Trisha McFarland is a plucky 9-year-old hiking with her brother and mom, who is grimly determined to give the kids a good time on their weekends together. Trisha's mom is recently divorced, and her brother is feuding with her for moving from Boston to small-town Maine, where classmates razz him. Trisha steps off the trail for a pee and a respite from the bickering. And gets lost.

Trisha's odyssey succeeds on several levels. King renders her consciousness of increasing peril beautifully, from the "first minnowy flutter of disquiet" in her guts to her into-the-wild tumbles to her descent into hallucinations, the nicest being her beloved Red Sox baseball pitcher Tom Gordon, whose exploits she listens to on her Walkman. The nature writing is accurate, tense, and sometimes lyrical, from the maddening whine of the no-see-um mosquito to the profound obbligato of the "Subaudible" (Trisha's dad's term for nature's intimations of God). Our identification with Trisha deepens as we learn about her loved ones: Dad, a dreamboat whose beer habit could sink him; loving but stubborn Mom; Trisha's best pal, Pepsi Robichaud, vividly evoked by her colorful sayings ("Don't go all GIRLY on me, McFarland!"). The personal associations triggered by a full moon, the running monologue with which she stays sane--we who have been lost in woods will recognize these things.

In King's revealing Amazon.com interview, he said the one book he wishes he'd written was Lord of the Flies. When Trisha confronts a vision of buzzing horror in the middle of the woods, King creates his strongest echo yet of the central passage of Golding's novel. --Tim Appelo

Amazon.com Audiobook Review
With a convincing mix of youthful optimism and world-weary resignation, reader Anne Heche adds resonance to this unabridged recording. Heche is especially effective as the 9-year-old heroine, Trisha McFarland, who makes a fateful decision during an afternoon hike with her dysfunctional family. "The paths had forked in a 'Y.' She would simply walk across the gap and rejoin the main trail. Piece of cake. There was no chance of getting lost." As one might suspect, there is every chance she'll get lost--or worse--and taking the shortcut turns out to be a very bad choice indeed. At times Heche's reading may be too measured, but her narration is generally quite good and her steady portrayal of a young girl lost renders this tale all the more frightening. (Running time: 6.5 hours, 6 cassettes) --George Laney

