The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

With hordes of fans eagerly awaiting each new Stephen King novel, it seems odd that any of his books could be considered underappreciated. But The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is one of them. 

The 2004 novel centers on a 9-year-old girl who gets lost on a family hike in New England. As she strays deeper into the woods, she has only the daily broadcast of Red Sox games on her radio to help keep fear at bay—and there is indeed something in the woods to fear.

The mix of horror and baseball is a fitting one for King, a giant Red Sox fan. Now, with the team having famously broken the Curse of the Bambino (and added few more World Series titles since then), it’s time for all of us to revisit this fine book. —Ian Aldrich, Yankee executive editor

During a six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, nine-year-old Trisha McFarland quickly tires of the constant bickering between her older brother and her recently divorced mother. But when she wanders off by herself, she becomes lost in a wilderness maze full of peril and terror. As night falls, Trisha has only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, and only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fears. For solace she tunes her headphones to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox baseball games and follows the gritty performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when the reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her—the protector from an enemy who may or may not be imagined…one who is watching her, waiting for her in the dense, dark woods…

• Publisher:‎ Scribner
• Paperback
• Print length:‎ 272 pages
• Item Weight:‎ 7.4 ounces
• Dimensions:‎ 5.31 x 0.7 x 8.25 inches