Keeper (review)
2005; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 59; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2005.0256
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Digital Games and Media
ResumoReviewed by: Keeper Maggie Hommel Peet, Mal Keeper. Candlewick, 2005 [240p] ISBN 0-7636-2749-6$15.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 6-10 When reporter Paul Faustino interviews the world's best soccer goalkeeper, El Gato, he hears a story unlike anything he could imagine: a tale of a clumsy child in a small corner of South America, a mystical guru Keeper in the jungle, and an extraordinary rise to soccer stardom. The book (a British import) is framed as the actual interview between Faustino and El Gato, a format that helps keep the fantastical tale more grounded. Infused in the story are exciting and detailed descriptions of soccer games and the thoughts of the talented goalkeeper; scenes with the mythic Keeper allow the reader to see El Gato's development, share in his journey, and learn about soccer as he does. Despite the South American locale, the regional details are generic; the focus, however, isn't setting but soccer as a universal force, and its magical elements land it somewhere between Field of Dreams and [End Page 35] Karate Kid, with the ghostly sports purgatory and redemption aspects of the former and wise-master elements of the latter. With soccer's rising prominence and popularity in the U.S., readers scrambling for soccer stories will be begging for this captivating tale with plenty of play-by-play. Copyright © 2005 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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