From Publishers Weekly
"The world had teeth and it could bite you with them anytime it wanted." King's new novelAwhich begins with that sentenceAhas teeth, too, and it bites hard. Readers will bite right back. Always one to go for the throat, King crafts a story that concerns not just anyone lost in the Maine-New Hampshire woods, but a plucky nine-year-old girl, and from a broken home, no less. This stacked deck is flush with aces, however. King has always excelled at writing about children, and Trisha McFarland, dressed in jeans and a Red Sox jersey and cap when she wanders off the forest path, away from her mother and brother and toward tremendous danger, is his strongest kid character yet, wholly believable and achingly empathetic in her vulnerability and resourcefulness. Trisha spends nine days (eight nights) in the forest, ravaged by wasps, thirst, hunger, illness, loneliness and terror. Her knapsack with a little food and water helps, but not as much as the Walkman that allows her to listen to Sox games, a crucial link to the outside world. Love of baseball suffuses the novel, from the chapter headings (e.g., "Bottom of the Ninth") to Trisha's reliance, through fevered imagined conversations with him, on (real life) Boston pitcher Tom Gordon and his grace under pressure. King renders the woods as an eerie wonderland, one harboring a something stalking Trisha but also, just perhaps, God: he explicitly explores questions of faith here (as he has before, as in Desperation) but without impeding the rush of the narrative. Despite its brevity, the novel ripples with ideas, striking images, pop culture allusions and recurring themes, plus an unnecessary smattering of scatology. It's classic King, brutal, intensely suspenseful, an exhilarating affirmation of the human spirit. 1,250,000 first printing; major ad/promo; BOMC and QPB featured alternates; simultaneous audiocassette and CD, read by Anne Heche. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6–King boils down his 1999 novel of the same name to short-story length for this elaborately engineered pop-up version. The plot and nightmarish atmosphere remain broadly the same; nine-year-old Trisha takes a wrong turn in the Maine woods, and only gets through an increasingly grueling week of being scared, hungry, attacked by insects, and afflicted with hallucinations by listening to the exploits of (now ex-) Red Sox closer Tom Gordon on her Walkman. The text is printed on accordion-folded side flaps, flanking large-scale outdoor scenes enhanced by the occasional pull tab or acetate window; moving parts are few but deliciously scary–particularly one flap that flips open to reveal a face made of swarming wasps, and another that reveals a preternaturally toothy bear. Despite a happy ending, and a design sturdy enough to endure repeated readings, this is definitely not for younger "scary story" seekers.–John Peters, New York Public Library Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Library Journal
While hiking a six-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail with her mother and brother, nine-year-old Trisha McFarland steps off the path to relieve herself and then attempts a shortcut to catch up. With this unfortunate decision, she becomes lost and alone in the Maine woods for over a week, with limited food and water and what becomes her prize possession, a personal stereo. Trisha uses the radio to follow the play of her beloved Tom Gordon, relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox--a calming link to the civilized world and one she uses to gather courage and strength for her ordeal. In a near-perfect characterization on King's part, we experience Trisha's fears, hopes, pains, hallucinations, and triumphs through her internal monolog, which is animated in this program by the voice of actress Anne Heche. She flawlessly conveys Trisha's youth and the spectrum of her emotional states. Recommended without reservation.-Kristen L. Smith, Loras Coll. Lib., Dubuque, IA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Wall Street Journal, Kate Flatley
Mr. King tells a wonderful story of courage, faith and hope in The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. It is eminently engaging and difficult to put down. But it may blunt any desire you might have to go hiking ever again.

The New York Times, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
...reading the novel produces several satisfying moments of feverish terror where you can picture Trisha's bones bleaching in a sunlit landscape utterly indifferent to her being.

From AudioFile
You can't survive nine days lost in the woods without something to hang on to, especially if you're only 9. For Trisha McFarland, "something" is faith in her hero, Red Sox pitcher Tom Gordon, and listening to him play on her Walkman, at least, until the batteries run out. Reader Anne Heche clearly remembers what it's like to be 9-years-old. Her fresh, young-sounding voice presents Trisha's point of view beautifully. While her narrative passages occasionally sound read, rather than told, her presentation of Trisha's words and thoughts is flawless. Other characters are skillfully performed, save for a New Hampshire backwoods bubba who sounds like he's from Arkansas. Musical and other audio effects polish the production to a shining finish. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Riddle me this: What do Joyce Carol Oates and Stephen King have in common? Bonnie Smothers

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

Book Description
Stephen King's award-winning, best-selling novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is stunningly told in this, the first pop-up book by the master of suspense. It is a fairy tale grimmer than Grimm, retold with intricate pop-ups and a breathtaking text. This is the ultimate must-have edition for Stephen King fans of all ages.

Download Description
Set in New England, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is the gripping tale of nine-year-old Trisha, who wanders off the beaten path of the Appalachian Trail to escape the bickering of her family. When she tries to catch up to them, Trisha strays deeper into a wilderness which, in the hands of America's most frightening writer, becomes a place of primordial terror. Especially when night fails. Trisha has only her wits for navigation, only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fear. For solace, she tunes her Walkman to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox games and the gritty performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when her radio's batteries die, Trisha begins to imagine that Tom Gordon is with her -- her key to surviving an enemy known only by the slaughtered animals and mangled trees it leaves in its wake. A classic story that engages our emotions at the most primal level, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon explores our deepest fears of the unknown and the extent to which faith can conquer them. It is a fairy tale grimmer than Grimm but aglow with a girl's indomitable spirit.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Stephen King's 1999 The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was destined to be a pop-up. Who can deny the graphic possibilities of a Stephen King story about a nine-year-old girl who wanders off the path and becomes lost in a menacing forest? Alan Dingman's illustrations and pop-ups add new dimensions to Trisha McFarland's Dantesque adventure.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A modern-day Hansel & Gretel from the master of suspense -- now in pop-up edition.

