, she was entrusted or some might say cursed with the extraordinary button box by Richard Farris, the mysterious stranger in the black suit. The seductive and powerful box offered Gwendy small gifts in exchange for its care and feeding until Farris eventually returned, promising Gwendy she'd never see the box again.
One day, though, the button box shows up without warning and without Richard Farris to explain why, or what she's supposed to do with it. The mysterious reappearance of the box, along with the troubling disappearances in Castle Rock, leads Gwendy home again...where she just might be able to help rescue the missing girls and stop a madman before he does something ghastly.
From New York Times bestseller Richard Chizmar comes Gwendy's Magic Feather, a breathtaking novel that asks whether our lives are controlled by fate or the choices we make and what price we might have to pay for those choices when we reach for the things we most desire. Prepare to return again to Stephen King's Castle Rock, the sleepy little town built on a bedrock of deep, dark secrets, which is about to awaken from its quiet slumber once more.
Gwendys Magic Feather (The Button Box, #2) Reviews
-
Great book!
Interesting build up!
Fascinating plot!
Mysterious characters!
Fell completely flat at the end!
Suddenly over . . .
Convenient and uninteresting resolution . . .
Huge build up for nothing but meh . . .
So sad because so much potential early on – and I mean SO MUCH POTENTIAL!
I was still hooked at page 300!
And . . . then . . . it was just over . . .
Blah . . .
Seriously . . . I am frustrated about how little I got out of this after such a huge build up!
I was gonna go two stars, but I am so frustrated by the waste of 300 or so great pages.
I gave the first book 5 stars – don’t even bother with this one. -
Years have passed and Gwendy's a successfully published writer, documentary maker, campaigner... and Congresswoman! But as she heads back to Castle Rock for Christmas the world is on the brink, with a foul mouthed dumb President (I wonder who inspired King for that character :D), her photojournalist husband is working in a dangerous Timor, her mother is fighting a critical illness and someone might be killing girls in Castle Rock! So the best, but also worse thing that could happen to her is the return of a certain Button Box!
Chizmar picks up the reigns of this King-universe co-creation and doesn't do too bad a job with some neat world building, scene setting and the continuation of Gwendy's dilemma with holding so much magical and random power. I can see how some horror fans could be disgruntled with this read, but I think it fits well within the Gwendy sub-verse :). I found this is a nice addition to the post Needless Things' Castle Rock timeline. 6 out of 12.
2022 read; 2020 read -
3.5! Rounded up for Goodreads
I read Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar two summers ago. I rated it 5 stars and had this to say,
"Every good story, even a short one, has conflict--maybe something dangerous or threatening so that our protagonist can work through it and grow, make choices, handle the conflict. In this story, we get to ask ourselves, what would you do?"
I highly recommend reading the first book before jumping into this one for two reasons; the first is that Gwendy has a character arc that starts back in Button Box when she's twelve years old and in Magic Feather, she's in her late thirties. That's a lot of life experience! Secondly, there are so many flashbacks and references to Button Box that readers would feel cheated out of knowing everything the rest of us know going into this book. Richard Chizmar does a fine job catching potential new readers up to speed but I still think it would be beneficial. No need to re-read though, there's enough refresh for those of us who read it already.
The first half (about 150 pages) of Gwendy's Magic Feather was a little slow going for me. I enjoyed learning about all of Gwendy's accomplishments and relationships but then the novelty of that wore off pretty quickly and I found myself growing impatient with the day-to-day transcription of a pretty normal, uneventful life.
There were a few sub-plots introduced: Something from Gwendy's past resurfaces and there are some girls that have gone missing in Castle Rock (Gwendy's hometown) that catch her attention. However, there are many chapters that go by where Gwendy is at the office, hanging out with her parents, jogging, eating, bathing and I started longing for the story to get interesting.
Finally, around the halfway mark--there are some juicy plot developments and from here on, I was rapidly turning pages and getting more and more invested as the story moved on. I only wish that the compelling nature of a specific plot development happened earlier so that the reader could spend more time thinking about it--everything gets resolved rather quickly and without much fanfare or complication. Just sort of a *slap-slap-of-the-hands* and that's a wrap! All the loose ends are tied up neatly and all our burning questions are answered, which in some ways is satisfying but in other ways, it feels like the reader wasn't trusted to work things out for ourselves. There weren't very many breadcrumbs to trail after.
