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Description: Trisha
McFarland's parents are newly divorced, and in an effort to keep the family together, her mother and
brother and herself take a walk in the woods, on a portion of the Appalachian Trail near their home (near
the Maine/New Hampshire/Canada border). At one point, they come to a fork in the road, and Trisha, needing
to pee, goes down one path to take care of business. The mother and brother go down the other path. When
she is through, she decides to cut through the woods rather than retrace her steps, after all who could
get lost here?.
Although she is only 9, Trisha has a very adult grasp on her
situation, and the story concentrates on all of the things that run through her mind while lost. All
of the fears both rational and not, plague her mind as she follows a stream in the hope of finding a
way out. At night she listens to Baseball games on her Sony Walkman in the hope of listening to a Red
Sox game, as she is a big fan of Tom Gordon, a relief pitcher for the Red Sox. Tom Gordon then becomes
a character in the little girls mind, and helps her overcome her irrational thoughts and fears. There
may be something threatening in the woods, then again, there may not, and only time will tell if Trisha
escapes.
After reading the book I have a couple of comments. I loved the
book, but it's not truly horror, but more like King's later works (Bag of Bones etc), but still brilliantly
written, and holds you captivated till the end. The only complaint is that the ending left a lot to the
imagination, and is unlike King. Normally each story has a firm ending, but still allowing the reader
to ponder on the future of the characters, but this time I felt a little cheated, and thought that the
story could have been expanded just a bit more after the ending point. Still, I did read the 62,000 word
book twice in a little over 2 days, so it's not that bad.
Published: Scribner,
1999
Dedication: This
is for my son Owen, who ended up teaching me a lot more about the game of baseball than I ever taught
him.
Characters:
| ?, Adam |
Singer in a band called "Boyz To Da Maxx" |
| ?, Frank |
Allergic to stings. |
| ?, Walt |
A man from Framingham on the WEEI radio that was talking from his car phone. |
| Adkins, Trace |
"Whiney cowboy singer" heard on WCAS radio station |
| Andersen, Gramma |
Mother of Quilla, and grandmother of Trisha |
| Andersen, Quilla |
Maiden name of Quilla McFarland. She reverted to using her maiden name after her divorce. Ex-wife
of Larry and mother of Pete and Trisha |
| Andrews, V.C. |
Author mentioned in passing |
| Barnett, Larry |
Game umpire between Redsox and Yankee's |
| Bork, Mr |
Science teacher at Sanford Elementary School |
| Bragg, Darren |
Red Sox player. |
| Castiglione, Joe |
Announcer that called the Red Sox games that Trisha Listened to on the radio |
| Chestnutt, Mark |
"Whiney cowboy singer" heard on WCAS radio station |
| Chetwynd, Mrs |
A lady that got whiplash in a car accident. |
| Corsi, Jim |
Red Sox player. |
| Eckersley, Dennis |
Red Sox player. |
| Garces, Rich |
Red Sox player. |
| Garciaparra, Nopmar |
Red Sox shortstop. Favourite of Quilla McFarland |
| Garmond, Mrs |
Trisha McFarland's kindergarten teacher |
| Gilhooly, Debra |
Went to school with Trisha McFarland |
| Gordon, Tom |
Red Sox pitcher. He is the idol of Trisha McFarland and she imagines him helping her find her way
when lost. |
| Hall, Mr |
Teacher at Sanford Elementary School that gave out homework on Fridays |
| Hatteberg, ? |
Red Sox player. Catcher |
| Herrick, Travis |
Man that was out poaching deer and shot the bear that was going to attack Trisha McFarland |
| Jeter, Derek |
Yankee Player |
| Johnson, Randy |
Red Sox player |
| Kerrigan Joe |
Red Sox pitching coach |
| Knoblauch, Chuck |
Yankee Player |
| Lemke, Mark |
Red Sox player. 2nd Base |
| Lewis, Darren |
Red Sox player. |
| Leyrtz, Jim |
Red Sox player. |
| Lowe, Derek |
Red Sox player. Pitcher |
| Martinez, Tino |
Yankee player. |
| Mazzerola, Francis Raymond |
A convicted child molester that was accused of abducting Trisha. The tip was from a phone call from
Old Orchard Beach |
| McCorkle, Elias |
The farmer that put the fence posts in that Trisha followed back to the road that saved her. The
posts dated from 1905. |
| McFarland, Gramma |
Mother of Larry, and grandmother of Trisha |
| McFarland, Larry |
Ex-husband of Quilla McFarland, and father of Pete and Trisha |
| McFarland, Patricia (Trisha) |
The 9 year old girl that gets lost after taking a shortcut in the woods. Initially she took a path
to get away and urinate, but looses her way back to the North Conway path. Daughter of Quilla and Larry.
She is a huge fan of the Red Sox, and especially Tom Gordon |
| McFarland, Pete |
13 year old brother of Trisha McFarland. He wanted to live with his father, and resented living with
his mother after his parents divorce |
| McFarland, Quilla. |
Married name of Quilla Andersen. |
| Mona |
Doll of Trisha McFarland |
| O'Leary, Troy |
Red Sox player. |
| O'Neill, Paul |
Yankee Player |
| Pittitte, Andy |
Yankee Player |
| Posada, Jorge |
Yankee Player |
| Rayburn, Eddie |
Best friend of Pete McFarland. Moved away after his parents divorced |
| Rhodes, Arthur |
Boy that had green teeth and lived up from Pepsi Robichaud |
| Rivera, Mariana |
Yankee Player |
| Robichaud, Mrs |
Mother of Pepsi |
| Robichaud, Penelope (Pepsi) |
Best friend of Trisha McFarland |
| Strawberry, Darryl |
Yankee player. |
| The Bear |
The bear followed Trisha, but is both a bear, and a combination of what is evil and nasty that Trisha
saw on the walk through the woods. Travis Herrick shot him. |
| Thomas, Mrs |
Spoke to Quilla Andersen about Frank who was allergic to stings |
| Trupiano, Jerry |
Announcer that called the Red Sox games that Trisha Listened to on the radio |
| Valentin, John |
Red Sox player. 3rd Base |
| Vaughn, Mo |
Red Sox player. Favourite player of Pete McFarland |
| Veritek, Jason |
Red Sox catcher |
| Wakefield, Tim |
Boston player. |
| Williams, Bernie |
Yankee Player. |
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