Nine-year-old Trisha McFarland is lost in the wilderness of the Applachian Trail after wandering off from her mother and brother. For solace she tunes her Walkman radio to Boston Red Sox broadcasts and the gritty performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. As she gets more and more lost, and as the days and nights pass, she imagines that Tom Gordon is with her -- her savior to surviving an enemy known only by the slaughtered animals and mangled trees in its wake. It is a fairy tale grimmer than Grimm, but aglow with a girl's indomitable spirit and told in stunning three-dimension.

The novel version of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was a nominee for the Washington State Evergreen Young Adult Book Award, a 2000 YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, and a 1999 nominee for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement.

Stephen King's first pop-up is sure to captivate his fans of all ages.

FROM THE CRITICS

Bill Sheenhan - The Washington Post

Alan Dingman has faithfully illustrated the story, while the text, shrewdly adapted for this stringent format by Peter Abrahams, retains the bite and flavor of the original. All in all, this latest incarnation of a minor King gem offers numerous pleasures and some genuinely creepy moments. It would make an ideal gift for the serious King fan and for the adventurous young reader with a taste for stories that have real -- and very sharp -- teeth.

Publishers Weekly

Chilling things pop up in this book by King, who revises his harrowing 1999 novel about a nine-year-old lost in the Maine woods. Due to the format's limited space, the exposition is condensed and rushed: Trisha, the title girl, is on a hike with her recently divorced mom and sullen brother, Pete. While her mother and brother argue, Trisha steps off the trail to relieve herself, and loses her bearings. Beset by bloodthirsty insects (represented on a transparent plastic screen that spins around her face) and menaced by a nameless "special thing that comes for lost kids," Trisha struggles to stay sane and alive. She takes comfort in hallucinations of her hero, Red Sox closing pitcher Tom Gordon, who offers fatherly advice. Like the original, this version follows a baseball structure, from a calm "first inning" to an alarming "top of the ninth" where Trisha faces the supernatural "God of the Lost," a bearlike monster with spiny teeth. King mentions (but the illustrations do not show) things like "the severed head of a deer, terrified eyes wide open" from the original; Dingman creates seven spreads, heavy on the nauseous green and shadowy brown, as Trisha grows increasingly haggard and startling things emerge from trapdoor pages (e.g., a hideous wolfish head or clawed paw appears, then swoops behind a bush). Where the novel built malicious suspense, this production demands that readers lift flaps and peek through transparent windows to heighten the horror. Daring and, ideally, mature King fans will appreciate this scary, perversely funny combo of horror and children's pop-up. Ages 8-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Eleanor Heldrich

This is a masterful movable book with paper engineering by Kees Moerbeck. The book, which is eight inches high, ten and a half inches wide and two inches thick, the terrifying story of a young girl lost in the Maine woods in pop-ups. Each of the seven double-page spreads has a large pop-up in the center with two side pullouts that contain a condensed text version of the original book and additional animated art to move the story forward. In the story, the children of separated parents go back and forth between their mom and dad. On the day the adventure begins, in spite of the children's reluctance, Trisha, her mother and brother go for an afternoon hike in the Maine woods. When a quarrel begins between her mother and brother, Trisha drops behind for a moment; and, suddenly, she is lost in the forest. For the next week she struggles seeking a way out the woods while having to find shelter at night and things to eat and drink. What gets her through the hunger, pain and terror is thinking about the professional baseball games that she and her father enjoy together. Their favorite player is Tom Gordon, a closing pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, and she often fantasizes that she talks to him. It is her own indomitable courage and this imaginary relationship with Tom Gordon—knowing what he would do in her situation and how brave he would be—that brings her through a dangerous and fearful experience. 2004, Little Simon, Ages 8 up.

School Library Journal