I did love the supernatural elements Chizmar brought into the story to add some magic. The ending was especially sweet and potentially left open for another Gwendy adventure? I'd be all for it.
I would recommend this book to readers who love: The first book, short chapters, illustrations (yes! This book has lovely pictures!), magical realism, cozy mysteries, YA literature, Castle Rock tales, and supernatural elements. -
I made the mistake of thinking this would be similar to Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King. Although Richard Chizmar got the okay for this sequel, it's a complete disappointment. 1 of 10 stars
-
The question that had bloomed in her mind while sitting on the bench that long ago summer day resurfaced—and rather rudely—earlier this morning as Gwendy was busy cushioning the button box in her carry-on bag with rolled up wads of socks and sweaters: How much of her life is her own doing, and how much the doing of the box with its treats and buttons?
I really enjoyed
Gwendy’s Button Box, co-written by Stephen King. Gwendy was a really believable, interesting character, dropped into a story reminiscent of an old Twilight Zone or Outer Limits plot.
This sequel takes place a couple of decades later in December of 1999. Gwendy has lived a charmed life since the original story, and is now a newly elected Congresswoman. But she’s worried about her husband, a photographer on a dangerous assignment in Timor. She’s worried about her mother’s health. She’s worried about a dangerously ignorant President who seems to be wandering into war. And that’s when the button box reappears in her office....
I don’t know if the problem is as simple as the absence of Stephen King as a co-writer this time. It could be that this book simply spends too much time setting up a rumored trilogy-ending third book. But this book just didn’t work for me. It’s much too slow. There’s no payoff to any of Gwendy’s worries. There’s a subplot about some missing girls that feels tacked and has a very strange resolution lifted straight from a much earlier Stephen King novel.
Gwendy is still an interesting character. And I’ll certainly read a third book if there is one, hoping that it pays off some of the loose threads here. But for now, this book was disappointing. -
Very few would consider a trip to Stephen King’s Castle Rock, bad things happen there. If you ask a local, they’d tell you to take 201 and slip past the quiet little seaside town. Stop in Camden, Rockland, or someplace along the harbor instead. Richard Chizmar chose to ignore those warnings and visited the sleepy little town not once, but twice. First with a guide, then on his own. GWENDY’S MAGIC FEATHER makes it clear he is in no way intimidated playing alone in those haunted streets. His knack for the small town tale is a perfect fit. This is Chizmar at his best.
-
What was the purpose of this book? Seriously? I was happy to return to Castle Rock, but there was no point to this book at all. Adult Gwendy seems so much less than the teenage version we got. And the direction her life took didn't even make a lot of sense.
So in "Gwendy's Magic Feather" we follow 30 something year old Gwendy. Her life has taken a lot of twists since she was gifted the Button Box. One day though the Button Box reappears, and Gwendy doesn't know what it means, or for long she is supposed to take charge of it. She's also scared she may do the wrong thing since the box seems to call out to her.
So 30 something year old Gwendy didn't feel like the Gwendy we got in the last book. I know that people change, but the changes in her (without getting into spoilers) definitely did not seem very realistic. She is more whiny in this one. She also runs around acting helplessly. I still don't get how the box did what it did in this one at all. It was so confusing.
We also have a serial killer on the loose which feels a bit off to me. It's not a typical King villain to me. Probably because once again King didn't write this one. It just felt tacked on and the missing girls sub-plot was not integrated well into things at all.
The book takes place in Castle Rock in 1999. There are some call-backs to the Dark Tower here and there. A character uses the word "palaver". Gwendy's condo is 19B. We have something with red glowing eyes skulking about. We read about past events in Castle Rock (Needful Things, Cujo, etc.). So that part was good. Other than that....eh.
The only reason why I gave this 1 star was that the illustrations were a great add on.
The ending was lackluster to the extreme. -
We can't like them all, and that's okay.
-
I quite liked Gwendy's Button Box, the first book in series by Richard Chizmar playing in the Castle Rock playground created by Stephen King. This, however, was a snooze fest. There was no sense of urgency about any element to the story; be it a group of missing girls, Gwendy's mother's health, or the consumption of treats from the mysterious button box and presumed ill-fated ramifications resulting from said consumption.
