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    The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
    The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
    The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

    Written by Stephen King

    Narrated by Anne Heche

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The acclaimed #1 New York Times bestseller from Stephen King—uniquely frightening suspense about a young girl lost in the woods as night falls, with only the voice of her beloved Red Sox relief pitcher to sustain her and help her survive—maybe.

    During a six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, nine-year-old Trisha McFarland quickly tires of the constant bickering between her older brother and her recently divorced mother. But when she wanders off by herself, she becomes lost in a wilderness maze full of peril and terror. As night falls, Trisha has only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, and only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fears. For solace she tunes her headphones to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox baseball games and follows the gritty performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when the reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her—the protector from an enemy who may or may not be imagined…one who is watching her, waiting for her in the dense, dark woods…
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateApr 1, 1999
    ISBN9780743563390
    The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
    Author

    Stephen King

    Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes the short story collection You Like It Darker, Holly, Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. 

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    Reviews for The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

    4/5

    328 ratings81 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I loved this book. I am not a Stephen King fan...his books are a little too frightening for me. But this was just wonderful. I would read it again and again.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Typical Stephen King suspense/horror book. I liked it.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Trish is lost after wandering away from her fighting brother and mother, to use the restroom. She finds hope to survive from her hero , RedSox relief picture Tom Gordon. I didn't find this book to entertaining. I felt this book dragged on. I did however enjoyed the pop pictures in this book they were very elaborate.
    • 3/5
      This novel had little dialogue and LOTS of descriptive prose. Most of the time I do not like books written this way. This book was OK, but not one of my favorite King novels.
    • 3/5
      In a nutshell: Somewhat desultory short novel about a girl lost in the woods.This one didn't really work for me. I think it would have been better as a longish short story, rather than a shortish novel - it seemed as if it was being dragged out to meet a length requirement rather than unspooling a good narrative. Especially distracting to me was the fact that this girl is 9 years old but some of her thoughts and comments were more fitting to a teenager or even an adult. I repeatedly kept shaking my head, thinking "No 9 year old would ever think that, much less be able to articulate it."
    • 4/5
      This book was very suspenseful and thought provoking. Was what she saw real? Was it a bear or evil spirits? If it was the bear, why did he spare her life?
    • 5/5
      Utterly compelling tale of a girl lost in the woods, where something lurks in the darkness. More of a short story than a novel, but just the correct length in my view. Stephen King has a way of getting to me that few other writers manage, and I didn't just care about the fate of the girl, I *was* her. As ever with SK, there's no way of predicting the ending.
    • 4/5
      Trisha McFarland is a nine year old who is going hiking with her mom and older brother. As the hike begins, the mom and teenage brother are busy arguing once again and Trisha who is walking behind them, decides to veer off and use the bathroom in the woods. She figures she won't be missed and she even hopes that her mom and brother might look back and be scared once they realize she's gone, since they've been paying her no mind. Once she's done using the bathroom, Trisha decides to take a shortcut through the woods, instead of going back to the trail. Within minutes, she's completely lost. Her brother and mom still haven't even realized she's not walking behind them anymore."Trisha turned back toward the slope, and then turned around again as the worst idea of her life came to her. This idea was to go forward instead of backtracking to the Kezar Notch trail. The paths had forked in a Y; she would simply walk across the gap and rejoin the main trail. Piece of cake. There was no change of getting lost, because she could hear the voices of the other hikers so clearly. There was really no chance of getting lost at all." p.21Days roll into nights and the deeper she walks into the woods, the worse it is for her. Soon enough, Trisha realizes she is not alone, something is following her. She can't see it, but she knows it's there. This 'something' is leaving dead animal carcasses and claw marks on trees. Trisha's poor sense of direction continues to lead her further and further into the deep woods.Do you know what amazes me most about this book? The fact that Stephen King can write a story about a nine year old girl being lost in the woods and turn it into a tense, creepy, page turner. I decided to re-read The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon one weekend and it was a nice dose of horror.Characterization is wonderful here as per King's usual. Trisha's parents are divorced, while in the woods she has flashbacks of her mom and dad. She wonders how she could have been sitting in her car one minute, and lost in the woods the next. You can't help but root for her and be scared for her too. King doesn't miss a beat though, Trisha hallucinates at times as the exhaustion and stress take their toll on her. As I read I could easily envision the dense woods, the sounds of birds, the fear Trisha felt.You don't really know what is following Trisha, whether it's a bear or a monster. King does a fantastic job at making you scared of something that hasn't even shown itself yet. It's simply the thought of that monster in the woods that is really scary."The unreliable moonlight had changed the shapes of the trees, had turned them into bone faces with black eyes. The sound of two branches rubbing together became the clotted croon of a monster. Trisha turned in a clumsy circle, trying to look everywhere at once, her eyes rolling in her muddy face." p.98I recommend The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon to all King fans or to anyone looking for a quick dose of horror. This one is mild compared to his other works, so if you are new to this author and are looking to read one of his books that isn't too scary, I think this is a good choice. The fear of the unknown, inner strength, courage and hope are what lies at the core of this scary story. King delivers here and I'm glad I re-read this one. King has a knack for creating young characters that the reader can root for and care about. Disclaimer:This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any type of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers and authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I purchased my copy of this book.
    • 4/5
      Ein altes M?rchenmotiv wurde hier neu aufgelegt: Die neunj?hrige (Pa)Trisha kommt vom Waldweg ab und nachdem sie zun?chst nicht sehr beunruhigt ist, muss sie bald einsehen, dass sie sich verirrt hat und um ihr Leben k?mpft. Trishas einzige Verbindung zur Au?enwelt ist ihr kleiner Radioempf?nger, insbesondere die ?bertragungen von Baseball-Spielen geben ihr Hoffnung. Da der Autor Stephen King hei?t, ?berrascht es nicht, dass sie neben Orientierungslosigkeit und Hunger noch Schlimmeres in den W?ldern erwartet. Es ist aber kein blutr?nstiger Roman. ?ber weite Strecken passiert nicht viel Dramatisches, stattdessen verschlechtert sich langsam die Situation der Protagonistin. Das ganze ist souver?n vom Autor umgesetzt, er beschreibt glaubw?rdig die Gef?hlswelt der Hauptperson und treibt die Geschichte einem spannenden Ende entgegen.
    • 1/5
      it's a very bad book that lacks creativity. the author disappointed me terribly. do not waste your time reading it!!!
    • 3/5
      ?The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon? is a wonderful example of how Stephen King can take something as simple as a hike and make it every person?s own private nightmare.

      When 9 year-old Trisha goes with her mom and brother for a brief hike on the Appalachian Trail in Maine, her brief bathroom break becomes the thing of nightmares when she tries to take a shortcut off the path to get back to her mom and brother. Unfortunately for Trisha, her ?shortcut? takes her deep into the woods leaving her alone and struggling to find someone or someway to get back to her mom. Trisha is not your average young girl and she is smart enough to ration her food, find water, locate edible wild foods (such as checkerberries and fiddleheads) and to use her imagination to survive her dilemma and find a way home.

      This novel is an example of why Stephen King remains the king of the horror genre. His writing is absorbing and the details of branches snapping, claw marks and the feeling of desolation encourage his readers to live the horror of being lost in the woods with Trisha. King?s ability to get into the mind of a young girl and what scares her is incredible. His ability to realize the basic fears of every person, put them into captivating text and his normal characters with ordinary frights transcends the bounds of time and space making him an exceptional author and an American classic.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book. By the start of it, I wasn't sure, but the MC quickly becomes relatable and the storyline, though fairly simple is interesting. What this little girl survives and how is thrilling. It's a relatively short book for SK and, for once, I could say I wished for more back story into the family's lives.
    • 4/5
      Amazingly my stepdaughter gave me a Stephen King book, that I haven't read, for Christmas. A nine year old girl gets totally lost while hiking. Her Mom and older brother were too busy arguing too notice. We get to experience her struggles including what's going on in her head. One of her coping mechanisms is to invoke Tom Gordon, her favorite Red Sox player along for the ride. She encounters all sorts of terrain, including bogs and rocky hills. She scrounges for whatever she can find to eat and water to drink with some horrendous digestive consequences! And, oh yeah, there is that unidentified monster stalking her along the way. It is always a treat to experience the character's thoughts and join them on a familiar yet not so normal journey that Mr. King is so good at describing! You just never know where he'll take you next!
    • 2/5
      Although I have only read a handful of Stephen King books I was really disappointed in this one. It had all the twists and turns that a normal King book has....but it lacked his signiture suspense and complete mystery. If this is the first King book that you choose to read and don't like it, please pick up another and try it. You will completely surprised in the difference of this novel vs his others.
    • 4/5
      Like all of Stephen Kings book, it was very well written. That's why he's the master. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Right from the start you were pulling for Trisha to find her way out of the woods. The adventure she endured would have broke many of us, but the resilience of a child never ceases to amaze me. I gave this a 4 stars, if I could have, I would have said 4.5 stars.
    • 3/5
      This book to me feels like the sister to one of Kings two great story failures Gerald's Game. Both books delve into inner horror that aren't associated with supernatural forces, much like Cujo, that I think is something he hasn't played with enough. Like Gerald's game this book tosses in a supernatural being at the end for a big flat non-scare ending that I think was the antithesis of what he was trying to achieve.The story follows the path of a young girl who gets lost in the woods and has to survive while trying to find her way home. In and of itself he plays really well with basic childhood fear of the imaginary monster that lurks under beds and in the closet and this is done really well until the third act when this monster materializes and is done away with almost as quickly in a very deux ex machina manner.I believe that this was one of his first attempts back into fiction after the accident that left him badly injured and unsure whether he would ever write again and I wonder how much of it's ending was forced and not natural.
    • 4/5
      Nine year old Trisha gets lost in the woods. But these aren't just any old woods. These are the woods of Stephen King, and of course, that means something spooky has to be in there too! And it is! But Trisha's love for the Boston Red Sox, and their closer Tom Gordon, keeps her going and going. I had fun reading this and I totally geeked out by using an actual Tom Gordon baseball card as my book mark!
    • 3/5
      Uncharacteristic for a King novel. My only complaint is the girl was much too sophisticated for a nine year old.
    • 4/5
      A terrific book. Very little use of standard King heebie-jeebies. An excellent book inside the head of a little girl lost in the woods. I really enjoyed this and read it in one sitting.
    • 1/5
      If ever I have read a book that should never have been written, this is it. The whole story could easily be reduced to 20 or 30 pages. If I had to sum it up this is what i would say...Girl gets lost in woods, girl swats bugs from face, girl falls down, girl swats more bugs from face. Girl then eats, adjusts backpack a few dozen times, swats even more bugs and falls down a bit more.The whold novel bored me to tears and I found myself wishing for the end more than any other book before. If you haven't the slightest idea about baseball, I would also give this book a wide berth as the girl constantly is in talks with an imaginery version of Tom Gordan.I really didn't think that King was capable of writing such crap, but he definately is.......
    • 4/5
      ?I need to pee.? Trisha said. Well, this is an interesting book. It starts out with a young girl, maybe 8 or 9, getting lost in the woods. She is a HUGE Red Sox fan, so she admires Tom Gordon. SPOILERSShe is hiking in the woods with her divorced mother her older brother. Now, they?re arguing, because Pete(her brother), is very mad at his mother for making him go on this hike with her. Trisha needs to go to the bathroom, so she tries to tell them. Unfortunately, they don?t hear her. So, she is forced to go into the woods to do her business there. Eventually, she gets lost in the woods. Pete and Trisha?s mom call the police to try and look for her. She wanders in the woods, gets attacked by wasps, falls down cliffs, and even going through swamps and quicksand. When she gets out of the woods, she is saved by a hillbilly hunter. She was getting attacked by a bear, and the hillbilly shot at it, and I believe that he killed the bear. Honestly, I think this is a great book. Even though it?s not his later works, like The Stand and Salem?s Lot, it?s still a good read.
    • 4/5
      After reading the first two chapters I almost gave up on this book. I am glad I persevered as King's sole character for approx 90% of the book grew in stature and interest. A 9 yr old girl lost in the wilderness of the Appalachians used her imagination by pretending her hero, Tom Gordon (Pitchman of Boston Baseball) was alongside her and helping in her ordeal. King used all the tricks such as belef, self doubt, fear, realism etc in building up this character and the way she dealt with her situatio. Unusual but clever and I can understand why some of King,s followers would be disappointed but as the book entered its half way stage I did find that I was at last enthralled.
    • 4/5
      Great story. Read it while you camping out or listen to it on CD while you are driving through the woods, that is what we did and my kids still talk about it and get the willies in the forest.
    • 4/5
      Not a bad story. As always, King mines a few gems here which make the proceedings worthwhile. Overall not his strongest work, and I wouldn’t recommend it as a starting place for people unfamiliar with his work, but worth checking out.
    • 4/5
      This book was very suspenseful and thought provoking. The story is a psychological study of saving yourself under cruel conditions. King creates a 9 year old character who is likable, charmingly, and totally believable.. The baseball metaphor and Anne Heche's truly brilliant performance further enhance the narrative. However; there is an unexpected, ill-fitting musical interlude at the end of each "inning". Good job SK.
    • 3/5
      The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a slow book with a mixture of survival and adventure. First Looking over this I expected it to be a little more thrilling. Although this book didn't have the creepy stereotypical plot expected from Stephen King, it still gave a great sense of adventure. This book taught me a few helpful skills to help live out in the woods, but it still didn't have the detail I was looking for. This book had a fairly quick start, Trisha wonders of the trail to go to the bathroom, this is when she decided to take a shortcut, little did she know this move could kill her. Trisha didn't care what happened to her at the time, she felt like she was hated. If it wasn't for this girls huge amount of knowledge, and baseball that kept her moving she would surely be dead. By the end of the book she realizes she was loved, and that her mother would rather die herself then lose her own daughter.
    • 4/5
      I think I know why many people did not appreciate this book: they read the physical or ebook version rather than listening to the audiobook.

      The audiobook is one of the best books I've listened to thanks to amazing narration by Anne Heche (yes, that Anne Heche). In fact, this became one of my favorite Stephen King books of all time, thanks in large part to the narration, but also the simple yet effective writing that keeps the story moving forward.

      I can't imagine it's easy to write an entire book about a girl being lost in the woods while keeping the reader's interest, but King does an admirable job of it. Add in a sprinkling of the supernatural spice that King is known for, and you have a book well worth listening to.
    • 3/5
      A quick read, but it really displays how well King can write from the perspective of a child.
    • 5/5
      I think I'll give this book five stars. Because I was so scared Tricia wouldn't survive! And I was so relieved when she actually survived!

      I wonder if the wasp man and the wasp bear were hallucinations. The bear was really there, but the wasps?

      I was so glad when a hunter found her and got her to hospital. I was very relieved that he was a nice man! I worried for a bit that he wouldn't be, but he was!

      So I'm giving this book the full five stars because it was a really tense read!
    • 2/5
      This was an alright read, but nothing spectacular. I find that after I read a particularly good book (in this case, The Time Traveler's Wife) I find it hard to get into another book. If I read something quick and easy, some easy young adult or something very pop fiction-y, it helps. This book seemed to do the trick nicely.I did find that I sped read through parts of it, I found some of it to be dragging, and I got sick of some of the vocabulary used, but it is what it is. It kept me mildly entertained and gave my brain a rest from more deep literary fiction.I read a lot of it on the subway, which I found sort of funny, being as I read it on the line that stops at Yankee Stadium, and it is about a girl who is a die hard Red Sox fan, particularly fan of Tom Gordan.