Nathaniel R. Mariano

The title hooked me to the book. I honestly thought it would be a story about a girl who was obsessed with Tom Gordon. But The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is actually about a 9-year-old girl named Trisha who gets lost in the forest and has to find a way to survive on her own.

This book is beautifully written. I loved Trisha’s character development, especially how she tried to think of the best ways to survive despite being alone in the forest for days. I also enjoyed the baseball symbolism and the psychological horror. Honestly, the story wasn’t scary at all for me. I also think this is a safe book for teens to read because there are some survival tips and hacks throughout the story that are actually interesting to learn.

I also loved the symbolism throughout the book. Here are some of the things I noticed:
• Tom Gordon – Courage
• The Forest – Isolation
• The God of the Lost – Evil
• The Walkman – Connection
• Baseball Game – Survival
• “Game Over” – Closure

Some descriptions felt repetitive, and the pacing was a little slow in certain sections, but overall, I really enjoyed the book. The emotional ending was also one of my favorite parts. I recommend this book if you enjoy psychological horror and survival stories.

#TheGirlWhoLovedTomGordon #StephenKing #Bookstagram #PsychologicalHorror #SurvivalFiction