Listeners are introduced to 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson atop a cliffside stairway to Castle View, a park in the town of Castle Rock, Maine. There Gwendy meets Richard Farris, a strange man who knows just a little too much about her, and receives a gift that for a decade brings her good fortune and unthinkable terror. Maggie Siff narrates with touches of nostalgia, wonder, and insecurity that beautifully capture Gwendy’s adolescence. Though the horror elements are effective, it’s Gwendy’s coming-of-age that truly resonates. Siff characterizes Farris as blandly likable but with intangible menace—listeners, like Gwendy, will be both wary and intrigued. In the bonus short story, “The Music Room,” Siff’s highfalutin accents perfectly complement the story’s mix of black humor and wickedness. A.T.N. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

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)

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

Listeners are introduced to 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson atop a cliffside stairway to Castle View, a park in the town of Castle Rock, Maine. There Gwendy meets Richard Farris, a strange man who knows just a little too much about her, and receives a gift that for a decade brings her good fortune and unthinkable terror. Maggie Siff narrates with touches of nostalgia, wonder, and insecurity that beautifully capture Gwendy’s adolescence. Though the horror elements are effective, it’s Gwendy’s coming-of-age that truly resonates. Siff characterizes Farris as blandly likable but with intangible menace—listeners, like Gwendy, will be both wary and intrigued. In the bonus short story, “The Music Room,” Siff’s highfalutin accents perfectly complement the story’s mix of black humor and wickedness. A.T.N. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine