Rating: Summary: Can he save her during a horrible crisis? Review: "The world has teeth Tom and it can bite anytime it wants to." This quote is from Stephen King's The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and it is typical because the world is cruel and there is no telling what it might do. King's purpose in writing this novel is mainly to keep the reader guessing about what will happen next. King achieves this by using appealing settings, complex characters, suspenseful plots, and different language styles. This story centers around a nine year old girl named Trisha, who goes on a hiking trip with her mom and brother and gets lost. She stays in the woods for over a week with little food and water. Along the way, she encounters many dangerous and scary obstacles. There is always something watching her in the woods, but what is it? Will she be saved or will the "thing" get her? The main characters in this story are Trisha and Tom Gordon. King portrays these characters in a very effective way. Trisha is the girl who gets lost in the woods while on a hiking trail. "I'm going to die in these woods." Trisha starts to think she actually will die in the woods after being lost in them for a while. Trisha shows very strong character in this novel and seems more mature than most nine year olds. Tom Gordon is Trisha's favorite major league baseball player and he plays for the Red Sox. "Tom, look!" "Look at the water!" Tom is never really in the woods with Trisha, but his spirit and her faith in him help her get through many struggles. "These woods scare me." The main setting in this novel is in the woods. These woods are loaded with swamps, marshes, and wild animals. "If this stream goes into another swamp, I'll kill myself," Trisha said. Every time Trisha finds a stream of water, it flows into a swamp. Will she ever find a road or a stream of water that does not lead into a swamp? The plot of this novel is Trisha being lost in the woods and trying to survive. "Nothing's watching me in these woods." "Oh my God, those are claw-marks," Trisha said. There is always something watching Trisha's every move in the woods, but what is it? Read the book to find out what happens to Trisha. King uses 3rd person point of view in most of this novel. "I'll never talk about this, never," she said. This novel includes many obscenities and isn't recommended for young readers. King writes this book in an informal writing style. This novel is very suspenseful and keeps the reader guessing. It receives three stars from me because it is an overall good book. "Sooner or later, you'll have to deal with the "thing" to get it to leave you alone." So go read this book and find out if Trisha makes it out of the woods alive or not. Remember, the woods are real and when visiting them on a vacation, bring a compass, good maps, and try to stay on the path.
Rating: Summary: Great Read of an Amazing Tale for King and non King fans Review: Trisha McFarland's parents have divorced and her mum isn't very considerate of the divorce's affect on her daughter and spends most of her time yelling at her and her brother Pete. On a hiking trip Trisha wanders of the trail to escape another session between Pete and her mum then becomes lost.This is an amazing tale of a little girl's survival in the Maine wilderness. A big fan of baseballer Tom Gordon she tunes into his games on a radio with fading batteries for inspiration and hope. This is not your typical King novel and will appeal to both horror fans and those who do not like that sort of thing.
Rating: Summary: Undercredited simply due to difference! Review: It seems to me that The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is receiving a great deal of undeserved flack simply because it is not one of Mr. King's usual horror novels. I do agree that this is not a horror novel, and I can see where fans of that genre may be disinterested in it. However, I do not see that as a valid reason for such a low review. Mr. King's ability to write characters with whom we may sympathize, and his narrative skills remain undiminished in this book. Certainly I could identify with Trisha, and envision her struggles in the woods, but the most compelling elements were easily the psychological ones. Ravaged by fever, hardship, and isolation, while she does not completely go insane, Trisha's mind begins to warp, creating what I might describe as the world seen through funhouse mirrors. What suspense there is in The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon comes from this. However, I really do think that those who are focusing on the lack of traditional horror have missed the point, and the opportunity to be touched by the message Mr. King seems to be sending about the power of hope and inspiration. Have you ever had a hero? I personally have been the beneficiary of inspiration in a difficult situation--inspiration provided, as in Trish's situation, by someone I may never have the privilege of meeting. Although I have never literally been lost in the woods, nor in a life-threatening situation, I have had to make some very difficult internal journeys. As I read, I found myself almost moved to tears by the fact that I was (metaphorically) seeing something akin to my own experiences, set into writing by someone else. Her final encounter with "Tom Gordon" was easily the most powerful--how touching the few words were, that he spoke--but I'll save this treat for the reader so it has its full impact. Given my very personal experience, I have to say Mr. King has done an outstanding job of depicting such inspiration, and also explaining what it is and is not. Unfortunately in the English language, we are rather limited when it comes to words for describing attachment to someone. The word "love" has been corrupted to where in most people's minds, it comes with physical connotations that make us very reluctant to use it. Mr. King, however, does not shy away from it, and for that I am glad. Trish's father, in the narrative, makes the distinction clear--yes, Tom Gordon is Trish's "heartthrob", and yes, she can see his attractiveness, but what truly makes her feel so deeply for him goes beyond the mere surface appeal and to the person that she perceives underneath. It is a much higher attachment than a mere crush. Only something greater could have possibly helped sustain Trish through the long, dark, and lonely nights.