The best way for me to describe this book is 'flat'. The writing is ok, the characters (though really, Gwendy is pretty much the sole focus of the book) are ok, the story is just ok. Nothing really stands out.
-
After a successful collaborative effort with Stephen King, Richard Chizmar takes the lead in this sequel that brings Gwendy Peterson back into the middle of an adventure that has dire consequences. It has been a while since the reader saw Gwendy, who is no longer a teenager, but a full-grown woman. She finished school and soon became a popular author, riding the wave of much success as she found herself in writing. When a friend’s tragedy hit home for her, Gwendy took up the cause of helping those with HIV. A successful run for Congress has her representing one of the congressional districts in Maine. Just before Christmas 1999, Representative Peterson returns to her office to find a silver coin on her desk and the long-forgotten Button Box in one of her cabinets. Armed with what could be quite the weapon, Gwendy is not sure what to do, but realises that she cannot ignore this. While she keeps the box hidden, she enjoys the holiday time with friends and family in and around Castle Rock. When two teenage girls go missing, the town is in an uproar. Gwendy worries, but also has family issues that require her attention. When she receives a special gift from her parents that Christmas, Gwendy remembers her youth when she had a magic feather that she felt offered her special powers. As the end of the year approaches, another girl goes missing and Gwendy is trying to determine if it is someone she knows. She also discovers new and haunting powers that she possesses, which could help her hone in on the person responsible for the disappearances. A great novella that complements the opening piece well, while also making loose ties to some of Stephen King’s other books set in the Castle Rock area. Recommended to those who enjoy mystery pieces with a twist, as well as the reader who enjoys shorter reads.
I remember reading the collaborative novella a few years ago and being highly impressed. I have loved Stephen King’s work for as long as I can remember, particularly for the tangential writing with a purpose. When I learned that this sequel had been published and that Richard Chizmar did so alone, I was eager to see if he could keep up the same quality. He did so, while spinning some of the central characters and facts to work effectively decades in the future. Gwendy Peterson is now a successful woman who has impacted the larger community without losing her small-town sense. Now married to a man she loves very much, she also also a strong connection to her parents while fighting for her constituents in Washington as well. Her return for the holidays and trying to handle the reemergence of the Button Box propelled the story forward effectively and allowed the reader to see a little more about her character as she matured into a successful woman. Other characters help shape the story, some returning but many new to the mix. The banter worked well and kept the narrative clipping along. The story flowed and even with a late entry of the titular magic feather, things came together nicely. There was a mix of mystery and personal growth embedded in the plot, which flowed so well. Short chapters pushed the story along and Chizmar used an odd King-esque style that drops hints throughout, forcing the reader to be highly attentive to get everything from the story. I can hope for another instalment of these series, though I am not sure how Chizmar might do so. Then again, I love a good surprise!
Kudos, Mr. Chizmar, for a wonderful piece I devoured in a single day.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... -
Story 3.5 stars**
Audio 4.25 stars**
Narrator Maggie Siff -
Richard Chizmar escribe bien pero no es el precioso estilo de King.
Lo del 95% de relleno y dos tontás ya para otro día. -
Well, this book has been absolutely slaughtered in most reviews I've seen. If I were a cynical person I'd be tempted to think most of the 1 and 2 star ratings are from people who are indignant that Richard Chizmar would have the gall to write a sequel to the novel he co-wrote with Stephen King without their beloved Mr. King's help. You know, if I were a cynical person... Some reviewers seem to be oblivious to the fact that Chizmar was involved in the first book at all but, well, let's not be too mean to the idiots.
Speaking only for myself, I found it perfectly fine and highly entertaining. OK, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first book but mainly because I found the ending a bit abrupt and something of an anti-climax after some truly excellent build up. With a bit more time spent on the ending, this would have been just as good as its predecessor and I'm definitely up for the third book in the series should Mr. Chizmar choose to write one. -
I really enjoyed
Gwendy's Button Box. This however was no Button Box, although the Button Box does return. It's really just seeing how Gwendy turned out 20 years later. There's no story here. There are a bunch of subplots. But it's really just a few weeks of Gwendy's life now that she's a Congresswoman in 1999. Chizmar wrote this one by himself with Stephen King only giving it an edit and I guess that made all the difference. -
Life is full of surprises-and not all of them good.
