The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, by Stephen King

Long have I had a passion for Stephen King's books. True, some are hits and some are misses... and there's the odd novel that leaves you thinking "What? clearly he was under alien control when he wrote this one." I held off on reading this one for awhile... why? Well, the only excuse I have is the baseball angle. I'm not much of a baseball fan. Oh, I'll watch a game or two every now and then. Even more games if someone I love is detained and his team is playing for the NL title and a trip to the World Series. It's an interesting game, but I prefer hockey.

That said, I wish that I'd picked up this particular book earlier. Damn was it good. Yes, I'm a King fan -- but I'm a King fan who is willing to put down one of his books and say "Damn, Steve... that was a steaming pile of pony loaf." I assure you that if I didn't like the book, you'd know. The baseball angle was not alienating to a non-baseball fan, actually it was a really interesting twist. The story was frightening, unnerving in places. It made me question my own abilities to survive if I'd gotten lost in the woods (she's lost for about a week!). I don't know half of what the girl (who loved Tom Gordon) knew about what is edible in the woods. Hell, unless it's a clearly recognizable piece of vegetation, lettuce for example, I wouldn't know if I could eat it or not. I was rooting for the girl (who loved Tom Gordon) to make it back to civilization safe and sound and whole. But I was very frightened that she would not.

Nine-year-old Trisha McFarland strays from the path while she and her recently divorced mother and brother take a hike along a branch of the Appalachian Trail. Lost for days, wandering farther and farther astray, Trisha has only her portable radio for comfort. A huge fan of Tom Gordon, a Boston Red Sox relief pitcher, she listens to baseball games and fantasizes that her hero will save her. Nature isn't her only adversary, though - something dangerous may be tracking Trisha through the dark woods.