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25th out of 69 books
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898 voters
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The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
by
Stephen King
Nine-year-old Trisha McFarland strays from the path while she and her recently divorced mother and brother take a hike along a branch of the Appalachian Trail. Lost for days, wandering farther and farther astray, Trisha has only her portable radio for comfort. A huge fan of Tom Gordon, a Boston Red Sox relief pitcher, she listens to baseball games and fantasizes that her h...more
Mass Market Paperbound, 264 pages
Published
August 30th 2005
by Pocket Books
(first published January 1st 1999)
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I read a lot of Stephen King in middle school. I wanted to see how he holds up to present day scrutiny. The answer--not so much. I think it's funny that friendly critics of King claim he masterfully captures the voice of young or adolescent characters--because he completely fails in this one, and since the child in question was the same age as me in the year the novel is set, I should know. She speaks in what seems to be a tapestry of cheesy expressions she knows from her parents, with none of h...more
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Lena Hillbrand
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
see review
Shelves:
stephen-king,
audiobooks
I very much enjoyed this story about a nine 'but big for her age' year-old girl who gets lost in the Maine wilderness. For the most part. So let's get down to it.
What I liked: The girl who loved baseball. Yep, that pretty much sums up why I loved this book. I mean, how can you not love a nine-year-old who loves baseball, in large part because she shared it with her absent-through-divorce father. And maybe I'm a little biased because I was a kid who loved basketball, and then basebal...more
What I liked: The girl who loved baseball. Yep, that pretty much sums up why I loved this book. I mean, how can you not love a nine-year-old who loves baseball, in large part because she shared it with her absent-through-divorce father. And maybe I'm a little biased because I was a kid who loved basketball, and then basebal...more
Let me begin by saying I am an ardent Stephen King fan and have been since reading "The Stand" back in 1975. First, I like the genre. Second I believe him to be the best story teller alive on the planet today. That being said, even though I have read nearly everything he has written under any pen name, this is the only review I plan to write for the extensive King library.
What is unique about this book was that it barely stepped into the usual worlds of Stephen King. It is ...more
What is unique about this book was that it barely stepped into the usual worlds of Stephen King. It is ...more
I love this book. It's one of my favorites of all time. I love Stephen King to begin with, but I think any one - even people who don't like his style or genre typically - would like this book. It's a great, simple story about the power of the human will to survive and the strength of the human spirit - it's bravery, humor, resilience and ingenuity - in the face of great obstacles. It is really a fantastic book for anyone who has, or is, going through a tough time. The plot is very simple - a you...more
I give this book two and half stars. By now my love of Stephen King can by found throughout these reviews. This book satisfies most of those requirements. Well written. Quick fun read. Well drawn characters. Scary interesting plot. So I guess the reason that it gets two and half stars is the fact that it is more of a short story than a full length novel. There is simply not that much to it—which is my complaint of all character driven short stories. Character driven short stories s...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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When nine-year-old Trisha McFarland strays from the a branch of the Appalachian trail, tired of the bickering between her mom and brother, she gets lost in the forest and struggles to survive. As days and hours pass, she runs out of food and starts to hallucinate creatures following her so she looks to her Walkman for comfort. She wanders father and farther astray, determined that the river will lead to civilization while she passes beyond her search party and imagines Tom Gordon, the relief ...more
'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon' by Stephen King is a real thriller, a pageturner. A girl of only 9 years old went walking with her mother and her brother in an enormous great wood. The young girl had to pee and so she lost her brother and her mother. In her panic to get back to her family, she takes a turning that leads deeper into the wood: she get lost... She had no food or drinks with her. It takes her 5 days to find the inhabitable world.
Crystal
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Non-Stephen King Fans
Recommended to Crystal by:
My Grandmother (seriously!)
First of all, I need to point out that this book is *nothing* like the standard King lineup. Its a refreshing change of pace for his Constant Reader.
Strangely enough, I think Stephen King felt the same way. There's a passion in the lines of this one that almost makes the words glow on the page.
