Stephen King

Kees Moerbeek

An adaptation for children of the tale of a girl's experiences while lost on the Appalachian Trail, certain she is being followed by some beastly thing, but comforted by imaginary conversations with her favorite baseball player.

A Pop-up Book

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

Das Mädchen

it was very intense and got me really into the story. such a great book

Colton Ray

Although this probably could have been condensed and put into one of his short story collections, its a decent enough tale. Nothing really groundbreaking, but still has that quintessential King vibe that pulls you in and makes you not want to put it down. I would classify it more as suspense than straight horror, as well. A good way to spend a day.

shru

i wasn't spooked, but i think that's on me

Die Welt hat Zähne. Und mit denen beisst sie zu, wann immer sie will. Diesmal trifft es die neunjährige Trisha. In einem Moment der Unachtsamkeit verirrt sie sich hoffnungslos im dichten Wald. Sie erlebt eine Odyssee voller Schrecken, von der ersten flatternden Unruhe im Bauch über die Stürze in der Wildnis bis hin zum Abstieg in eine Welt voller Halluzinationen. Dazu die nervenzersägenden Moskitos.

Roman

caroline

Anna Cashman

That, simultaneously, did not feel like horror and also was my worst nightmare. 
I was so scared of getting lost in the woods when I was younger. To the point where at Trisha’s age I cried when friends suggested we get lost in the woods and try to find our way out.. as a birthday party game.. To be fair, we were at a small state park with lots of paths and signs and totally would’ve been fine. It’s not even the fear of what dangerous things could be in the woods. It’s just the idea of being lost. In never ending woods.

Gulshan Hasanzada

Ən qorxulu yuxunuzu xatırlayırsınız? Mən hə, çox uşaq idim, yəqin 4-5 yaşında yuxumda bundan sonrakı həyatımın ən böyük fobiyasını görmüşdüm, o qədər qorxmuşdum ki, yatağım divara söykənik olduğundan divar boyalarını qışqır-bağırla cırmışdım. Yuxuda nə görsəm yaxşıdı? Metro stansiyasında anamın qatara minib mənim platformada qalmağımı, bir sözlə itməyimi. Ta o vaxtdan yol tapa bilməyəndə və ya tanımadığım yerdə azdığımı düşünəndə panikaya düşürəm və qorxuram. 25 yaşım var, hələ də bu qorxunu dəf edə bilmirəm. İndi siz düşünün ki, mən 9 yaşında Trish adlı qızın meşədə itməsi ilə bağlı kitab oxuyuram. Əslində Stephen King kitab üçün çox da cazibədar olmayan meşədə itmək mövzusunu elə uzun və dərin işləyib ki, inanılmaz həyəcan yaşada bilib. Oxuyub bitirmə tarixindən görünür ki, kitabı uzun müddət oxuya bilməmişəm. Son 4 gündə hər gecə 2-3 saatımı ayıraraq arada nəfəs almağı unutduracaq şəkildə kitaba fokuslandım. Based on a true story.. 1 ulduzu isə ona görə qırdım ki, müəllifin gələcəkdə oxuyacağım daha yaxşı əsərlərinə haqsızlıq olmasın.

From the Flap:

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 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 to 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 36, 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.

A classic story that engages our emotions at the most primal level, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, explores our deep dread of the unknown and the extent to which faith can conquer it. It is a fairy tale grimmer than Grimm, but aglow with a girl's indomitable spirit.

Sarahi Flores

A girl named Trisha get lost in the woods. Say no more. I needed to start reading this book lol. This was a moderate read for me despite being like a 200 page story. There were some certain part of the book I kept dozing off? I mean idk if it was because I was reading it during night shift and I was in need of some sleep, but every time I kept continuing the book I would just sleepy. But it wasn’t like that for long because it started to get good. I guess the description of Trisha being lost in the forest and just having only her thoughts to converse with was mainly the part where I just forced to read. I mean I sympathize with her because she’s only 9 and that is a very young age to get lost and not know what to do. She was somewhat resourceful and I rooted for her all the way.

