My rating: 3.75/5

My opinion about the book:

The story is about a 9-year-old girl named Trisha who gets lost in the jungle. But it doesn't take long for her to realize that she is not alone and there is something following her...

Compared to the other things I've read from King, this one was a bit weaker. But still, I kind of liked it. Of course, not from the very beginning

I absolutely love me some King.

His works have always been a source of inspiration and entertainment for me.

However, this particular one just didn't quite hit the mark.

Maybe it was the plot that felt a bit too convoluted or the characters that didn't seem as fully developed as in his other novels.

Don't get me wrong, there were still some redeeming qualities.

The writing style was classic King, with his ability to create a sense of atmosphere and tension that kept me turning the pages.

But overall, it just wasn't the masterpiece I was hoping for.

Nevertheless, I still have high hopes for his future works and will continue to be a loyal fan.

After all, even the greatest authors have an off day.

A really quick little read that tells the story of a brave and resilient little girl named Trisha who gets lost in the woods. I read this captivating tale in just a couple of hours last night, and I have to say, I was truly in awe of Trisha.

Her courage and determination in the face of such a terrifying situation are truly remarkable. In her shoes, I'm not ashamed to admit that I would have probably curled up into the foetal position and simply given up.

But Trisha doesn't do that. She keeps going, using her wits and her instincts to try and find her way out of the woods. It's a story that shows the power of the human spirit and the importance of never giving up, no matter how difficult the situation may seem.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an inspiring and engaging read. It's a story that will stay with you long after you've finished reading it.

One of the numerous aspects that render this book unique is the unforeseen manner in which Stephen King can present himself within a story. His works belong to the horror genre, yet he surpasses it with each narrative he pen.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon encompasses multiple elements within one compact volume. Simultaneously, it is a coming-of-age tale, an homage to baseball, an adventure, and a battle against fear.

When 9-year-old Trisha makes the error of straying off the Appalachian Trail and away from her mom and brother for a toilet break, she becomes severely lost. As she follows voices towards what she deems the correct path back to safety, she ventures deeper into the woods. Are the voices she hears the initial encounters with the “special thing,” a presence in those woods? This is merely my speculation as we only know that she heads in the wrong direction. Besides a small lunch and a soda, she has practically nothing. To keep her company in the darkness, she has only her walkman, her love for the Red Sox, and their closing pitcher Tom Gordon.

What I appreciate about this small book is the sense of being there with Trisha, that childhood fear of being lost in a vast and sometimes intimidating place. Some of the directional decisions she makes are exasperating, and I never truly dreaded the “other thing” in the woods, but I can overlook those minor details. This is my second time reading this particular work. All in all, I liked it as much as I did the first time, especially Trisha’s wit and her courage in the bottom of the ninth inning.

This was my very first Stephen King novel (novella?), and I have to say I really liked it! Why have I waited so long to read his books? I always thought his writing would be too scary for me, wimp that I am. But in fact, if anything, I kind of wish this book had been a bit scarier.

Still, just the idea of being lost in the woods all alone is a scary prospect on its own. It makes you think about all the possible dangers and uncertainties that could lurk in the darkness.

I must note that the audiobook production REALLY brought this story to life. The narrator was perfect, capturing the emotions and atmosphere of the story with great skill. Even the radio broadcast portions of the plot were done in a realistic manner, with the slight echo-like quality you would hear in real life. This book really must be listened to rather than read, as it adds an extra layer of immersion and authenticity to the experience.

I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of Stephen King's works in the future and seeing what other terrifying and thrilling stories he has to offer.

I truly relished this particular piece. It was an absolute delight to witness a story that was stripped back to its essence by King. In fact, this narrative zeroes in on just one young girl and her arduous struggles to stay alive after she finds herself lost in the woods.

I took great pleasure in following her meandering path through the forest, her efforts at foraging, her impending state of hysteria, and the manner in which a young mind can conjure up its own terrors. The wasp king, in particular, sent shivers down my spine.

I must admit that I'm not a die-hard fan of baseball. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I know next to nothing about it. Consequently, many of the references in the story (which play a significant role) eluded me initially. However, I was still able to glean their underlying meaning.

This story has a really cool premise and it showcases remarkable restraint. It also has an outstanding way of captivating the reader and drawing them into the young girl's desperate quest for survival. Additionally, I absolutely adored the ending. The vivid imagery that King creates works wonders in giving the story a highly satisfying conclusion.

Okay, I don't know if I would've read this if it wasn't for a challenge.

It was an okay read. There were parts that were spooky, which added an element of mystery. The fact that it was short was a plus, as it didn't take up too much of my time. However, it wasn't as interesting as I had hoped it would be.