Rating: Summary: unappealing Review: i took up this book because i expected something much more than the book actually has.I has very little to give the readers.Its just BORING.This was the the first Stephen king that i read and i was really dissapointed.But the desciption of the woods is very well written in the book.That is the only plus point.
Rating: Summary: Average Review: Well, since this is not the first Stephen King book I've read, I was quite disappointed of the story. That doesn't mean it's not good, it's just not scary enough. On the other hand, though the story started quite slow at first, it picked up the pace and you began to relate to Trish as she struggled to survive in the woods. The suspense is when night arrives and all creatures come out, and you could feel the tension of not knowing what is out there, and you wonder if there will be a happy ending after all. The climax is a little bit of a letdown, but I think the adventure has made up for it. An average book.
Rating: Summary: An Intricate, Detailed Book Review: Stephen King has done it again, venturing away from the blunt supernatural, working with our inner paranoia. Everyone's greatest childhood fear... being lost in the woods. Then something is watching her... I would definately reccomend this book, but do not expect the classic creepy guts-and-gore Stephen King novel, this is a whole different kind of scary tale... as eaqually wonderful and worth-while read.
Rating: Summary: It Makes Me Wonder About The Rest...... Review: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is the first Stephen King novel that I have read and I found it very boring, it makes me wonder what the rest of his books are like. I have heard great things about Stephen King's work, but after reading this book I'm not sure what all the exitment is about. It was not that scary at all, it was not exiting, and frankly it almost put me to sleep! I did not like this book that much, and I would not recommend buying it. Overall Thought: If you like Stephen King, but not sure if this book is worth buying, get it from the library. I hope the rest of King's novels are better than this one.
Rating: Summary: Extremely Boring and Dissapointing Review: I have never read anything else from Stephen King besides this book, which I just finished less than an hour ago, and I absolutely hated it. It read VERY slow, and it was extremely boring. Right at the beginning of the book, the girl, Trisha, gets lost in the woods.Then you spend the rest of the book following her around. She's tired, shes sick, she's hungry, she's frightened- SO WHAT?! I saw no point to this story whatsoever. I was waiting for some big climatctic ending, and there was nothing at all. Again, I am not familiar with his works, but the whole thing seemed way too bubblegum sweet to be written by a person with the frightening reputation Stephen King has. Maybe his other stuff is better, but I thought this book was boring. I couldn't stand it by page 20 and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Rating: Summary: One of his best..... Period... Review: Okay for all of you people who didn't like this book you clearly are just not people who like actual literature you just wait until the novel comes on paperback and pick it up while you're in the line in the grocery store. For the rest of you this story chilled me to the bone and brought me close to tears more than once. In this story you are introduced to Trish who wanders away from her mother while on a hike and becomes lost in the Maine woods. This may sound simple but as the story unfolds you are pulled into the mind of this very young and terrified girl, especially if you have ever been lost in the woods yourself. Every aspect of the woods begins to frighten her and as she becomes more lost, sick and terrified your emotions mount with them, making this an incredibly hard book to put down and an even harder one to forget about.
Rating: Summary: Not his usual stuff Review: This book is a departure from Stephen's King regular style. I am not a baseball fan and did not particularly love this book. I love Stephen King but I thought this writing experiment was rather dull and lacked a lot of the imagination in his other books.
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