The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

Published: 1999

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) follows nine-year-old Trisha McFarland, who becomes lost in the woods of Maine after wandering off the Appalachian Trail during a hike with her recently divorced mother and resentful older brother. As Trisha struggles to survive—battling hunger, dehydration, and illness while walking in what she hopes is the direction of civilization—she finds comfort by listening to Boston Red Sox games on her Walkman, particularly the performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. Hallucinating from fear and illness, Trisha imagines Gordon as her companion and protector against a stalking supernatural entity she calls the God of the Lost. The novel unfolds almost entirely through Trisha's perspective as her situation grows increasingly desperate over nine days in the wilderness. One of King's shortest and most focused novels, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon eschews his typical ensemble cast and multiple viewpoints for an intimate survival story with minimal supernatural elements. Critics praised the book's restraint and psychological insight, with many considering it among King's most accessible works. Though not matching his bestsellers commercially, the novel found a broader audience including younger readers and sports fans not typically drawn to horror. A pop-up book version was released in 2004, and film adaptations have been in development but not produced. King has expressed particular satisfaction with the novel's focused narrative and young protagonist, noting that writing from a child's perspective allowed him to explore fear and courage in elemental forms. For readers, the novel stands as one of King's most grounded works, with its subtle supernatural elements potentially interpreted as hallucinations. The book's exploration of childhood resilience, faith, and courage connects it thematically to King's other works featuring child protagonists while standing apart in its realistic survival narrative.

Themes

• Survival
• Coming of age
• Faith
• Baseball
• Courage

Adaptations

Collector Notes

One of King's shortest novels, with a child protagonist and minimal supernatural elements. Released in a pop-up book version in 2004, targeting younger readers.