Basically, the story is about a girl who gets lost in the woods. She has to rely on her survival skills and her knowledge of baseball to stay alive. There's also a hint that she may not be entirely alone in the woods, which adds an extra layer of悬念.

I did like the descriptions in the story. They were vivid enough to paint a clear picture in my mind. The narration was also okay, although it could have been more engaging. As a whole, the story was missing something. It didn't quite grab my attention and keep it throughout. Still, it wasn't a bad listen. I would give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars.

This is a very good psychological thriller that is also a homage to

Steven King's beloved baseball team, the Boston "Red Sox" (Tom Gordon was a Red Sox baseball player from 1996 to 1999 and correspondingly the favorite player of the main heroine in the story). This is not a book with action or dynamism, but it has great depth in expressing the inner world, the sense of hopelessness, panic, and fear that rage in the consciousness of 9-year-old Trisha, "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon." A static horror that creeps under your skin and makes you shiver as you wander, lost together with Trisha in the Appalachians.

The story unfolds gradually, drawing the reader into Trisha's terrifying experience. We witness her descent into fear and confusion as she becomes separated from her family during a hike. The detailed descriptions of her emotions and the surrounding environment add to the atmosphere of dread.

King's writing style is masterful, allowing us to feel every moment of Trisha's ordeal. We can almost hear the sounds of the forest, feel the cold wind, and sense the presence of something unknown and menacing.

"The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" is a captivating and chilling read that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

One of my favorite types of stories to read is survival stories. They truly push the main character to the utmost limits of their mind, body, and soul. In the story "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon," this was no exception. The main character, Trisha McFarland, really struggles, but she maintains her strength through a faith she didn't even know she had. I'm giving this book 5 stars. It wasn't my absolute favorite of King's works, but there aren't any flaws that I could complain about, so it gets the well-deserved 5-star treatment.

Trisha McFarland is 9, almost 10, and big for her age. Her parents are divorced, and her older brother, Pete, is a complaining numskull. Pete hates his new middle school because he has no friends. He resents the fact that his parents are no longer together and blames them for putting the kids in the middle. One Saturday morning, Quilla, Trisha's mom, decides that they will all go on a hike in the Appalachian mountains. The hike is said to be moderate and only 6 miles. From the moment the trio steps out of the van on that early morning, the subaudible is already in motion.

Pete and Quilla start arguing, and this argument continues throughout the hike. Trisha can't take it anymore and decides she has to go pee. She wants to scare them a bit for not paying any attention to her. Trisha can see the path from where she is squatting. However, instead of going back to the trail the way she came, she cuts through the path at an angle. This proves to be her downfall. She ends up veering from the original path and getting lost. The things that save her are a talk she had with her father about the subaudible, Tom Gordon, her walkman, and the knowledge that checkerberries and beechnuts are edible. But the most important thing, not mentioned above, is her inner strength to keep going.

I found the story to be slightly unbelievable because as a mother of two boys, there's no way they would have survived that long in the woods alone with only their wits. Maybe if my kids were in boy scouts and had been taught a little about surviving in the woods. Trisha isn't that savvy. She learned a little from her mom, who is a plant enthusiast. She also learned a bit in school and from TV, but mostly she winged it. She was lucky. I've heard of other small children surviving in the woods after being lost, and it always amazes me. I'm a grown adult, and I'd probably die in 3 days.

I listened to this book on audio, and it was read by Anne Heche, the actress. It was such a pleasant listen. She did a great job being the voice of our 9-year-old protagonist and really kept me engaged. I normally don't like books with sports in them, but this one had minimal sports content, only talking about the closing pitcher and the fictional Tom Gordon. It was such a huge factor in the story to move Trisha along that I didn't mind.

A friend commented that this book is a YA version of Gerald's Game, and I can definitely see the resemblance. A female character on the verge of death having to use her own wits and inner voices to help her escape. There is also a supernatural entity watching closely, hoping she doesn't succeed.

I enjoyed this book. This is the fourth book by Stephen King that I can remember that has a female protagonist. That may not be interesting to most, but I'm keeping track.

Book on CD performed by Anne Heche

A young girl, who has a great passion for baseball and especially adores one Red Sox player, strays a few steps from the path while on a hike through the Appalachian Trail with her mother and older brother. In an instant, she finds herself lost and is desperately trying not to be overcome by terror.

Stephen King is truly a master craftsman. He reaches his peak when he plays on all our childhood and even adult fears, magnifying them tenfold and allowing his and our imaginations to run wild.

