Keeper

Keeper (2003) is a young adult novel written by Mal Peet. It is framed as an interview between famed sports journalist Paul Faustino and the world’s best soccer goalkeeper, El Gato, who just won the World Cup for his country. Through this interview, El Gato discusses his life growing up in South America, where he learned to play soccer in the forest taught by an ethereal being known as “the Keeper.” Peet’s novel explores themes of Self-Sacrifice in Following Dreams, The Importance of Nature, and The Power of Sports. Keeper is the first in a series of three novels that centers around fictional journalist Paul Faustino, followed by The Penalty (2006) and Exposure (2008). It won the Branford Brase Award for best debut children’s novel.

This guide uses the 2016 Candlewick paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of alcohol dependency and animal and human death.

Plot Summary

Paul Faustino interviews El Gato, the world’s best goalkeeper, shortly after El Gato’s national team wins the World Cup. Gato tells the story of his childhood growing up in a village at the edge of the forest. His father works for a logging company, whose primary goal is to clear away the forest and make more living space.

The children in the village play soccer every day. Gato tries to play with them, but he is gangly and unathletic. At the age of 13, he gives up, instead spending his time on his own. He wanders through the forest, acknowledging both the fear it instills in him but also the beauty of it.

One day, Gato comes across a clearing in the middle of the forest. It is a soccer field, neatly trimmed with an old goal at one end. He finds a man there whom he refers to as “the Keeper,” wearing an old-fashioned soccer uniform. He is both present and not, having an ethereal quality with a voice that seems to take longer than it should to reach Gato’s ears. The Keeper tells him that he belongs in the goal, but Gato runs home out of fear.

That night, Gato is unable to sleep. He repeatedly dreams of the Keeper and what he said to him. The next day, he talks with his Uncle Feliciano, who realizes Gato saw something in the forest. Uncle Feliciano tells him that the men of the village are foolish for thinking that they can control the forest. Instead, he insists that Gato should respect it.

Gato returns to the field. The Keeper immediately puts him in the soccer goal and shoots at him, insisting that Gato has the instincts to be a goalie. Although Gato is initially frustrated, he returns to the field each day for two years. The Keeper teaches him how to read shots, understand a shooter’s body language, and be comfortable in the goal. When Gato tries to talk with him about why the Keeper is helping him, the Keeper is vague but stresses the importance of Gato learning how to play so that he can help the Keeper in some way.

At home, Gato’s parents argue about his future. His mother thinks he is spending too much time in the forest, so Gato lies to her and tells her that he is interested in studying it. She buys him journals and pencils, and Gato starts sketching and taking notes on the things he sees. His father is adamant that Gato needs to work as a logger. Eventually, they compromise: Gato can work for the logging company for two years and then use the money for college.

At 15, Gato starts working with his father. He regrets leaving the Keeper but feels as though he has an obligation to his family. He works as a mechanic, training under an old man named Estevan. Estevan and their boss, Señor Hellman, are immediately impressed with Gato’s work. However, Gato leaves work each day exhausted and unable to play soccer.

After his first week of work, Gato’s father takes him to a field nearby the logging camp. Each week, the Loggers and the Camp form teams and play soccer against each other. When the Camp has no goalie, Gato walks onto the field. In his first game, he makes several impressive saves and manages to give the Camp team their first win in a long time.

The next day, Gato goes back to the Keeper for the first time in a week. The Keeper mocks Gato for his arrogance on the field at work, then makes him repeatedly shoot on the Keeper. Fueled by anger, Gato finally scores on him but then is immediately dismissed by the Keeper.

The next Saturday, Gato plays for the Camp team again. The Loggers try a new strategy—crossing the ball repeatedly into the group of players in front of the net—but Gato again manages to save every shot taken on him. After, the players celebrate Gato’s skill.

On Sunday, Gato returns to the Keeper again. The Keeper trains him with a sense of urgency, forcing Gato to save dozens of crosses—making him practice what he struggled with in the game. The Keeper tells Gato that they don’t have much time left together, but does not elaborate, leaving Gato concerned about his future.

Before the third game at the camp, several trucks come with dozens of workers from another logging site. There is also a wealthy couple that sits by the field to watch the game. A European player who goes by the name El Ladron (“The Thief”) plays for the Loggers. Gato learns that he was recruited by them to stop Gato, so Gato spends the entire game tracking Ladron’s movements. In the final moments of the game, Ladron acts as though he is exhausted, then quickly chases down a ball and scores on Gato.

That night, Gato goes home, still angry about his loss. The family meal is interrupted by the arrival of Señor Hellman, Ladron, the wealthy couple from the field, and a retired soccer player, Milton Acuna. The couple informs him that they are important members of the Deportivo San Juan (DSJ), a sports academy from the city of San Juan. They ask Gato’s father to sign a contract so that Gato can play for their soccer club. Gato’s parents are initially hesitant but agree, largely because of the $10,000 signing bonus and the fact that Gato can return after two years to go to college.

Afterwards, Gato runs to the field. The Keeper asks him what happened in the game, and Gato admits that he was overwhelmed by the pressure and the sounds of the crowd. The Keeper then gives him one final lesson: He creates a storm around the field with a deafening noise, then shoots repeatedly at Gato, training him to focus despite all the distractions around him. When Gato leaves, he promises to come back, and the Keeper tells him that he is “counting on” Gato’s return.

In San Juan, Gato plays for four years. He plays professionally in Italy, where he wins the European Cup. Faustino produces a photo of Gato celebrating with his team, but Gato makes him promise not to use the photo for his news article. He tells Faustino about his father’s death. On the day of the European Cup final, his father got extremely intoxicated, then went to work the next morning. After his team lost control of a tree in the rain, it crushed and killed Gato’s father.

Faustino asks Gato to watch the replay of the World Cup final with him. He has decided to write three stories: One about the Keeper, one about his father, and one about the World Cup. Gato takes Faustino through the important moments of the game: It goes to a penalty shootout, which ends in a tie, forcing “sudden death.” Gato scores the winning shot for his team.

Gato then shocks Faustino by asking him not to publish an article about the Keeper. Faustino is outraged, but Gato insists that they need to write a book. Gato wants the world to know about what happened in the forest, as he is retiring from soccer to dedicate his life to preserving it. Faustino is initially hesitant but agrees after Gato lets him publish the story of his retirement.

While Faustino makes phone calls, Gato checks through Faustino’s old news articles and pictures. He interrupts Faustino’s call to ask about a photo from the 1940s of an old soccer team. Faustino tells him that they are the Lost Ones, the last team that everyone thought would win the World Cup from Gato’s home country. However, on their way to Rio de Janeiro, their plane crashed over the forest and they were never found. When Faustino finishes his phone call, he realizes that Gato is gone.

Gato returns home. He follows the path in the forest and finds the field once again. The Keeper is waiting for him there. Gato presents him with the World Cup, apologizing for how long it took him to win and come back. Several more ghosts come out of the forest; Gato recognizes them as the Lost Ones. After several moments, the team vanishes, and Gato picks up the World Cup that was left behind.