Oct 26, 2001 05:38 AM
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Every time I review a book there is at least one book advisor that doesn't like it, but true to what I usually do, if something strikes me one way or the other I want to write about it.
Stephen King really is the ''king'' of horror novels. The most amazing (or horrifying) thing about his work is that he often delves into events or situations that are possible and realistic. Such is the case with this novel.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon introduces us to a 9 year old girl named Patricia McFarland (Trisha) who makes a terrible mistake. While going on a hike with her mother and brother (who can't seem to stop arguing with each other over the recent divorce of the parents and ignore this poor kid completely) along the Appalachian Trail, Trisha takes a few steps of of the main path to go to the bathroom. She gets hopelessly lost with nothing but her backpack, her Red Sox cap, a walkman, one meal's worth of food and a rain poncho. Probably the most hideous thing here is that the mother and brother don't even notice that she's gone for quite a while (how awful!).
This novel is the tale of how Trisha endures this trial and the awful things she has to go through in order to survive. One of her main saving factors is that she can periodically tune into the Red Sox games on her walkman, which to her becomes the most important possession. She is a huge fan of Tom Gordon who is the Red Sox's relief pitcher. She imagines that he is there in the woods with her, helping her along the way, comforting her when she is stalked by a ''thing'' in the woods who is watching her, with great patience.
My only complaint here is that this was a short work, at least compared to what the norm is for King. I was relieved by the outcome of the story but sad that it ended so quickly.
