Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King, Richard Chizmar

8 reviews

jengoertz's review

4.0

A comfortably short novella, and classic King (and Chizmar)! When 12-year-old Gwendy is given a mysterious box by a mysterious stranger, her life starts to subtly improve... but the temptation to push those malicious buttons might be too great. This is more of a psychological story, relatively light on horror and gore, and a great read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Murder, Sexual assault, and Violence

cc_shelflove's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

You never should have fucked with the Queen of the Button Box.

I was feeling like I needed some King in my life and this delivered. Twelve-year-old Gwendy has been bullied and beaten down. Along comes a man wearing a black bowler hat to save the day. He gives Gwendy a button box with eight small buttons of top—light green representing Asia, dark green: Africa, orange: Europe, yellow: Australia, blue: North America, and violet: South America. The red and black buttons are somewhat of a mystery. What do the buttons actually do and how can Gwendy use them to her advantage? A bingeable yet unconventional coming-of-age story set in the chilling town of Castle Rock. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder

sinisterbeard's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Murder, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Sexual content

pastel_princess's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming

Moderate: Violence, Suicide, Death, Murder, and Stalking

Minor: Rape and Alcoholism

bookishbeccahale's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Fatphobia, and Murder

shell_s's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Stalking

Minor: Murder, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault

kweaver_pdx's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Not necessarily what I was expecting going into it, especially given the tags here and the fact Stephen King's name is on the cover as a contributing author. It does sometimes get dark with mentions of suicide and physical/sexual assualt, but it's mostly just a fun, suspenseful coming of age/sci-fi short story that I easily finished in less than 12 hours.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment and Murder

Moderate: Fatphobia, Rape, and Suicide

Minor: Pedophilia

emilie_miller's review

emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual assault, Murder, and Violence