We return to Castle Rock, to a 37 year old Gwendy and the mysterious button box.
Years have passed since a stranger gave her the box. She was promised she would never need the box again, but now it has returned. But why?
Is it possible the return of the button box is related to the 2 missing girls' case? If so, what is Gwendy supposed to do and what is it going to cost her? -
Comencé este libro porque leí el anterior, que me gustó lo suficiente para seguir con la trilogía, no se si mis expectativas eran muy altas o qué, me esperaba al menos algo del estilo al libro anterior y no ha sido el caso.
Lo primero a tener en cuenta, es que este libro no es una colaboración de Stephen King y Richard Chizmar, este libro está escrito integramente por Richard Chizmar salvo el prólogo que está escrito por Stephen King, es un libro corto e ilustrado, mi mayor pega es que no ocurre nada.
El libro comienza 15 años después de los acontecimientos ocurridos en el anterior libro, Gwendy tiene 37 años, está felizmente casada, ha escrito varios libros y ahora es congresista en Washington D.C. Toda la novela transcurre en las vacaciones navideñas de Gwendy que regresa a pasarlas con su familia en Castle Rock.
A esto hay que sumarle la investigación de la desaparición de 2 jóvenes en Castle Rock, la enfermedad de la madre de Gwendy, que el marido de Gwendy está haciendo un reportaje en Timor, la reaparición de Richard Farris y La caja de botones y las dudas de Gwendy sobre si es buena idea utilizar esta última.
Básicamente la novela nos narra el día a día de Gwendy y esto abarca el 70% de la novela más o menos, demasiada narración de lo que hace o deja de hacer para mi gusto, eso desmerece y deja en segundo plano y practicamente sin interés el caso de las chicas desaparecidas y el regreso de La caja de botones.
Richard Chizmar escribe bien, de forma amena y sencilla, pero el desglose de la trama me ha parecido un pan sin sal, plana y aburrida, sin apenas interés. -
An odd sequel. A deeply unsatisfying ending. Perhaps the third book in this trilogy will tie up all the loose ends. Gwendy is now an adult with a happy marriage, successful career as writer, winner of an academy award for a documentary and a congresswoman. Suddenly the button box mysteriously comes back into her life.
The President is an idiot who may drag the world into a world war, Gwendy’s mother is in remission from cancer and a serial killer is abducting young girls and the police are finding clothing and the girl’s teeth in the pockets. Also, Gwendy’s husband is in East Timor during a revolution. She worries about all these things and is tempted to use the box.
The box still produces chocolate animal’s with beneficial effects on who eats the chocolate. However, the bad things that happened in the previous story are lacking for me. The authors Stephen King and Richard Chizmar seemed to run out of steam for the ending. Still the story is good but lacks bite and peters out. -
When I originally read Gwendy’s Button Box I instantly fell in love with the story and when it was over I was left desperately wishing for more. Fast forward to now and that wish has come true and I couldn’t be happier! I absolutely freaking loved being back with Gwendy and I thought Chizmar did such a fabulous job portraying her as an adult. I really loved where he brought the story and I was disappointed it was so short, I still want more Gwendy! I’ve fallen hopelessly in love with her and I’d gladly read many more books featuring her and the Button Box.
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A quick, easy read, I enjoyed visiting with Gwendy again, it felt kind of intimate, like spending time with someone I like. Also I have an unhealthy fascination with that button box and the mysterious Richard Farris. The illustrations were a nice touch too.
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This was fun. It doesn't have the feel of being a sequel to Gwendy's Button Box so much as it reads like the middle book of a trilogy, what with being dropped in the middle of a story and then left with a bit of an irresolute ending. I'd suggest the first book would have to be read in order to really appreciate this one, and I guess I'll have to read the forthcoming conclusion in order to get all of what I was supposed to gather from this one. But it was still fun, a very quick read, a Castle Rock fly-over if you will. In this one, Gwendy has more problems... her mother has cancer, her husband is missing in a war zone, Y2K is looming and the president is a nut who may start WWIII, and the magic button box she had in the first book (before she became a bestselling author and a member of congress) has returned. Shades of Monkey's Paw! I don't think she needed a magic feather in addition to a magic button box, but hey, that's just how it is. The book is composed of seventy-some chapters that are a page of three in length, and I found it interesting to compare Chizmar's breezy and abbreviated style of The Rock with King's detailed and atmospheric descriptions. I'm anxious to see how it all winds up.