If I were to recommend a Stephen King book to a "fraidy cat" this would be the one. Its not scary, not even really creepy, although it does have some fairly tense sce...more
Strangely enough, I think Stephen King felt the same way. There's a passion in the lines of this one that almost makes the words glow on the page.
If I were to recommend a Stephen King book to a "fraidy cat" this would be the one. Its not scary, not even really creepy, although it does have some fairly tense sce...more
Recommended by my boyfriend
A suggested alternate title:
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Or:
How Little Girls Go Pee In The Woods
Believable, maybe. Scary, not really. Entertaining, you betcha!
My first fiction Stephen King read. I read On Writing some time ago and it was pleasing to see him break his own rules:
"She intoned".
Nobody's perfect.
A suggested alternate title:
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Or:
How Little Girls Go Pee In The Woods
Believable, maybe. Scary, not really. Entertaining, you betcha!
My first fiction Stephen King read. I read On Writing some time ago and it was pleasing to see him break his own rules:
"She intoned".
Nobody's perfect.
Oddly, I felt this story could've survived without the actual supernatural element added to it. It could easily have been passed off as psychology without the final confrontation and variety of dead animals and I don't believe it would have lost anything. Seeing Trisha transform from a little girl to a survivor is quite fascinating and well done. I was actually caught by surprise when the hunter appeared in the chapter "Bottom of the Ninth" despite several times it being mentioned that...more
This book was okay. I read it over winter break one year in college. It held my interest, and I appreciated all the insider-New England references (1-800-54 GIANT...it's stuck in your head now, isn't it?), but the ending sucked, sucked, sucked. In a way, King was a victim of his own good writing, in that he paced the story well and did such a great job with dramatic build-up that the ending's big reveal couldn't help but disappoint. But goddamn, did it disappoint. Pretty much ruined the whole bo...more
Melissa
rated it
Recommends it for:
Stephen King Fans, Horror Fans
Recommended to Melissa by:
Friend
Shelves:
with-reviews,
adult-fiction
My friend wanted to convince me that I could enjoy a Stephen King book. I had read Misery a few years back, and while I could appreciate Stephen King's writing style, the horror genre was not my forte. Finally she told me that I had to read this book before I could make any decisions about liking or not liking Stephen King books.
I have to admit, this one wasn't bad. I did enjoy the book much more than I enjoyed Misery. Would that make me want to go out and read other Stephen King...more
I have to admit, this one wasn't bad. I did enjoy the book much more than I enjoyed Misery. Would that make me want to go out and read other Stephen King...more
Once upon a time, I could buy Stephen King books with confidence it would be a good read.
I think this book is the worst one I've read by King, and maybe one of the worst I've ever read, period. I do not have to words to properly express how crappy this book was.
I think this book is the worst one I've read by King, and maybe one of the worst I've ever read, period. I do not have to words to properly express how crappy this book was.
Well, I finally read this book. It took me long enough. And all I can say is Uncle Stevie does it again! He takes a simple scenario and makes you wonder what is real and what isn't? Here you have, 9 year old Tricia McFarland, who's hiking w/ her mom and brother, who loses her way in the woods. Thanks to her spunk, courage and imaginary friend (so to speak) baseball player, Tom Gordon she pushes on. Is she alone in the woods? Or is it just the imagination of a little girl? I wasn't able t...more
Farrah
rated it
i´ve only recently begun exploring Kings body of work again, after finding alot of his storys to have too much religious subtext and or good vs evil elements.
this story caught my eye, simply because its an origional concept.
first off, and perhaps most importantly, this story is HORRIFIC in its brutality and descriptions of the trials and hardships a young (9 yr old) girl goes through when she becomes lost in the forests.it is not for people who take offense or get upset b...more
this story caught my eye, simply because its an origional concept.
first off, and perhaps most importantly, this story is HORRIFIC in its brutality and descriptions of the trials and hardships a young (9 yr old) girl goes through when she becomes lost in the forests.it is not for people who take offense or get upset b...more
Stephen King has the spectacular ability of taking our deep seated fears and turning them into our worst nightmares. With “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon” he has done it again.
