Keeper

The South American goalkeeper who has just led his team in winning the World Cup tells his life story to the most famous South American sports writer in an exclusive interview, but Paul (the writer) gets so much more than he bargained for in El Gato's story, and the keeper has his own motives for telling all of his secrets.

I honestly didn't think I'd like this book, because I couldn't imagine enjoying any book about any kind of sport. But this one is about so much more than soccer. It combines a deep-set love of the game with a coming-of-age story wrapped in magical realism and with a healthy dose of environmental consciousness. In short, it's a winner.

This is a cute ghost story about sports, or a cute sports story that has ghosts. A boy from a logging town on the edge of the Brazilian rainforest finds a supernatural clearing where a mysterious goalkeeper takes him under his wing and shows him how to be the best keeper he can be. His talent and work are rewarded, he finds his way out of the working classes, he excels, he wins the world cup, but always with an edge of the supernatural to him.

I loved the technical side of this; you genuinely learn about what it feels like to be a goalie, all the considerations that have to be internalized and instinctive to make you one of the best. The book is set in a world where talent is recognized, hard work is rewarded, and enlightened show more self-interest leads to the best outcomes for the right people; you can argue about whether that world is this world, but the interest of the book is specifically in how you react to a gift from heaven, not so much in other kinds of struggle. As such it's single minded and satisfying, with a nice twist at the end. Recommended if you like soccer stories, or ghost stories, or if you have a goalie in your life. show less

Absolutely brilliant book - a "Field of Dreams" for soccer lovers and environmentalists everywhere. Journalist Paul Faustino is interviewing the famous South American football star El Gato - The Cat- the keeper who has just won for his country the most coveted sporting trophy ever - The World Cup. El Gato tells the story of growing up in a poor logging camp at the edge of the Amazon rainforest and how he meets a strange man in the middle of the jungle who teaches him everything he knows about being a keeper. The Keeper shows El Gato how to mimic the jaguar and watch its moves so he can become the greatest keeper ever. In the meantime, he must help support his family by assisting at the logging camp - a dangerous, dirty thankless job show more broken only by the Saturday afternoon soccer match between logging camps.
p.71-77 "So, what am I? the jaguar or the deer?" show less

This was one of the best YA books I've read in a long time and one of the best sports books (YA or other) that I've read in a really, really long time. Centered around a fictitious world cup winning goalkeeper, Keeper is an amazing story about the supernatural crossed with soccer. It's fun, funny, sad, beautiful and moving, all mixed in together. Peet's gift for words, his engrossing plot and exceptional characters make Keeper a brilliant book. I have so much love for this book. My only complaint is that it took me far too long to finally pick it up.

Sports journalist Paul Faustino lands an exclusive interview with El Gato, the legendary and unstoppable goalie, fresh off of a World Cup win. Paul is expecting an insider's perspective on World Cup victory, but instead is offered a fantastic, surreal tale of impoverished origins in a dirty, dangerous jungle town, where all the men make their living cutting and burning the jungle, and all the boys spend their days playing soccer until they too are old enough to join their fathers. El Gato began as a gangly boy, too clumsy and useless to be included in the boys' soccer. He turns to wandering the jungle, and finds, inexplicably, a shimmering clearing with a goal and a shadowy 'keeper' who tells him he has found his place, and begins daily show more sessions of punishing mental and physical training, teaching him the agility and instinct of a jaguar. When he is old enough to join his father, he steps in to a weekly soccer match between the workers, and attracts a lot of attention, and an opportunity to sign with a professional club and escape the bleak poverty of his hometown. The novel is magical, redemptive, and soul-searching, a sports/environment tale with a lot of action, mystery, and heartbreak.

Curriculum: this is an excellent book for a library collection to appeal to boys. Interesting questions raised: what does it take to realize your dreams? What is the cost and is it worth it?

Peet, M. (2005). Keeper. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. show less

This was a marvelous blend of a sports story with a little paranormal twist. Paul Faustino is a journalist who is interviewing the soccer phenomenon known as Gato after winning the World Cup. The reader sits in on the interview and hears his remarkable story that opens in a little logging town on the edge of the Amazon rain forest. Without any TV or theaters and very little schooling, the only activity enjoyed by the sons of the loggers was soccer. Our young man was originally called La Cigüeńa, the Stork, because he was all limbs and skinny and clumsy. Instead of playing with his friends he started to explore the jungle around his home which thrilled his mother. One day he discovers a rarity in that country, a clearing. Even stranger show more was that there was a goal made of wood at one end. As he ponders this, a strange being emerges from the forest and begins training the lad to be a goalie.

I am not big on sports stories but I was enthralled by the descriptions of the moves and techniques described in the story. A delightful read. show less

A transcendental book about soccer. El Gato begins as a young boy, too clumsy and dorky to play. Tired of sitting on the sidelines, he starts exploring the rainforest near his home. He finds a mysterious clearing and a ghostly mentor who helps him become a goalkeeper.