Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon Books

Pros: Great writing. Great survival story
Cons: Things worked out too well. Not a horror story. Dragged on in the middle.

Lean and Mean review Stephen King is my favorite author, and lately, I've been trying to zoom through his books as fast as I can. I'll be honest... one of the deciding factors of this one was the length. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon shows the ...

Pros: The serious and scary halves of King merge into a gripping, enthralling tale that taps into the primal fear in all of us
Cons: It ends

Once upon a time,

there lived a man who wrote books that scared the bejabbers out of people. This man’s name was Stephen King—but for the purposes of this little fable, we’ll just call him by his rightful pop-lit title: the King.

...

Pros: exciting and suspenseful
Cons: not enough buildup to the climax

Imagine being lost in the woods with little food and no clue how to get back to civilization. Scary, isn't it? Now imagine you're only nine years old. Downright terrifying. That is the predicament of nine year old Trisha McFarland in Stephen King's ...

Pros: Realistic Look At What Lost In The Woods Entails
Cons: A Novella, Other Characters Barely Sketched

Stephen King has long known that the most satisfying sort of story involves everyday people and the psychological power of one's own imagination. As a child, he probably remembered hearing a noise from inside his closet, or under his bed, and...

Pros: Earthy detail that is painfully on target
Cons: Main character is a little weak in places, speech/thoughts inconsistent with age

I have read many (not all) of Stephen King's novels, but I don't necessarily count myself a fan. In my opinion, his best work is done in short stories and novellas. My personal favorite is _Different Seasons_: "Body" and "Rita Hayworth...

Pros: Driven Writing, many layers of meaning
Cons: rather violent imagery. Swarms of wasps give me the heebee jeebies.

I have a confession. Promise not to laugh?

I adore Stephen King's writing. I know, I know, he has his flaws... But he is one of the few men that can keep me up all night. (Reading, silly!) At times, I wonder what foul play has happened to...

Pros: a novel of suspense, will keep you up nights
Cons: You'll want to read it in one sitting

The Girl Who Love Tom Gordon is a tale full of suspense set in the woods of Maine and the vivid imagination of a nine year old girl. Being a long time fan of Stephen King, I was highly impressed with the ease in which he seemed to capture the way a child...

Pros: Scary, Stephen King, Good gripping story
Cons: Thin book, Different than other Stephen King Novels

When I first picked up this book and read the back cover, my first thoughts were "It doesn't take place in Maine?"

I love Stephen King Novels. I like the idea of being scared, but in the comfort of my own home. But in truth, when...

Pros: Life's tests; Our strengths; Our beliefs; The powers of mind and inner strength over circumstances.
Cons: Questions of credibility in author's portrayal of possible hallucinogenic 'visions' due to exposure to elements as character's 'truths.'

What do we really believe in?

Nine-year-old Patricia (known as Trisha to family and friends) McFarland doesn't know what or who to believe in when she suddenly finds herself in a "serious... very...

Pros: Simplistic, suspenseful storytelling. Empathy with lead character.
Cons: Disturbing reading at times.

Trisha has had enough. On yet another rambling holiday with her mum and brother all she can hear is them bickering about her dad. Walking along a nature trail Trisha starts to drop further and further behind and when she stops for a toilet break in the ...

Pros: terrific little hero
Cons: nutritionally unsound

If you swear you'll never eat fiddlehead ferns or day-old mayonnaise you can safely ignore this review. We've had ninety-four epinions on this book already, so I wasn't gonna write another one, but I found out the real reason Trisha got sick, and it...

Pros: Easy to read, interesting
Cons: Nothing

For some reason I wanted to give Stephen King another try. I had read Pet Cemetary years ago and never completed it. Could not finish the last chapter or two. Not that it was horrifying, but it did creep me out a bit. I started looking around at the...

Pros: Suspenseful, interesting main character, only 219 pages
Cons: Did not seem like a Stephen King book, not as scary, only 219 pages

Stephen King has written 30 books of best sellers. He can take us into an ordinary situation and scare the bejeepers out of us. Many of his themes involve the supernatural. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon does not, but it still is a satisfying...

Pros: Plays on a very real idea and fear
Cons: So real that many wouldn't be afraid of it. Why a Red Sox player?

It doesn’t take a whole lot to see where Stephen King’s sports loyalties lie while reading The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, does it? You know, Tom Gordon the Red Sox closing pitcher? And of course, there’s an unwritten law in Red Sox Nation that makes it ...

Pros: reality based work which is right up there with my favorites of Stephen King
Cons: too short

Every time I review a book there is at least one book advisor that doesn't like it, but true to what I usually do, if something strikes me one way or the other I want to write about it.

Stephen King really is the "king" of horror...