Have you ever gone hiking and went off trail to do your business without your hiking companions knowing where you were or what you were doing? Did you ever imagine that you could get lost even a few yards away from a well-traveled trail? Now imagine if you were a 9-year-old girl. Perhaps you have had a li...more
Have you ever gone hiking and went off trail to do your business without your hiking companions knowing where you were or what you were doing? Did you ever imagine that you could get lost even a few yards away from a well-traveled trail? Now imagine if you were a 9-year-old girl. Perhaps you have had a li...more
35th Stephen King novel is creepy, but there's nothing frightening (or genuinely special) about it; it is by far the least terrifying horror novel by this typically-remarkable author; and, as a whole, it is mediocre. King usually writes novels no shorter than 350 pages, and as long as 1200 pages (see the lengths of It and The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition if you don't believe me), but we see that The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a little over 250 pages long (and still a novel), and our fi...more
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was a good, fun, fast read. Who could not love this nine year old girl(who was going on ten and big for her age)? She was spunky, funny, and as level-headed as a girl in her situation could be. I loved her ability to humor herself and to find humor in the smallest things that so many people never ponder. I am a firm believer that most people would do everything in their power to live through anything, but there are some who would probably just lie down and die. ...more
While on a weekend hiking trip with her family, 9 year-old Trisha takes a quick step off the travel to relieve herself. But as fate would have it, she gets turned around and eventually becomes lost in the woods. Thinking that if she stays walking in the same direction she will eventually find another living person, she instead heads deeper and deeper in the wild lands of New England. And soon, Trisha discovers that she is not alone. Her beloved Red Sox pitcher, Tom Gordon, appears to her and ima...more
"Die Welt hat Zähne. Und mit denen beißt sie zu, wann immer sie will."
(Publishers Weekly)
Die neunjährige Trisha macht sich zusammen mit ihrem Bruder und ihrer Mutter auf eine Wanderung in die Wildnis Neuenglands. Die beiden Streiten schon wieder, so wie immer nach der Trennung der Eltern. Trisha muss pinkeln, aber Mutter und Bruder sind zu sehr mit selbst beschäftigt, als das sie von ihr Notiz nehmen würden. So geht Trisha ein wenig abseits des Weges in die Büsche um ihr Ge...more
(Publishers Weekly)
Die neunjährige Trisha macht sich zusammen mit ihrem Bruder und ihrer Mutter auf eine Wanderung in die Wildnis Neuenglands. Die beiden Streiten schon wieder, so wie immer nach der Trennung der Eltern. Trisha muss pinkeln, aber Mutter und Bruder sind zu sehr mit selbst beschäftigt, als das sie von ihr Notiz nehmen würden. So geht Trisha ein wenig abseits des Weges in die Büsche um ihr Ge...more
I loved this one. Immediately right up at the top of the King canon for me. Maybe not into the #1 spot, but in the top five or so. This is one of those that just seems right, the characters, the way things develop, the denouement...everything. The basic idea is so perfect too: a little girl, lost in the Maine woods, whose only connection to the civilized world is the Red Sox broadcasts on her radio. What a great idea.
My ONLY issue here is unique to the audio book. Anne Heche does the perfo...more
My ONLY issue here is unique to the audio book. Anne Heche does the perfo...more
Synopsis [Wikipedia]
The story is set in motion by a family hiking trip, during which Trisha's brother, Pete, and mother constantly squabble about the mother's divorce with her father, as well as other topics. Trisha falls back to avoid listening and is therefore unable to find her family again after she wanders off the trail to take a bathroom break.
She turns off the trail to get away from all the bickering and then tries to catch up by attempting a shortcut. She then slips and...more
The story is set in motion by a family hiking trip, during which Trisha's brother, Pete, and mother constantly squabble about the mother's divorce with her father, as well as other topics. Trisha falls back to avoid listening and is therefore unable to find her family again after she wanders off the trail to take a bathroom break.