I enjoyed it somewhat and it was a not bad book. Not my favorite but decent. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Samantha Holmes

lauren carla

I went into the novel without knowing anything about the plot or setting, and it definitely was not what I originally thought it was going to be lmaoo. I think the concept of the novel is interesting, but there were a lot of parts where I found my mind straying or feeling bored. anyways, not my favorite stephen king novel, but not my least favorite either.

Samiha Tasnim

My experience with Stephen King involved only Carrie,which I'd found to be okay-ish and rather crazy, so I can't say I was expecting much when I began to read this one. But boy-oh-boy did it turn out to be great! Goes to show, first impressions don't always show it true.

Sophia De La Garza

This was a nice thriller short story from King and makes me excited to read more of his writing.

Natalie Hanna

A frightening suspense novel about nine-year-old Trisha, who becomes lost in the woods as night falls.

Mari-Claire Parrin

Denise B.

3.5 out of 5 stars

TW: Animal gore, Insect phobias, Bodily functions, Baseball & Religion

P.S. Don't read if you dislike survivalist tropes, Sports (Baseball) and/or Religion as plot points. Superficially, this reminded me of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen with some Lord of the Flies by William Golding, vaguely sprinkled throughout.

This was an unexpectedly fast read for me but I am a King fan so pre-existing bias is present. The story follows a 9 year old (soon to be 10), big for her age, girl. Her mother has commandeered Trisha and her brother Pete for an exciting hike through the woods...in Maine (of course). On the trail, her mother & brother start (or continue) arguing, Trisha tries to get their attention because of course she has to take a wee. Failing that, Trish makes the command decision to just go off the trail a ways but keeping within earshot if not visual, and takes her wee. She gets turned around after seeing & hearing other people on the trail therefore moving further back. This entire book is broken down into chapters titled by Baseball innings. Each inning represents Trisha's struggle and perseverance in at first trying to get back to the trail then finally just trying to get back to civilization/rescue. Religion is mentioned/discussed but not shoved down your throat in my opinion. King is very descriptive of the environment and the effect it has on Trisha, the unknown of being alone in regards to a child. The NY Times stated "Frightening....feverish terror." but I didn't really get the terror or horror vibe. There was suspense and anxiety for the character and things she stumbled into literally, however I felt no terror. I would recommend this, with above mentioned triggers in mind, if you want fast paced suspenseful drama. It's a shorter but still engaging book by Stephen King and considering the size of some of his other stories, this may get your feet wet in regards to his writing and genre.

The girl who loved Tom Gordon

window

** spoiler alert **
           I have not read any recent Stephen King books (ever since the trainwreck that was Insomnia, I have moved on to other writers) so I thought I would give his newer stuff a try. I checked this one out on a whim.

This is the story of 10 year old Trisha who gets lost in the woods after stepping off the path and then attempting a short cut to catch up to her mother and brother. She endures the usual physical hardships one would face if lost in a forest, but manages to keep her wits pretty well for a young girl. She is actually pretty resourceful and in fact acted like she was much older than barely 10. Along the way, she is comforted by listening to broadcasts of the Boston Red Sox games on her Walkman with special attenton paid to her favorite ball player, Tom Gordon. As days go by, she begins to hallucinate that Tom is with her, helping guide her through the forest. At some point, a Nameless Evil begins to stalk her. We never learn what the nature of this thing is, why it's stalking her, or why it waits so long to try to attack her. We also don't really have a sense of how it is defeated - that is, other than being scared away by a convenient hunter and psyched out by Trisha - some Nameless Evil, huh?
 
I was a little disappointed in this book - it wasn't bad but it lacked King's knack of bringing characters and settings to life. To me, Trisha acted more like a teenager than a 10 year old and most of the other characters were 2-dimensional. On the whole, the story felt rather stilted. The only reason that I finished it so quickly was because A) it was short and B) because some other sucker requested it from the library so I couldn't renew it.

Ben Nathan

A great read for those that ever have the feeling of true connection with an athlete or sports team. A well written, highly enjoyable (as a reader, not character) tale of being lost in the woods. Main character is just a badass little girl. The narration is wonderful. I think this may be the cause of a Stephen King binge this year. Bonus for me is being a Red Sox fan, so this had an extra special place in my heart.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon A Pop-up Book

Reviews