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The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

By Stephen King

(119)

| Mass Market Paperback | 9783190027293

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Book Description

Trisha McFarland is a plucky 9-year-old hiking with her brother and mom, who is grimly determined to give the kids a good time on their weekends together. Trisha's mom is recently divorced, and her brother is feuding with her for moving from Boston to small-town Maine, where classmates razz him. TriContinue

Trisha McFarland is a plucky 9-year-old hiking with her brother and mom, who is grimly determined to give the kids a good time on their weekends together. Trisha's mom is recently divorced, and her brother is feuding with her for moving from Boston to small-town Maine, where classmates razz him. Trisha steps off the trail for a pee and a respite from the bickering. And gets lost.

Trisha's odyssey succeeds on several levels. King renders her consciousness of increasing peril beautifully, from the "first minnowy flutter of disquiet" in her guts to her into-the-wild tumbles to her descent into hallucinations, the nicest being her beloved Red Sox baseball pitcher Tom Gordon, whose exploits she listens to on her Walkman. The nature writing is accurate, tense, and sometimes lyrical, from the maddening whine of the no-see-um mosquito to the profound obbligato of the "Subaudible" (Trisha's dad's term for nature's intimations of God). Our identification with Trisha deepens as we learn about her loved ones: Dad, a dreamboat whose beer habit could sink him; loving but stubborn Mom; Trisha's best pal, Pepsi Robichaud, vividly evoked by her colorful sayings ("Don't go all GIRLY on me, McFarland!"). The personal associations triggered by a full moon, the running monologue with which she stays sane--we who have been lost in woods will recognize these things.

In King's revealing Amazon.com interview, he said the one book he wishes he'd written was Lord of the Flies. When Trisha confronts a vision of buzzing horror in the middle of the woods, King creates his strongest echo yet of the central passage of Golding's novel. --Tim Appelo

Critics

  • Kidsreads.com -- Don't Miss: THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON: A Pop-up Book by Stephen King

    ... (read full critics)

    kidsreads published on Fri, 27 Aug 2010

6 Reviews

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  • 2 people find this helpful

    *** This comment contains spoilers! ***

    Per chi avesse la versione di questo romanzo già tradotta, ritengo che la lettura del finale in lingua originale sia necessaria.

    Pag 212-213
    "Ttrisha slowly transferred the cap to the hand with the IV needle in it. She looked at her father as she did it, making sure he was looking at her. She was tired. Soon she would sleep. But not yet. Not until she had said what she had to say.
    He was watching, watching closely. Good.
    S ... (continue)

    Pag 212-213
    "Ttrisha slowly transferred the cap to the hand with the IV needle in it. She looked at her father as she did it, making sure he was looking at her. She was tired. Soon she would sleep. But not yet. Not until she had said what she had to say.
    He was watching, watching closely. Good.
    She reached across her body with her right hand, never taking her eyes from her father, because he was the one who would know; if he understood, he would translate.
    Trisha tapped the visor of her cap, then pointed her right index finger up at the ceiling.
    The smile which lit his face from the eyes down was the sweetest, truest thing she had ever seen. If there was a path, it was there. Trisha closed her own eyes on his understanding and floated away into sleep.
    Game over."

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    Annaspring75 said on Sep 10, 2011 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    This is one of my favorite books of all time. NOT typical scary, gory Stephen King. My interpretation is that the girl finds God in the wilderness. I enjoyed it immensely...highly recommended!

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    Marion the librarian said on Dec 3, 2008 | Add your feedback

  • This was incredible. I can't believe how mature she becomes and how she manages to remember little snippets of things her parents have told her in order to survive. Such a shocking realisation of the things you have to do to stay alive. I was close to tears when I reached the last page.

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    Valentine said on Mar 4, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • I bought this book is because of Tom Gordon, the pitcher of Red Sox. At that time I kind of like Red Sox. Mainly because Boston is the first big city that I travelled overseas. I like Boston, the friendly atmosphere, the place where liberty starts to grow.

    This books is a *light* novel for ... (continue)

    I bought this book is because of Tom Gordon, the pitcher of Red Sox. At that time I kind of like Red Sox. Mainly because Boston is the first big city that I travelled overseas. I like Boston, the friendly atmosphere, the place where liberty starts to grow.

    This books is a *light* novel for Stephen King, comparing to his other thriller books. The story is about a girl, who missed in the woods, trying to seek a way out. The only thing accompany with her is a Sony Walkman, linking her to the real world with a broadcast of baseball game.

    I think this is a light one because normally Stephen King's books are weighted over 500 pages. This book is only 200+ pages. That's really light. Also the intensity of thriller is much lower than others.

    After all, even the light flavor may not cause SK fans' attention, it is still a very good novel for younger people, or who are beginners of Stephen King's world. It's light, and it's smooth to taste.

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    walizard said on Nov 20, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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