The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

This story is incredibly impressive in that more than 90 percent focuses on a lost little girl in the New England woods - yet there is constant dialogue and suspense. The story is a pared-down, simple psychological study of what happens when we are lost and no one can save us, except ourselves.

Our family (kids age 9 & 14) listened to this book on a road trip and loved it. The language can be a little rough for young kids, but a great story.

I don't understand some of the reviews for this title. The story is one of King's most engaging, and Anne Heche's narration perfectly captures the developing character of the nine year old protagonist. Audio book aficionados are aware that occasionally there will come along a combination of book and reader where the total is greater than the sum of the parts; where there is a marked synergy between the particular reader and their unique style and the subject matter of the book. While rare, this effect is precious to those true lovers of audio reading. When I come across such a beastie, I find that, like a good symphony or a great restaurant, you find yourself coming back again and again to savor the experience. Charlton Heston reading Hemingway; Frank Muller and works by King, or Anne Rice or 1984; Jerry Farden and Sweet Thursday, Sally Darling and To Kill a Mockingbird; Jim Dale and the Potter series; they have one coming back and back and back; re-listening and savoring again the exquisite combination of effects. This book does this for me; albeit, perhaps not as much as some listed above, but far beyond the normal run of the mill bland narrations one often finds. So, to the discriminating audio book reader; I highly recommend this work. If you are not captured on the first listen (I was), you may try a second.

Stephen King has perhaps created here one of his strongest single characters. I believed every word that she said. And I'm no pushover. How a man of a certain age could create a young girl so memorable and true--I still think about her, and smile, when I see my daughter with many of the same strengths--makes me once again proud that my favorite "Pfft. Horror auther." crafts literature as beautiful, intense, and noble as the human, distinctly American, hearts he somehow knows so well. Stephen, you make a difference. Thanks. Recommended for mature youths to anyone who remembers being one. Read it aloud. [Anne Heche, however, does do well enough, and makes it so you don't have to read it aloud yourself while driving.]

I loved this book. I would recommend it to anyone that questions Stephen King's abilities as a writer or to tell a good story without fantasy props.

I don't think the narration could have been any better. I was very impressed with the job Ann Heche did. I was caught up in the story and holding out hope that she would make it out. As always, Mr. King draws it out as long as possible, but by the end you have a very clear picture of his intent.

In "On Writing," Stephen King has noted that most of his novels begin with "what ifs" and proceed to grow as he writes. The GWLTG is an example of how that method can fell miserably. The "what if" at the center of the story is familiar and interesting: What would a young girl trapped in the middle of the woods do to survive? Basically a toned down version of "Robinson Crusoe." King, however, fails to follow through. The characters are flat, the journey seems pointless and redundant, and King does a poor job of blending the neurotic (his way of inserting a horror element) with the mundane.

Even if you like King, you won't like this.

I've read this story long before I listened to it here on audible. Stephen King really takes you on the journey with her. She's very real and sympathetically engaging. Anne Heche's performance was worthy of the book.

The main character did and said things that I don't feel are realistic for a 9 1/2 year old to do/say.

A less shrill narrator

Nature is the enemy.

I was reluctant to read this because I feared it might be similar to The Blair Witch Project - being stalked by a supernatural creature, being afraid, and being a victim for most of the story. I was wrong. It’s not like that at all. I’m so pleased. I enjoyed it. I loved Trisha’s attitude. I was intrigued and charmed. She is alone and lost in the woods. But what is interesting are her thoughts and actions. It’s like she has been assigned undesirable and boring chores, but she trudges along, does the job, and hopes to be done soon. She finds a number of things icky and gross. She talks to herself and thinks about her favorite baseball player. At times her personal voice of doubt comes in telling her how bad things are. Then she makes those thoughts go away.

I usually don’t like heroine stupidity. In this book Trisha does some very stupid things, but that’s ok because she is a nine-year-old girl. She doesn’t have adult judgment. It fits her character. It is reasonable that she doesn’t know about hugging trees. Instead, she looks for a stream of water that she believes will lead her to the ocean like in the Amazon jungle. But that doesn’t work here. So her lack of knowledge gets her into trouble.

The dangers to Trisha are lack of food, water, shelter, and warmth. She suffers insect bites. At times she senses she is being watched or followed. She may be the prey of an animal. I was surprised and delighted with her actions during a major conflict. And I was pleased with the happy ending for Trisha. I had tears of relief.

This reminded me of “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen, about a thirteen year old boy surviving alone in the wilderness. That story was written by a wilderness survival guy and I was wowed by things happening in the wild. King’s book has survival elements but is more about the girl’s thoughts and attitude. Both books are good for young adults, as long as one is ok with occasional strong language in King’s book.

The narrator Anne Heche was excellent.

Genre: young adult adventure fiction
Ending: happy