Rating: 
Summary: Standard King, if a bit shorter than the norm
Review: There's a saying that goes, "Everything under the sun has been done," and considering the style-over-substance programming that has infected most of the recent mass media output, this quote has a ring of truth to it. The symbols and strife of ancient myth are given a whitewash job, with modern equivalencies stenciled over to make it more palatable. Often the result is utterly transparent, a good example being the latest crop of Hollywood derivatives (it almost seems as if that writer's strike did go on after all - )... but even when the story has been hopelessly canned, if the creator injects a certain amount of passion, thought and individual talent into the artistic process, oft times the results are so impressive, so emotionally resounding, that it doesn't matter than we've seen it a dozen or a hundred times before - for a short time the power and pathos captivates us, leaves us spellbound and in awe, in that state we seek entertainment for.One might say that Stephen King, possibly the single most successful author of the 20th century, has mastered the ability of recycling those time-worn myths into packages of blissful escapist fun. _The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon_ is standard paint-by-numbers King: a child in danger, a malevolent force in pursuit, and the struggle between them. King has used this theme before: _The Shining_, _It_, _Christine_, _The Waste Lands_, _Cujo_, _The Dead Zone_ to name a few...and, thanks in large part to a vivid imagination and strong character-building, King managed to make each of these books seem (fairly) original, unique from the other. _TGWLTG_ is no different. Using the 'lost in the woods' archetype mixed with baseball and the power of a child's imagination, King turns this novella into a blueprint example of how to build suspense, pushing the subject (and the reader as well) to the very brink before climax/resolution. The inclusion of the 'good vs. evil' paradigm, a motif so hoary that one can't see the frost for the foundation, is strengthened by this build-up pattern; but even more important (IMO) is the introduction of the 'stillness,' the meditative core that exists in all religions and (worthwhile) philosophy. King has used it many times before in his fiction, but rarely to such effectiveness. I've knocked off two stars from _TGWLTG_ for two reasons: one, that this is a novella and should really be part of a compilation (like Different Seasons), and two, King uses words and phrases that no nine year old (other than a savant) would recognize or incorporate, and the inclusion of such is jarring. Still, this is a nice read for a kick-back afternoon. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Overview: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Review: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King is a superb read and I hope this review is helpful. Compliments to Stephen King on another fine novel. Outline of Novel: The novel is about a 9 year old girl (Patricia McFarland) who leaves her mother and brothers constant arguing and heads into the woods. Patricia manages to lose the path and in doing so...her way back to the camping area where she was staying. She travels deeper into the forest without realising, in the aid of finding the path back to civilisation. Patricia turns to her favourite baseball player Tom Gordon in her imagination and listens to the games on her radio for comfort. However, something is in the woods, watching...waiting... Opinion of Novel: This is a gread read, although you may not think that possible from the un-original plot. Stephen King manages to keep the action constant and keeps you on the edge of your seat, with the ever changing struggles which Patricia faces throughout her treacherous ordeal. The novel is not extremely long and in depth as some of his other novels (i.e. The Stand), which makes this a nice easy going read, but it is not for the faint hearted. It is a novel which will have you reading until the end and a definite recommedation to anyone who likes King's other novels. After reading this novel, you will never feel the same way about being in the woods again...
Rating:
Summary: MORE GORINESS THAN HORROR
Review: This book by Stephen King is extraordinary, I especially love the detail put into the plot. The ideas are great and the suspence is thrilling. It's imposible to put this book down. Definitally worth a re-read! Once you're done the book, don't throw it away, you're sure to come back to it another time.
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable
Review: Being a hiker, and a Stephen King fan, I started reading this in the bookstore and couldn't turn away. The story is not that unique, but King's writing makes it uniquely true-to-life. The sub-plots are very familiar and will have you thinking that King's knows the reader's thoughts.
Rating:
Summary: One of Stephen Kings best books ever!
Review: I have read most of Stephen King's books. He is a masterful writer and crafts stories we never forget. This little book is no exception although it is completely different from any other he has written. The tension and suspense built into this story are tremendous. The one thing I do not care for in most of Stephen King's books is the overuse of the supernatural. This book uses almost none. It stands on its merits as a fascinating tale and a not-to-be forgotten experience rather than cooked up fantasy. I loved it.
Rating: 
Summary: Strike Three, King's Out!
Review: One day on a hiking trip, nine-year-old Trisha needs to pee. Her brother and divorced mother, who've been arguing throughout the entire trip, seem to have no care whether Trisha, who has been trying to catch their attention, is there or not. Trisha is annoyed. She hikes off the trail with the intention that her arguing mother and brother will soon notice they have lost Trisha. Unfortunately, a brief walk into the woods turns into hours of frantic search for the trail. Trisha begrudges that she is lost, and her only dependence now is her survival kit, or poncho of tuna and dearth supply of water. Trisha's only connection to the world now is her Walkman, where she listens to Castiglione and Troop announce Red Sox games. With killer hordes of mosquitoes and wasps on the lookout for fresh flesh, the nine-year-old thrives to escape the evil watching her every move. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon may be that quick read you've been looking for over the past weeks. Especially if you're not familiar with King's talent, it displays how many pages he could write about a lost girl in the woods and yet, thrill the reader by every turn of the page. Okay, fine. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon isn't one of King's page-by-page thriller, but still, a lot of people liked the book. One thing that I disliked about the novel was all the baseball talk. Not being a baseball fan, I really had no interest in reading chapters of Castiglione and Troop's announcements. However, don't get the wrong idea. Even if you're not a baseball fan, you can still get the gist of what's going on. If you're a King fan, check it out. It's one of King's shortest novels. Too bad it was just too cutesy for my taste.
