Keeper by Mal Peet Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Keeper
Book Review: Engages the young player
Summary: 5 Stars
An excellent read for my 11_year old. He was so excited to tell me every detail, chapter by chapter... Even the gory details he read about the logging industry in S. Amer. Believe it or not, this look at a world so different from his American life is what really kept him going and going, even through some of the vague symbolism of the "keeper's" spirit, etc, which of course, made good conversation for us to talk about our family's spirituality. Excellent motivating book with lots of good tips about intuitive soccer playing from a pro!Book Review: For Soccer Fanatics and Patient Readers
Summary: 4 Stars
Mal Peet's KEEPER is just that -- an unusual sports story worth keeping because it could hold up to a second reading. If you love soccer (and especially if you are interested in the metaphysics of playing goal), read no more and put this in your cart.
Fans of "magical realism" should give this a look-see, too. It's not often that the YA field gets the "Gabriel Garcia Marquez treatment," after all. Here we have a Brazilian lad who wanders into the rain forest, finds an inexplicable clearing with a soccer field and goalposts, then gets visited by this ghostly apparition that mentors him in the art of playing goal. Unusual isn't the word for it.
That said, the plot device of using an interview (Paul Faustino is the journalist) to tell the story bogs the book down a bit -- especially at the beginning when most young readers are lost. Patience will be rewarded, however. This is an intelligent little book that chronicles the making of a World Cup caliber goalie (El Gato, or "The Cat") from Brazil, and in addition to the other-worldly element (just who or what IS that "keeper" in the jungle?), you get some pretty good action sequences of soccer games, too.
If you buy it, stick with it. Patience will be rewarded.
Book Review: Gripping soccer themed novel
Summary: 4 Stars
In 2004 this book won the Branford Boase award in the UK for the best first novel aimed at young adults .It was a worthy winner and the book is rewarding reading for adults as well as younger readers.
The title has two measnings -"keeper" as in goalkeeper ,the soccer position ,and "keeper" as in guardian or custodian ,The book similarly operates on two levels .It can be enjoyed as straightforward socccer rags to riches tale or as a piece of English "magic realism" of the South American type .There is a framing device to the story and the book periodically moves back to this device .It takes the form of an interview between the leading South American sports journalist ,Paul Faustino ,and a man known simply as El Gato -the Cat .El Gato is the world's leading goalkeeper and just 48 hours previously had been instrumental in helping his un-named nation win the world Cup.Faustino is expecting merely the usual litany of cliches beloved of today's media trained sports stars but instaed is told an incredible tale ,one he struggles to get his head round.It is a tale of a young boy growing up in an isolated logging community on the edge of the South American rainforest where soccer is the chief obsession .Games take place on a daily basis after school but El Gato is useless as an outfield player and cannot get a game between the sticks.He "retires"from the game and wanders disconsolately among the flora and fauna of the forest until he stusmbles upon a clearing in which can be found a set of soccer goalposts.and meets the mysterious "keeper" who becomes his mentor .Using illustrations drawn from the natural world and the stars he becomes more than a coach and almost a guide to lfe itself.El Gato impresses in games organised by his employer,the logging company ,comes to the notice of the leading club in his own nation and eventually finds stardom in Europe and on the world stage ,climaxing in the World Cup Final
It may sound like a trite tale but it is infused with rich themes of self-discovery and of redemption for lives stunted and all too short .Ther book will work well for those anting a soccer story but gig deeper and you will find there are life lessons to be learned from the book which mercifully inculcts them without ponderous didacticism
Rewarding
Book Review: Teen ager loved it
Summary: 5 Stars
Bought this for my 16 year old who plays goalkeeper for his high school team. He loved it. He has read and re-read several times now.Book Review: This is for adults too!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not just for young adults as the back of the book implies. My son is a 16 year old select soccer player on a top ten team in the state of Washington and he loved it. So my wife read it and she liked it as well. So I read it and was surprised at how entertaining the story was. The mystical, or fantasy element wound around a very realistic story made for a great read. For those who actually play keeper (also called goalie or goalkeeper), the detailed scenes explaining how the keeper "reads" the leaning tendencies of the kicker as he shoots are incredible and actually taught my son, a midfielder, some things about shooting so as not to give away the direction of the shot. Keepers would get the same insights about shooters. And for those not into the esoterics of soccer you will surely enjoy the wonderful storyline of the underdog fighting through adversity.