The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Chizmar, Richard. Gwendy’s Magic Feather (Gwendy’s Button Box Trilogy Book 2). Gallery Books, January 21, 2020. Kindle.

In the novel, Gwendy’s Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar, the second book in the Gwendy’s Button Box Trilogy, Gwendy Peterson is angry and afraid when the button box appears unexpectedly in her office in Washington, D.C. It has been nearly 25 years since the box, with its powers of both good and evil, came into her life the first time. As an adult, Gwendy is dealing with real-world problems. Two girls have disappeared without a trace in her hometown of Castle Rock. Her husband is working on the island of Timor, a country torn apart by governmental unrest. As a congresswoman, Gwendy is dealing with a president whom she and her constituents believe will start a war with North Korea. The reappearance of the box brings to Gwendy’s mind an old fear of her success in life not being the result of her hard work but from her life being charmed by the box.

Gwendy is tempted to use the power of the box to solve the problems she faces. She knows that if she pushes the red button, the box will grant whatever she wishes. Gwendy could use the button to wipe out the rebels in Timor so her husband could come home. She could also use the power of the box to kill the president and remove the threat of the country being involved in a war. Because Gwendy knows that each of these seemingly easy fixes has consequences, she fights the temptation to use the power of the box.

Meanwhile, Gwendy is working with the Castle County sheriff to find two girls who have gone missing in Castle Rock. Shortly after Christmas, while Gwendy is still in Castle Rock for the holidays, a third girl, Deborah Parker, disappears. Gwendy has a strange experience during the town’s New Year’s Eve party. While walking to her car, Gwendy slips on the ice but is caught by Lucas Browne, a young man she met during a search for the missing girls. When Lucas touches Gwendy’s hand, she has a vision of him standing over the missing girl, a vision she believes means he is the kidnapper. Based on this experience, Gwendy reports to the sheriff that Lucas is the kidnapper. The Browne home is searched, and Deborah is rescued. The remains of the two other missing girls are located on the property.

At the airport, as Gwendy is headed back to Washington for an early Congressional session, she meets Richard Farris, the man who gave her the box when she was a child. She asks him if the vision she had that led to the arrest of Lucas came from the box. Richard admits that he does not understand all of the box’s powers, an admission that leaves Gwendy feeling rattled. He tells her she proved herself by not giving into the temptation of using the box to solve her problems. Most importantly, Richard assures her that her success is a testament to her hard work and not because the box granted her an easy life.