The world had teeth and it could bite you with them anytime it wanted. Trisha McFarland discovered this when she was nine years old. Lost in the woods.
Trisha has only veered off the trail to get away from the bickering of her brother and recently divorced mother. She doesn't think there's any chance of getting lost.
Except in her panic to get back on the path, Trisha takes a turning that leads into the tangled undergrowth. Deeper and deeper in the terrifying woods. At first it's just the bugs, midges and mosquitoes. Then the hunger. For solace she turns her Walkman into the broadcasts of the Red Sox baseball games and the performance of her hero Tom Gordon. And when the reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her.
As darkness begins to fall, Trisha begins to give up hope of being found. Alive. And as she struggles for survival and a way out, she realises that she's not alone. There's something else in the woods - watching. Waiting...
Genre: Fiction, Horror
Year: 1999
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Rating: 3/5
I have been in a bit of a Stephen King mood lately. I have read four of his books this year. Eventually, I hope to read them all. I love how he weaves his stories. They are usually easy to read and fun. Good reads for those times when you don't want to think too hard.
As for The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, I don't have a whole lot to say about this book.... it was an easy read, interesting enough that I kept reading but it was nothing special. I wouldn't recommend it to a person who isn't already a Stephen King fan. It just didn't have that 'wow' factor.
Like all King books he took an ordinary person, in this case a perfectly ordinary nine year old girl, and put her in a difficult situation with something scary lurking beneath the pages.
I am not a baseball fan so I wasn't too interested in the baseball talk in this book. Although, I was prepared for that.
It was interesting following Trisha through the woods as she fights to survive... but kind of frustrating that she broke the two golden rules of going bush, 1) never leave the group and 2) if you get lost stay put! but if she didn't walk off, there would be no story!
The decline of Trisha's energy, health and sanity parallel the growing creepiness and approaching monster. That was done well.
If you are already a King fan by all means, give this novel a go. If you haven't read a King before, I wouldn't bother.
Have you read this novel? What did you think?
