For this author, this is a quick read. The basic premise is that Trisha, a girl of nine, nearly ten years of age, becomes lost in the woods when her mother and older brother are too busy arguing to note that she has opted for a comfort break in the trees. She then gets turned around and lost and keeps walking, getting more lost.

I liked the story on the whole. The character was both convincing and unconvincing in that she seemed far too together and clued up, for her age, on what to do to survive. On the other hand, she cried a fair bit, got scared and did the wrong things at times which was convincing. The perils and discomforts she faces, including blood-sucking insects, wasp stings, scrapes, bumps and bruises are well conveyed. Though I wasn't sure that drinking what appeared to be pure and fast flowing water would induce the symptoms described; I thought that was more likely to be caused by a diet of berries and nuts.

The book's title is explained by the fact that she is a big baseball fan and especially of a pitcher called Tom Gordon (based on a real person in the Red Sox team at the time). As she has a Walkman with her which can tune into radio stations, she keeps herself sane by listening to the game commentary once a day to conserve her batteries. She has 'conversations' with Tom and after a while imagines him so vividly that he seems to be with her at times. Unfortunately, as I live in the UK, the baseball aspect went over my head; there are some technical passages which I just gave up on.

The story has a supernatural element in that Trisha soon realises something is following her, a thing that slaughters deer along the way, leaves big scratches in trees and occasionally approaches her while sleeping (the story does include omniscient author commentary, including vignettes on what her family are doing, why searchers are looking in the wrong place for her and where she is actually located). That element is the only 'horror' aspect to the book, which otherwise is a coming of age story for a girl who goes through the mill and finds depths of character within herself that won't let her give up. She also meditates on her family situation: her parents have split up and both children are living with the mother, plus she realises, from her father's manner when she visits, that he is drinking too much beer. She is close to her father, sharing a love of baseball. There is a philosophical thread where she recalls what he told her about God and whether he exists etc; this is developed through the hallucinations she has more and more frequently as her time in the woods is extended and she starts to become ill.

Altogether I would rate this at 3 stars. ( )

What is worse than reading 200 pages about a girl lost in the woods? Not much. This was such a boring story, it was difficult to finish. You can only drag out a story so far about a girl lost in the woods before it becomes tiresome and boring.

The story follows nine-year old Trisha McFarland who is with her mother and brother on a nature hike and are arguing with each other and not paying attention to Trisha who is lagging behind them. Trisha has to go to the bathroom badly, so she wanders off into a wooded area to take care of her business, but somehow, she wanders too far and becomes lost in the woods for days on end. How someone could wander that far off from the pathway is incredulous to start with, but how her brother and mother could be paying so little attention to her that they do not notice for a long time that she is no longer with them, is stretching reality.

Almost the entire book is the story of Trisha’s survival in the woods, which became tedious after a while. Even the ending was not a surprise. You know she would eventually be found and rescued.

I enjoy most of King’s books, but this one really fell short and missed the mark. ( )

This book is a novella compared to King's other works—only 224 pages. It's the horrifying story of Tricia McFarland, a nine-year-old getting lost in the woods for nine days. Being a baseball fan (as is King), she imagines Tom Gordon, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, as her companion through the end days. It's not as scary as some of his others, but a quick, entertaining read. ( )

El mundo tenía dientes y podía morderte en cualquier momento, Trisha McFarland lo descubrió cuando tenía nueve años. A las diez de la mañana de principios de junio estaba sentada en el asiento trasero del Dodge Caravan de su madre, vestida con su sudadera azul de entrenamiento de los Rex Sox, y jugaba con Mona, su muñeca. A las diez y media, se había perdido en el bosque.

Not bad survival/horror story. Strange bear / demon creature turns up at the end. Mostly enjoyed it. ( )