“El Gato” is possibly the best soccer goalie the world has ever seen. In his retirement he has agreed to be interviewed by prizewinning sportswriter Paul Faustino. Holding the actual World Cup in his hands while he talks, El Gato begins with his childhood in a remote village in a South American jungle, where he was awkward and uncoordinated. He played soccer—badly—when not working in the nearby logging camp. But one day in the jungle, he meets the mystical Keeper, who insists El Gato belongs on a soccer field. The Keeper teaches El Gato the ins and outs of goaltending. El Gato becomes so good he is recruited away from the local team at the lumberyard and eventually sent to a prestigious academy, a vital stepping stone on the path to his illustrious career. Occasional comments from Faustino give voice to the doubts that such mystical intervention could possibly be real, but El Gato’s absolute conviction of the Keeper’s influence in his life adds a tantalizing thread of fantasy to an otherwise realistic narrative. Mal Peet’s fascinating novel also weaves a strong environmental message about the devastation caused by logging in developing countries into the action-packed sports story. (Ages 12–16)

An enthralling story of a poor and gawky kid who mysteriously becomes the world's greatest goalkeeper — a seamless blend of magic realism and exhilarating soccer action.

"And you found it, this thing you were looking for?"

It was darker now, and the city below Faustino's office was a jazzy dance of neon signs and traffic. The big man went to the window and looked down at it all, spreading his large hands on the glass. "No," he said. "It found me."

When Paul Faustino of LA NACION flips on his tape recorder for an exclusive interview with El Gato — the phenomenal goalkeeper who single-handedly brought his team the World Cup — the seasoned reporter quickly learns that this will be no ordinary story. Instead, the legendary El Gato ("The Cat") quietly narrates a spellbinding tale that begins in a mythic corner of the South American rain forest, where a ghostly but very real mentor, the Keeper, emerges to teach the gangly boy the most thrilling secrets of the game. Combining vivid imagery and heart-stopping action, this evocative, strikingly ethereal novel about loyalty, passion, and magic will haunt readers, regardless of their love for soccer, long after the story is ended.