She turns off the trail to get away from all the bickering and then tries to catch up by attempting a shortcut. She then slips and...more
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a story about a nine year old girl who becomes lost in the woods of Maine during a family hike. She wanders farther and farther from the trail in her search for civilization. Trisha is forced to endure the elements, hunger, tough terrain, and multitudes of insects. However, she is soon faced with a much darker problem. Throughout her journey she begins to have the feeling that something is watching her. The remains of several dead animals litter her path and tree...more
Usually I'm not a big fan of Stephen King - he's a great writer but I usually not into his "weird" stuff. I saw a review online of this book that convinced me to give it a try and boy am I glad I did. The book is about a little nine-year-old girl (Trish) who loves baseball and especially loves Tom Gordon of the Red Sox. Now those two things would usually turn me off at the get-go but the way Stephen King writes in the voice of this spunky, funny little girl is one of the things that...more
The girl who loved tom Gordon by Stephen King is a novel based on the survival and awakening of a nine year old girl that becomes lost during a hiking trip with her brother and mother who recently went through a difficult divorce. Trisha becomes hopelessly lost when she walks away from the main path with the excuse of going to the bathroom as her family was busy bickering. After the cliqued roll down the hill, she finds herself hopelessly lost. While she’s trying to find her way out of the woods...more
THis is not the standard Stephen King novel. It is not a horror and it is not crude and rude. That is why I continued reading it. I haven't actually read more than about 5 of his books because I'm usually putting the books down as soon as I see any crude langauge. I love him as a great storyteller, and I stay away from him only because of the language in some of the books. He really is an amazing storyteller, one of the best fiction writers in modern times. I'm surprised I'm saying that, a...more
This book is not what most people consider traditional Stephen King territory, as it is a novel written with an underlying fear and hallucinatory creepiness rather than out and out terror or horror. King himself has actually written others in a similar vein to this and, although this isn't the best (I preferred Duma Key), it's still a good novel by any standards.
The story is about Trisha, a nine year old whose parents have recently divorced and who seems to be recovering from it a l...more
The story is about Trisha, a nine year old whose parents have recently divorced and who seems to be recovering from it a l...more
This is definitely one of King's stranger works for two pretty distinct reasons. I'm going to try to review sans-spoilers, as the only reason I'm reviewing it is taht it appeared on a friend's to-read list.
The first strange thing about this novel is its, for King, ridiculous level of normalcy in premise. 90+% of the book is a survival story of a girl lost in the woods. Along the way (King does this with his more traditional horror stuff, too, but it stands out in my memory from th...more
The first strange thing about this novel is its, for King, ridiculous level of normalcy in premise. 90+% of the book is a survival story of a girl lost in the woods. Along the way (King does this with his more traditional horror stuff, too, but it stands out in my memory from th...more
The genre of the book is a comedy and it also has some suspicion. The protagonist of the book is a 9 year old girl named Trisha McFarland. The supporting characters are her mom and her older brother Pete. The antagonist of the book is nature and Trisha herself!
The book is about a girl going on a hiking trip with her mom and brother. As they're walking she stops to use the restroom in the woods without telling her mom or brother and she gets lost. As she is lost she has to use all of the k...more
The book is about a girl going on a hiking trip with her mom and brother. As they're walking she stops to use the restroom in the woods without telling her mom or brother and she gets lost. As she is lost she has to use all of the k...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book Marauders: the girl who loved tom gordon | 2 | 2 | Sep 15, 2011 06:22pm | |
| Stephen King Fans: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon | 16 | 103 | May 19, 2011 10:27pm |
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent...more
More about Stephen King...
Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent...more
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“It was like drowning, only from the inside out.”
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57 people liked it
“The world had teeth and it could bite you with them anytime it wanted.”
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15 people liked it
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