The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon - by Stephen King (Paperback)

About the Book

A young girl who lost in the woods with only her Walkman for comfort listens to a Boston Red Sox game for comfort while a multitude of thoughts concerning her parents' newly divorced status runs through her mind. There may be something threatening in the woods, then again, there may not be. . . .

Book Synopsis

The acclaimed #1 New York Times bestseller from Stephen King. A uniquely frightening thriller 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 escapes the tension between her older brother and recently divorced mother. But when she strays off the path, she descends into a terrifying nightmare. Alone in the deep forest, Trisha must face the raw power of nature, with only her imagination, courage, and wits.

Drawing strength from her Walkman, Trisha finds comfort in Red Sox broadcasts and the imagined companionship of her idol, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. As the signal fades, she conjures visions of Gordon guiding her, even as she senses a darker presence nearby.

Review Quotes

"Entertainment Weekly" Plenty of thrills...[King's] an elegant writer and a master of pacing.

"New York Daily News" A fast, scary read...King blasts a homer...[He] expertly stirs the major ingredients of the American psyche -- our spirituality, fierce love of children, passion for baseball, and collective fear of the bad thing we know lurks on the periphery of life.

"People" An absorbing tale..."Tom Gordon" scores big.

"San Francisco Examiner" A gem....Superb.

"St. Louis Post-Dispatch" King paints a masterful, terrifying picture of every child's (and maybe adult's) worst fear...King uses that creepy-crawly paranoia to perfection.

"The New York Times" Frightening....Feverish terror.

"The Wall Street Journal" Impressive...A wonderful story of courage, faith, and hope. It is eminently engaging and difficult to put down.

"USA Today" A delightful read, a literary walk in the woods, and not just for baseball fans.

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Never Flinch, the short story collection You Like It Darker (a New York Times Book Review top ten horror book of 2024), Holly (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), 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.