I absolutely loved Trisha McFarland! She is resilient, intelligent, and brave. However, being young, she makes some wrong decisions that land her in deeper trouble. (The first rule of being lost in the woods is to stop moving, stay put, and wait for rescue. But if she had followed that rule, there wouldn't be much of a novel.)

I grew up going camping with my family. We slept out in the open without a tent, although we usually had a tarp to keep the rain off. But I don't think I could have fared as well as young Trisha. She remembered a science class that came to her aid, and the lessons her mother taught on other nature hikes helped her forage for a few berries or edible ferns.

This is not to say that she had an easy time. The "tough tootsie" voice in her head constantly shoots holes in each of Trisha's theories and ideas, filling her with doubt and intensifying her fears. The noises and violence of nature can be terrifying and shocking to anyone, especially a nine-year-old town girl who is not used to such experiences. It's easy to imagine boogie men and monsters lurking in the dark (not to mention the real dangers of snakes, poisonous plants, and predators). However, the best thing she did was to keep her spirits up by relying on her beloved Tom Gordon, the Red Sox "closer." It was those "conversations" and using her Walkman to listen to the ball games that sustained her and gave her hope and courage.

Anne Heche did an outstanding job of performing the audio version. She truly knocked it out of the park! Five stars for her narration.

Stephen King has confessed that he suffers from “literary elephantiasis”: that is, his novels tend to bloat. I would agree. Compared to the three- to five-hundred page efforts of his early days, the current productions weigh in starting at a thousand plus. Even though his books remain eminently readable, I for one prefer the early, slimmer King novels before he caught this disease.

But in between these gargantuan tomes, Steve produces small novellas rather like master chefs produce snacks once in a while as a break from five-course dinners. While many of them are light reading by his standards, suitable to while away an afternoon but nothing to write home about, some exceed expectations. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is such a book.

This is a suspense novel about a girl lost on the Appalachian Trail. On a hiking trip with her mother and brother, young Patricia MacFarland wanders off the path, ostensibly to take a piss but actually to get away from the constantly bickering pair of her parent and sibling. A small miscalculation and wham! She suddenly finds herself lost in the woods, frantically searching for a way out. As her situation grows more and more desperate, she has only her walkman for company; and through it, Tom Gordon, the Red Sox player. Soon, Tom (who points to the sky as if invoking God as he throws deadly balls to pluck out victory from the jaws of defeat) joins Trisha in her increasingly hallucinatory journey and his advice proves to be her salvation in the gripping climax.

Stephen King is a master of infusing the fantastic into the humdrum. He tells us that the facade of normalcy is only a sham which can tear at any moment and expose the terrifying visage beneath. When human beings reach the end of their tether, they call out to God even if they don’t believe in Him. Steve gives us three choices: the New Testament God, the God who is immanent in the universe but non-intrusive, and the terrifying ogre God of all primitive religions. Trisha has to choose – and when the time comes, she enters into “the zone” and closes. As Tom says, it’s God’s nature to come out in the bottom of the ninth.

Modern sports have a lot of things in common with tribal religion. Even though I don’t know anything about baseball, I could imagine a youngster like Trisha in India bonding with a cricketer like Sachin Tendulkar. Stephen King has used this trope perfectly to craft a delicious little tale.

I could say that Stephen King “hits a home run” with The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, but that would sound trite and campy.

However, what the hell.

King indeed hits a home run as this is a great book.

It's about a nine-year-old girl (who is big for her age) who gets lost in the woods - and there's a lot more to it. This story delves into fear, the deep primal fear that lies at the roots of our childhood and never truly goes away. It just retreats back into a far, dark corner to wait. Most everyone has a childhood memory when a hand that was held suddenly wasn't; when a parent was there - and then wasn't.

When a path in the woods was suddenly lost.

Everyone has a memory of when they were suddenly alone.

King knows better than most writers today about fear, and here he showcases his incredible ability to awaken in the reader a deep primal fear that we can all recognize. And what better illustration of that recognition than a little girl lost in the woods?

Trisha realizes she is lost in the woods when she “felt the first winnow flutter of disquiet,” and from there King leads us on an uncomfortable, suspenseful long walk in the woods with a very likable protagonist.

The story is reminiscent of Algernon Blackwood's brilliant works like The Willows and especially The Wendigo. King creates an antagonist in the form of an almost personified menace of “the woods” or “the wild” and finally in a mystic representation of a wild god.

And of course - baseball. It's BRILLIANT! As a baseball fan himself, King plays on the spiritual quality of the game while adopting baseball’s natural rhythm in the novel’s structure. *Tom Gordon really did have a phenomenal season in 1998, with an all-star election and 46 saves, finishing 69 games.