Rating: 
Summary: The Guy Who Didn't Love Tom Gordon
Review: Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. No one can write a story that relates to his and my generation like him. But, I have to admit that maybe I just missed the boat on this one. It read to me like King had about 250 pages left in his ream of typing paper and knocked this thing off to finish the pack. A little girl gets lost in the woods; a little girl listens to Red Sox baseball on her radio; a little girl gets found. While Trisha is a sweet and appealing character, the story, to my mind, has no substance and no filling. Sort of like the literary equivalent of cheese whiz. I think it would have come off better as a short story rather than a novel. "Tom Gordon" is reminiscent, to my mind, of another King novel, "Gerald's Game", which involves a wife who, after going through some sexual hijinks with her husband, witnesses ol' hubby having the "Big One" while she remains chained to their bed. Kinky, yes. Enthralling, no. Yet the similiarities between these two books are there. 200 pages of the wife chained up was the equivalent here of 200+ pages of Trisha lost in the woods. It's not so much the lack of "action" in this book. There's no narrative to move the story along. As in "Gerald", King tries to insert an element of the supernatural that he brings in almost as an afterthought. It's almost as if he felt he needed to do this to save the novel. As a result, it comes across as if he isn't sure what kind of a story he wanted to write. I heard someone say, "'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon' would make an excellent made-for-TV movie. That should be condemnation enough, right there. And, lastly, as a Yankee fan, I have to disagree with King. No way Tom Gordon strikes out Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill back-to-back with a high hard one. Sorry Stephen.
Rating:
Summary: ... not only the "world has teeth"
Review: Beware: this book is - although made of very simple ingredients - very scary. What do you get if you take Red Sox' Tom Gordon's #1 fan, a young girl who struggles with her parent's marriage and her brother, put her on a walk along the Appalaichan Trail and make her get lost? A nightmare showing Stephen King's true craft: making an extraordinary story out of an ordinary thought. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon deals with the psychological terrors of loneliness and fading hope of ever being rescued; of the lurking dread that somewhere behind you, deep in the woods, is a monster, that is real, very real ... ... until Trisha finally confronts her true enemy, the monster, the thing of the woods, she has to defeat in a thrilling showdown that pushes you on the edge of your seat und ripps your nervs like a butcher. This book will definitely make your teeth grind, because it is very tense Stephen King at his best - at least in a way, if you stick to the fact, that it is an ordinary thought, but an extraordinary story. At the end of this book you will come to realize that sometimes the love for the true thing - for that one thing (whatever that is to you) you like best - is the only thing you got ... and the only thing you can fall back on, because it is YOUR thing. Maybe you will even get a few foot steps closer to that thing of yours!
Rating:
Summary: The Girl Who Loved Tom Boredom
Review: I should've known something was amiss. Here was an SK paperback that weighed under 5 lbs and felt more like a novella (though touted as a novel). But, once again, I fell for the "critical praise" the preceded the forward. I now realize that the acclaim dished out to pump an author's work is as dubious - if not more so - than the crap slapped on movie posters. Just once, I'd like the peer reviews to be honest: "King at his mediocre best!" or "King walks to first base! Again!" Don't get me wrong. I love SK. And because I do, I'd bet dollars to donuts that the time he spent on this book was equal to or less than the time it takes to read it and say, "I want my 15 minutes back." The story begins interestingly enough. A girl gets lost in the woods. Cool. Trouble is, neither she nor the story make inroads thereafter, no pun intended. The only obstacle King gives her are the inhospitable woods. Duh. Oh yeah, and he keeps reminding us that "something is stalking her." Over and over. Each chapter (or "inning", in keeping with the baseball substory) goes around in circles. She's lost, and "something's" following her. By the "7th inning" we're saying, "OK, I get it already. She's lost and something's following her. Do something with it." Somewhere around the 4th inning, King introduces a crank caller who tricks the search party. A cool twist, but it goes nowhere. I was really hoping that King would dial up the intensity like he used to. I wanted the little girl to run into the cast of Deliverance. But she doesn't. Not even her imaginary friend, Tom Gordon, is interesting. And he's imaginary fer chrissake! Finally, the 9th inning arrives and King reveals the thing that's been "stalking" her (which we guessed the minute he introduced it) and it's as climactic as a bus trip to Buffalo. Then it dawned on me. This "novel" is actually a young adult book. By that I mean it's for girls between 9 and 15 -- the kind who don't get asked to dance. This book should be in the Young Adult section, not leaning against CARRIE. And in case you hadn't guessed, I'm not a young girl. I have hair on my knuckles. And if I'm gonna read a book about a young girl who's lost in the woods, she better damn well run into a chainsaw or Slingblade or both. Maybe it has to do with the whole baseball thing which ain't that exciting to begin with. It's too bad King isn't into hockey. He could've called the book, "The Girl Who Loved Phil Esposito" and thrown in some good fights as a gesture of good will to those who, unfortunately, didn't lose themselves reading the thing.
Rating:
Summary: Don't expect much horror, but expect great drama
Review: Once again Stephen King shows he can write more than tales of gore. The book starts out when newly divorced mother of two takes her children for a hike. Before this ever takes place nine year old Trisha gets lost in the woods by herself. "All becouse I needed to Pee" she comments to herslef. The novel goes on to discuss her nine day odyssey in the woods. Throughout her difficulties, and through her terror she finds comfort in listening with her walkman to the Red Sox play and her favorite player Tom Gordon. When her walkman wears out she just thinks of Tom Gordon and how he always seems to save the day. It is a great story about faith, inner strength, and determination. It is a quick read that will keep you turning pages until the end. In many ways it reminded me of times when things get so out of hand so quickly. One moment she is safe with her mother and brother, and the next thing she knows she is completly lost in a hostile environment. It goes to show that disaster can strike at any moment, often when we least expect it. Faith and determination is sometimes all we have.
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