Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Walker Childrens Paperbacks (2003), Paperback, 240 pages
Description
In an interview with a young journalist, World Cup hero, El Gato, describes his youth in the Brazilian rain forest and the events, experiences, and people that helped make him a great goalkeeper and renowned soccer star.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ljpage
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.
LibraryThing member callmecayce
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,
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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. Show Less
LibraryThing member Erika3
The novel, Keeper, encompasses the theme that people can achieve their goal through hard work and determination. In the beginning, Gato, the protagonist and the world’s greatest goal keeper tells Paul Faustino, one of South America’s best sports writers about his childhood. He explains to him
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that he often struggled to find the approval of his parents because they both had a different dream for him. Throughout the middle of his story, he describes his meetings with a mystical spirit, The Keeper, and how rigorous his training with him felt. By the end of the novel, Gato then asks Paul to write him a book about him and his meeting the Keeper; Paul reluctantly agrees but then is startled to discover that Gato is retiring. Gato then returns to his hometown, with his World cup trophy to free The Keeper. (225/225) Show Less
LibraryThing member creighley
Soccer players would love this story. Nice action and a great feeling for being in the goal.
LibraryThing member AMQS
I borrowed this one from a boy on tour to avert a near-book emergency, and to round out my summer reading with a "boy" book. This one was excellent. 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
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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, shimmery 'keeper' who tells him he has found his place, and begins daily 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. Show Less
LibraryThing member mamzel
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
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.
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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 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.
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LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
Narrated by Christopher Lane. “The Graveyard Book” meets the World Cup. Lane does a great job bringing out the emotional aspects of El Gato’s story although some of the accents are inconsistent.
LibraryThing member electrascaife
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
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.
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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.
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LibraryThing member kslade
Good story about a youth in Brazil whose father works at cutting wood in the jungle. It has a some supernatural parts as he learns to become a great soccer goalkeeper. Worthwhile.
Awards
Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (2004)
Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing (Nominee — 2004)
Virginia Readers' Choice (Nominee — Middle School — 2010)
Branford Boase Award (Winner — 2004)
Hampshire Book Awards (Shortlist — Hampshire Book Award — 2004)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2006)
CCBC Choices (2006)
Texas Lone Star Reading List (2007)
Language
Original publication date
2007
Physical description
240 p.; 7.8 inches
ISBN
0744590256 / 9780744590258
Local notes
Framed as an interview between a South American sports reporter and the world's best soccer goalkeeper, the now 30-year-old "El Gato" relates how he developed his skills, achieved great fame, and won the coveted World Cup. His story is one of poverty and isolation in a small logging community, of strong family ties in a beloved jungle being inexorably denuded, and of intense focus on the game of soccer, with a mystical element added when El Gato describes his rigorous soccer training by a ghost in a magical clearing.