Summary of the book Keeper

The book Keeper starts off with an interveiw of El Gato. Gato (the cat) grew up in a logging village surrounded by jungle. Like every boy he wanted to be a great soccer player but when he was young he had no skill at all. He then quit soccer and when he thought he shut it down he actually opened it up. When he quit soccer he spent most of his days in the jungle and that's when he stumbled across, the Keeper. The Keeper taught him to be a goalie. Nobody knew who he was, nobody knew he existed, that is, accept for El Gato.

The Keeper soon became his mentor and Gato became a great goalie. Soon he was forced to go work at the logging camp and had to leave behind the Keeper. After work on one Saturday he noticed a soccer game going on and also noticed one team didn't have a goalie. Without thinking, he ran out to the goal and stood there like it was where he belonged. They played the game and won, Gato didnt let in a single shot. He then decided to play every week and that's how he got the name Gato.

One Saturday was different. People were there to spectate him and the other team had brought in a pro to disrupt Gato. He seamed unfazed throughout the game until the very end when the first goal was scored on him, he had finally tasted defeat.

At the end of the day the same spectators from the game came to his house and asked if he was willing to play at pro level. Among the five spectators was a former great from the area. Gato's mom wanted him to do it for the money but his father said "no". His uncle Feliciano then came and noticed the soccer great and being overwhelmed by the situation he started spewing out questions but the final one was this "Do you remember that great shot you pulled on that goalie, Perez?" He answered with a "yes".

He then shot "What was it? Did you fake three defenders?"

He replied " No, actually it was four."

"Oh, you had that goalie thinking you were going right, but then you shot left. It was the best shot I ever saw!", exclaimed uncle Feliciano. "Now, let me ask you this. Do you think Gato would have saved that shot?"

"Yes, actually I think he would have read it."

To find out if Gato's father will sign, read Keeper by Mal Peet.