The Penalty

by Mal Peet Narrated by Christopher Lane

Overview

As the city of San Juan pulses to summer's sluggish beat, its teenage soccer prodigy, El Brujito, the Little Magician, vanishes without a trace-right after he misses a penalty kick and loses a big game for his team. Paul Faustino, South America's top sports reporter, is reluctantly drawn into the mystery of the athlete's disappearance. As a story of corruption and murder unfolds, Faustino is forced to confront the bitter history of slavery and the power of the occult. A deftly woven mystery flush with soccer and suspense, this gripping novel is one that shouldn't be missed.

From the award-winning author of Tamar, a time-shifting thriller about a vanishing soccer star, occult secrets, and the dark history of slavery.

Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up Eighteen-year-old Ricardo Gomes de Barros's extraordinary soccer skills have garnered him fame, but his disappearance after a critical game leads sportswriter Paul Faustino to investigate. When Faustino asks too many questions, he is kidnapped and taken into the rural countryside where Barros grew up; there he learns of the ancestor worship and "Veneration" that the displaced slaves brought with them to the New World. The narrative is divided between Paracleto, a Loma slave of the 1700s who has come to be thought of as a god, and Faustino. Peet uses Paracleto's voice to expound some vital information, but the divided narrative detracts from the modern-day mystery and reduces the cohesiveness of the work as a whole. The lack of background information leaves questions about ancestor worship and other religious traditions among displaced Africans. Similar to Tamora Pierce's "Immortals" quartet (S & S), Peet's god characters appear, provide cryptic insight, and fade back out; however, they are the most interesting characters in the book. The way in which Faustino eventually discovers Barros reduces the mysterious element of the story to a mere side note in the plot, which had previously suffered from a lack of suspense. Between the disjointed narrative and unappealing characters, this novel will have difficulty attracting readers, and should be a strictly supplemental purchase.-Chris Shoemaker, New York Public Library

From the Publisher

Stunning, original and compelling.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

School Library Journal - Audio

Gr 10 Up—Mal Peet weaves past and present throughout this tale (Candlewick, 2007) of sports, voodoo, murder, slavery, and eye-for-an-eye justice. A young South American soccer prodigy known as El Brujito, or Little Magician, vanishes. His kidnappers are unaware that the boy has multiple connections with a shaman magician ancestor, a victim of the African slave trade. Sports journalist Paul Faustino becomes mired in the complexities of the boy's disappearance while investigating the murder of a fellow sports reporter and, subsequently, becomes involved with the search for the boy. Faustino witnesses the shaman's power which directly impacts the outcome of the crime. This slave, who centuries earlier made amends for travesties meted out by the plantation owner, serves justice for his descendant's misery. Christopher Lane expertly performs ethnic voices, both male and female, which helps listeners keep track of events as they quickly seesaw between present and past. There is plenty of action which might make up for some problematic transitions between story lines. Raw violence and language makes this audiobook suitable for older teens. An additional purchase.—Jennifer Ward, Albany Public Library, NY

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172301278
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	02/28/2011
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

PROLOGUE: DEVOTION
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "The Penalty"
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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