From international bestseller Stephen King, a classic story that engages our emotions on the most primal level, a fairy tale grimmer than Grimm but aglow with a girl’s indomitable spirit.What if the woods were full of them? And of course they were, the woods were full of everything you didn’t like, everything you were afraid of and instinctively loathed, everything that tried to overwhelm you … overwhelm you with nasty, no-brain panic.
The brochure promised a “moderate-to-difficult” six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, where nine-year-old Trisha McFarland was to spend Saturday with her older brother Pete and her recently divorced mother. When she wanders off to escape their constant bickering, then tries to catch up by attempting a shortcut through the woods, Trisha strays deeper into a wilderness full of peril and terror. Especially when night falls.
Trisha has only her wits for navigation, only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fear. For solace she tunes her Walkman to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox games and the gritty performances of her hero, number thirty-six, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when her radio’s reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her—her key to surviving an enemy known only by the slaughtered animals and mangled trees in its wake.
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3.7
Told myself I was done with Stephen King but was given this one as a gift.
In typical King fashion, it had some extra fluff but overall was fast-paced which I very much appreciated after the last two novels of his I read. This is my favorite by him so far and makes me not want to give up on him quite yet.
P.S. Read this to your children if you want to keep them from wandering off in the woods by themselves
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was another terrific read from Stephen King, which is just what I was hoping for when I read the book! The terrifying tale of a young girl who finds herself hopelessly lost in the woods during a hike with her mother and her big brother is a tale of horror, suspense, hope, and inspiration that will have you feeling glad that you sat down and allowed yourself to become lost in its 260-plus pages. This isn’t just a short, exciting book; it’s a thrilling excursion into spine-chilling, suspenseful entertainment that only the King of Horror could deliver! I recommend it to all of his fans and to those who are looking to discover Stephen King for the first time!
King writes an interesting, psychological story about a nine year old girl that gets separated from her family and lost in the woods. King probes the internal psyche of a young girl in such a situation and uses the power of imagination in the form of her favorite baseball player, Tom Gordon of the Boston Red Sox as a coping mechanism. I can see long time King fans not really liking this novel as much because the action is from an internal perspective and not the terrifying aspects he is known for in the most of his work.
We used this as a summer reading novel for incoming freshmen at the ag and tech high school where I taught 🙂
This is one of my all-time favorite reads. The book is short is you can definitely read it in one sitting. The action starts from the very beginning until the very end. The imagination of the little girl and the games she plays to get through her ordeal is very clever. You’re going to love this little gem.
What I remember loving (and fearing) about King’s novels when I was younger is that moment when a normal, everyday situation turns bad and things go downhill from there. I still enjoy that about his books, and this one is a perfect example; although, there was no fear involved for me. Which is good, because I’m a wimp. Heh.
Overall, I struggled a little. I liked the book, but I didn’t find it exciting. It’s pretty much what it says on the back–one girl gets lost in the woods, and her long track through them. I loved seeing how her sanity slowly degraded alongside her health, but the rest just didn’t grab me.
Not a bad book by any means, but just a little slow for me!
Too much baseball for me.
Different than most of Stephen King’s other books, not horror themed, but interesting.
Good if you like baseball.
Not quite “classic” Stephen King; it’s not scary. Yet, typical King – all the words fit in all the right places. It’s simply a very enjoyable read.
Mother great story by Stephen King! But then again what book by Stephen King isn’t?
I had to keep reminding myself that this is fiction. I just do not feel that a nine-year-old would do that much to get found. The ending was beautifully done and put a smile on my face. This is a great story if you stretch your imagination a bit and enjoy stories with a bit of a supernatural feel.
A lesser-known King book, this one goes away from the supernatural to the super natural. I hit all the notes for me.
Loved this book! I read it when i was in my early 40’s …. then later i seen it st a book store and bought it for my daughter in high school. She also loved it!
Oh, he can’t kill that little girl! He just can’t! We’ve been with her from her first misstep off the trail and into the forest. We’ve watched her as she pushed herself on, over hill, through streams and marshes–and getting pursued by that not-right-in-the-face bear. He can’t kill her! … … … But it is Stephen King we’re talking about here. Who else would take a sweet, innocent little girl and plop her down in the middle of nowhere, with no help, only a bottle of Gatorade and a low on batteries Walkman?
The sick bastard!
But, I digress. Many of his books go on and on and on and on and on… in such minutia one sometimes loses your mind and start acting out some of the psychotic things he’s dreamt up. No, not really… well, just that once, but you’d have done it too! But this, the slim 224 page page-turner will have you up all night saying, “He can’t kill that little girl! He just can’t!” But you’ll be wondering, “What if he did?” * Alice Bello is the author of Min’s Vampire, Better off Dead and The Ferro Mountain Shifters series.
One of my other favorites by this author. Listened to on audio. Highly recommend on audiobook!
Absolutely one of my favorite King novels. No horror or supernatural here. Just an excellent tale about a character the reader will feel deeply for.
I spend through this book pretty quickly because I was immediately trapped in the want to know how someone survives in the woods. This is because my father got lost in the woods, and did not make it out. This book – as far as I can tell – is extraordinarily accurate and sent chills up my spine as I unconsciously imagined my dad telling the story instead of the main character Trisha. This is the first instance of Stephen King’s writing in which I didn’t feel overwhelmed by his amount of description. The story is clear and terrifying and just descriptive enough to make you feel like you are lost in the woods with Trisha. I would definitely recommend this book to most people. It’s not a story about ghosts or zombies or anything that is typically defined as “scary” but this book is certainly terrifying on a much more realistic level. I’m glad I read it.