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Picking it where the first book left off in terms of writing style and the lightness of the story despite some heavy themes, this is an amazing sequel and worthy of the connection.
Gwendy's Button Box was my favorite book read so far this year, and this followup is very close to the top as well. I'm looking forward to reading more books from Mister Chizmar! -
My only complaint is that I wish these were a little longer.
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Pewna wyjątkowa dziewczynka z Castle Rock, tajemniczy nieznajomy jegomość w meloniku i jego pudełko pełne możliwości…
Richard Chizmar napisał kontynuację losów Gwendy sam, bez Stephena Kinga, który swoją nieobecność tłumaczy w przedmowie. Jednak, osamotniony Chizmar nie tylko nie zaniechał pisania, ba, stworzył najlepszą kontynuację z możliwych. „Magiczne piórko Gwendy” jest po prostu w sam raz. Ani za długie, ani za krótkie. Ani za mroczne, ani za banalne. Lagom, jak mówią w Szwecji, czyli w sam raz.
„Pudełko z guzikami Gwendy” traktowałam jako przystawkę i miałam rację – „Magiczne piórko Gwendy” to znakomita kontynuacja, wciągająca historia, w której wszystko jest na swoim miejscu. I chociaż miłośnicy strachów i potworności będą musieli przymrużyć nieco wzrok, by wyczuć przyczajoną tajemnicę, to myślę, że sama intryga zainteresuje ich na tyle, by z satysfakcją odłożyć książkę i poczekać na finał historii Gwendy, który zakończą znów w duecie Stephen King i Richard Chizmar już niebawem. -
Disappointing. It has a lot of potential, a great slow build up but, an ending that happened way too abruptly in the last couple chapters that ruined what could have been an excellent payoff. The story and character motivations were occasionally confusing. Over as lol I feel like it was wasted time.
-
GDL Dunwich Horror
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Secondo libro della saga Button Box.
Per me purtroppo è no.
Intere pagine inutili di descrizioni che ho visto solo come mero riempitivo.
Non ho ancora capito
Sicuramente leggerò anche l'ultimo per capire se ci sarà un epilogo e/o una spiegazione. -
Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar is the sequel to Gwendy’s Button Box.
First, let me thank the publisher Cemetery Dance Publications, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I’d also like to thank J.D. Barker for suggesting I review this book. All opinions are my own. I'd also like to apologize to all for my late review....which got lost in my pile.
Series Background: (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)
Gwendy Peterson was 12 years old when she met Richard Ferris, who presented her with a button box. The switches on the side dispensed treats and coins. The buttons on top could destroy the world. It brought her and her family good fortune for many years, but it also brought temptation. She has not seen the box for many years.
My Synopsis: (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
In 1974, a man in a black bowler hat gave 12-year old Gwendy Peterson a mahogany button box. It's temptations were unsettling. She has not seen it in many years, and strangely enough, has not really given it a whole lot of thought.
In 1999, the button box shows up on her office desk. Gwendy's life, thus far, has been better than most. She's an award-winning author, and her books are being been adapted for the big screen. She is also a Congresswoman for Maine, and living in Washington. She is no longer that naive 12-year old, but the button box still frightens her.
At Christmas, she returns to her home-town of Castle Rock. Although she is happy for a break from a president who may yet lead them into war, things are not perfect at home either. Her mother is recovering from cancer. Her husband Ryan, a professional photojournalist, is in Southeast Asia covering government unrest, and probably will not make it home for Christmas. Two young girls have been kidnapped from town, and the Sheriff has no clues. Add the return of the button box, and Gwendy is more than a little nervous.
My Opinions:
With an intro from Stephen King (who co-wrote the first Gwendy book), it's hard not to immediately fall in love with this one. However, I must say I was a little nervous when I realized that this sequel was written totally by Richard Chizmar. That's one fear I will never have again. This was just as good as the first one.
First, I really recommend reading Gwendy's Button Box first. This second book really builds from Gwendy's first encounter with the box, and although there are a lot of flashbacks, reading the first book will really show you why Gwendy is so apprehensive when facing the box again.
