Retro Horror Vol. 3 - The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

Welcome back to round three of Retro Horror.  Both Stormi and I have picked separate books again this time around so you get double the horror fun.  So read on to see what I thought of my pick this month, and then go see how Stormi's pick worked out for her at Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

TITLE: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

AUTHOR: Stephen King

PUBLISHER: Pocket Books

PUBLISHING DATE: April 6, 1999 (original date)

FROM GOODREADS: 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…  

MY THOUGHTS: This is one Stephen King book that I never even actually bought when it came out.  I think back then I saw "baseball" and not being a huge fan of the sport, just skipped it.  However, I recently picked up this edition from Wal-Mart one day and I realized it would be a perfect read for the Retro Horror project.

So one day Trisha, her mother and her brother travel from home to go on a six-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail.  Trisha's parents have recently divorced and her brother hates every idea their mother comes up with to do for weekend activities.  Trisha is tired of all the fighting and bickering.  While hiking, Trisha steps off the trail to go to the bathroom.  Because her brother and mother are in the middle of another epic battle, she doesn't say anything thinking she can quickly catch up. However, she gets turned around and what follows is several days lost in the woods with only a small backpack of supplies and her beloved Tom Gordon signed baseball cap.

I have to make note of the formatting of this novel.  King titled the chapters like baseball innings which was a really nice touch.  I really enjoyed reading things such as "Bottom of the Seventh" because as the "game" progressed, Trisha's situation grew more dire.  I also really liked Trisha but I have to be honest and admit that this is not one of my favorite King books.  I kind of got tired of the whole lost-in-the-woods tale and really just wanted Trisha to be found.

I also found there to be some holes in the story.  For example, someone calls in a tip to the local police that Trisha was abducted by a local pedophile. Other than serving as a mechanism to drag the story out longer because the police changed the focus of their search, it didn't seem to fit.  This also may seem strange considering this is actually one of King's shorter books  but I found myself wanting more.  I wanted to see more reaction from the parents who were clearly on the way to making their children's lives more difficult.  The brother did feel some remorse but basically he was just a little shit.  He was older than Trisha but you never would have guessed it from the way he acted.

So overall I am glad I finally picked this book up.  It's another King I can mark off my list.  I know people dearly love this tale and if you like survival stories, it's definitely one you should consider picking up.

RATING: 3 PAWS

If you happened to miss my past reviews, you can check them out here:

Vol 1 - Wither
Vol 2 - The Amityville Horror