Keeper

by Mal Peet

Overview

In a refreshed paperback edition with a bold cover, this novel by award-winning author Mal Peet transports readers to a fictional South American country and a world of soccer, celebrity, and strange occurrences investigated by sports reporter Paul Faustino.

When Paul Faustino of La Nación flips on his tape recorder for an exclusive interview with El Gato — the phenomenal goalkeeper who single-handedly won his team the World Cup — the seasoned reporter quickly learns that this will be no ordinary story. Instead, the legendary El Gato narrates a spellbinding tale that begins in the South American rain forest, where a ghostly but very real mentor, the Keeper, emerges to teach a poor, gawky boy the most thrilling secrets of the game. A seamless blend of magic realism and exhilarating soccer action, this evocative novel will haunt readers long after the story ends.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763687465
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	05/10/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	1,108,733
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	780L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 17 Years

About the Author

MAL PEET grew up in Norfolk, England, where he says the only worthwhile pastimes were reading books and playing soccer. These are still his main interests. Of KEEPER, his first novel for young adults, he says, "Many soccer stories seem to get stuck in the mud like a heavy ball on a wet Saturday afternoon, but there's no reason why they can't shift into a different and magical dimension. KEEPER is about soccer, of course, but it's also about the supernatural, about relationships and loneliness, about believing in yourself—and about having something you would do your utmost to protect and defend." Mal Peet now lives in Devon, England.

Read an Excerpt

You probably don't think this is remarkable. But if you knew the jungle, you would find it hard to believe me, because an open space in the jungle is not possible. Something, anything, will occupy any space where it can find light to live and grow. Yet here was this clearing, and it was covered in grass. Yes, grass. Short grass. Turf. Impossible. Absolutely impossible. I walked out onto this grass very slowly, far more alarmed by this clearing than by any plant or creature I had met in the jungle itself. . . .
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Keeper"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Mal Peet.
Excerpted by permission of Candlewick Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

"This book has something for every reader, not least those who revel in excellent writing."—THE GUARDIAN — Quote

"Written with skill, humanity, and a vibrant passion for its subject, KEEPER is irresistible. . . . This is true enchantment."—TES TEACHER (London) — Quote

"Even if you hate soccer, read this superbly written book and be captivated by it."—SCHOOL LIBRARIAN (U.K.) — Quote

From the Publisher

Gr 8 Up-When acclaimed South American journalist Paul Faustino begins his interview with World Cup soccer star El Gato, he expects to be recording the thoughts of a goalkeeper at the height of his career. He never envisioned hearing about a young, lonely boy growing up in the middle of a rain forest, who wandered upon a mysterious soccer field and an apparition that appeared to him daily and trained him to become the greatest goalkeeper ever known. Is El Gato mad? Is he suffering from hallucinations due to the stress of the game? Is there some truth to be discovered in his fantastic tale? Only at the conclusion of the interview and the resolution of who the Keeper really is and what he is waiting for will readers even think of putting down this fascinating book. Peet achieves his expressed desire "to write an entirely new kind of soccer story," not only including the experience of play, but also mesmerizing readers with a supernatural mystery in a tale about relationships, loneliness, and believing in oneself. This is a well-written, fast-paced sports story that addresses far more than just the sport itself. Fans of Chris Crutcher's sports-themed novels will want to pick up this selection by a new and talented writer.-Kathryn Childs, Morris Mid/High School, OK Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

This stirring adventure-a soccer story? a ghost story?-defies expectations. Soccer reporter Paul Faustino is thrilled to have an exclusive interview with brilliant goalkeeper El Gato, whose team just won the World Cup. El Gato offers the incredulous reporter an unbelievable tale. As a child, the goalie explains, he was terrible at sports in a soccer-mad town, so he retreated to the jungle his village found frightening but he found beautiful. In the jungle's darkest tangles, he encountered a mysterious goalkeeper who drilled him mercilessly for two years. When El Gato left his secret training to become a logger like his father (against his mother's wishes, who wanted her son to go to college and become a scientist), he discovered he'd become a world-class goalie. El Gato's mystical revelations are saturated with reverence for the vanishing jungle, and his too-perfect soccer ability is tempered by the confusion of a grown man who wants a life his adored parents would not have chosen. Both lyrical and gripping. (Fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews

The framework for this novel is an interview between reporter Paul Faustino, from LA NACIÓN, and soccer goalie El Gato, whose team has just won the World Cup. The story weaves back and forth through Gato's childhood and his path toward his destiny. Christopher Lane brings the listener into the room where Faustino is carefully conducting the interview of a lifetime with a man who both fascinates and confounds him. Lane’s accents are thick and vary for each character. The soccer scenes are told with such energy and momentum that even non-sports fans will be rapt. The occasional references to Faustino's deadline and greedy editor put listeners on the edge of their seats, hoping that the story’s conclusion is reached before the time is up. G.G. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2011 - AudioFile