This book has Gwendy questioning her life, and whether the box helped her attain her goals, or whether it was her choices that made her life good.
It was interesting to return to Castle Rock and see people we recognize from Stephen King's books. I loved that. It added another dimension. Although the story is relatively short, there was still a lot going on, and it moved at a good pace. I probably could have used a little more excitement/horror/gruesome, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
Note that these books are tagged as horror, but I really think they are just a good story with a hint of the supernatural.
For a more complete review of this book and others (including author information and quotations), please visit my blog:
http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/ -
With co-written books I always wonder just how that joint writing effort works. In the foreword to this book, King lays out the process by which he and Chizmar wrote its predecessor,
Gwendy's Button Box. It would have been nice to include that in the earlier book. In case there is any need for clarification, Stephen King is not an author of this sequel. Despite this, his name appears twice on the front cover. It's entirely legitimate that he gets credit, as this book would not exist without him, but my cynical side sees it as an obvious tool to garner sales. It is clear from the prose that King did not participate in the writing; his certain ease of economical characterization and his, well, 'juice', is notably absent.
Magic Feather is only moderately enjoyable. Chizmar's painting of adult Gwendy as a congresswoman is an interesting development from her teenage character. The story doesn't quite go anywhere from there, though. She visits her parents and struggles with them through her mother's illness; meets political fans and detractors in her home town; hides the button box and resists the urge to magically rid the world of a political figure who is inarguably Trump but set 20 years earlier. Then, to solve the problem of kidnapped girls, the box gives Gwendy a new super-power that has nothing to do with the box's other abilities. I thought this was a weak resolution, one that required cribbing off of another of King's works ().
The physical book design was overdone, in my opinion. It is a thicker volume than
Gwendy's Button Box but does not have substantially more content. It makes copious use of white space and unnecessary framing on every page to cover wide margins. The interior illustrations were nice but didn't do much to enhance the text. Overall, I got the impression of an overproduced publication. -
This wasn’t very good. Nothing particularly interesting or relevant happened, the magic of the button box (let alone the feather), was barely touched upon, and the “climax” to the action all happened OFF SCREEN! What the fuck, Chizmar?
Plot-wise, it’s pretty thin: Gwendy is in her thirties now, working in Washington and has inexplicably won an Academy Award (which made me LOL), and she heads home to Castle Rock for Christmas. Here she meets Norris Ridgewick (remember him, gang?) and discovers there’s been a series of child abductions
Then, nothing happens until the last 30 pages in which the entire story is wrapped up neatly without any exciting happening.
The choice of present third person tense really doesn’t work for me, either. I didn’t like it in Button Box, and here it reads like emotionless stage directions for the (probably eventual) direct-to-Crackle adaption. I shouldn’t need to read, “Gwendy uses the arrow button to scroll”. Just say, “she scrolled.” Please.
The last-minute addition of the Dead Zone power, gifted (I assume) through the chocolates from the button box, make finding the killer super convenient, and tbh made the “hunt” pretty uninspired.
There’s really nothing magic about Gwendy’s Magic Feather. There’s barely even any Richard Farris, button box, or anything that made the first novella interesting. Sorry, this one’s a miss for me. -
Actual rating: 2.5 stars Well, this was a disappointment. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, Gwendy's Button box. the plot grabbed me right away and I loved the premise.
But now that Gwendy is an adult, the series has lost some of its magic and charm. Too many scenes focused on mundane or uninteresting details that I started to not care that much. It didn't have the same charm or magical quality as Gwendy's Button Box.
My favorite part? The ending. It's what saved the book for me. And it does make me want to read the last book in the series to see how everything wraps up.
I'd recommend reading this book if you are a Stephen King fan, especially of his books set in Castle Rock, and if you like magical realism. -
This sequel really didn't need to exist. We didn't learn any more about the Button Box or Richard Farris. We meet Gwendy as an adult but she's just a more mature and successful version of the child we met in the first book. I enjoyed reading it, but when I got to the end I felt like nothing really happened. There's a lot of different things happening with the plot all at once, and yet none of it was very exciting or tense or mysterious. I didn't hate it, but I'm sure I'll completely forget everything about it.
