The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon - by Stephen King (Paperback)

About the Book

When a young girl finds herself lost in the woods, she tunes her Walkman to a Boston Red Sox game and imagines her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon, walking beside her. But a hulking beast silently and ruthlessly stalks her, waiting until she runs out of strength, determination, and hope. National radio and print ads, including "USA Today" and "The New York Times."

Book Synopsis

The acclaimed #1 New York Times bestseller from Stephen King--uniquely frightening suspense about a young girl lost in the woods as night falls, with only the voice of her beloved Red Sox relief pitcher to sustain her and help her survive--maybe.

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...

From the Back Cover

On 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, Pete, and her recently divorced mother. But when she wanders off by herself, and then tries to catch up by attempting a shortcut, 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 Walkman to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox baseball games and follows the gritty performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when her radio's reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her -- protecting her from an all-too-real enemy who has left a trail of slaughtered animals and mangled trees in the dense, dark woods....

Review Quotes

"Entertainment Weekly" Plenty of thrills...[King's] an elegant writer and a master of pacing.

"New York Daily News" A fast, scary read...King blasts a homer...[He] expertly stirs the major ingredients of the American psyche -- our spirituality, fierce love of children, passion for baseball, and collective fear of the bad thing we know lurks on the periphery of life.

"People" An absorbing tale..."Tom Gordon" scores big.

"San Francisco Examiner" A gem....Superb.

"St. Louis Post-Dispatch" King paints a masterful, terrifying picture of every child's (and maybe adult's) worst fear...King uses that creepy-crawly paranoia to perfection.

"The New York Times" Frightening....Feverish terror.

"The Wall Street Journal" Impressive...A wonderful story of courage, faith, and hope. It is eminently engaging and difficult to put down.

"USA Today" A delightful read, a literary walk in the woods, and not just for baseball fans.

"Entertainment Weekly"Plenty of thrills...[King's] an elegant writer and a master of pacing.

"New York Daily News"A fast, scary read...King blasts a homer...[He] expertly stirs the major ingredients of the American psyche -- our spirituality, fierce love of children, passion for baseball, and collective fear of the bad thing we know lurks on the periphery of life.

"People"An absorbing tale..."Tom Gordon" scores big.

"San Francisco Examiner"A gem....Superb.

"St. Louis Post-Dispatch"King paints a masterful, terrifying picture of every child's (and maybe adult's) worst fear...King uses that creepy-crawly paranoia to perfection.

"The New York Times"Frightening....Feverish terror.

"The Wall Street Journal"Impressive...A wonderful story of courage, faith, and hope. It is eminently engaging and difficult to put down.

"USA Today"A delightful read, a literary walk in the woods, and not just for baseball fans.

"Entertainment Weekly"

Plenty of thrills...[King's] an elegant writer and a master of pacing.

"New York Daily News"

A fast, scary read...King blasts a homer...[He] expertly stirs the major ingredients of the American psyche -- our spirituality, fierce love of children, passion for baseball, and collective fear of the bad thing we know lurks on the periphery of life.

"People"

An absorbing tale..."Tom Gordon" scores big.

"San Francisco Examiner"

A gem....Superb.

"St. Louis Post-Dispatch"

King paints a masterful, terrifying picture of every child's (and maybe adult's) worst fear...King uses that creepy-crawly paranoia to perfection.

"The New York Times"

Frightening....Feverish terror.

"USA Today"

A delightful read, a literary walk in the woods, and not just for baseball fans.

"The Wall Street Journal"

Impressive...A wonderful story of courage, faith, and hope. It is eminently engaging and difficult to put down.

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Never Flinch (May 2025), the short story collection You Like It Darker (a New York Times Book Review top ten horror book of 2024), Holly (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.