Keeper (Everyone Can Be a Reader

by Alan Gibbons

The North Star soccer team is thrilled when Shane, the new boy at school, turns out to be a talented goalkeeper. But Shane has a temper that gets him in trouble and a demanding father who acts out on the sidelines at every game. Soon Shane’s teammates start to worry that something is really wrong—and that Shane’s not nearly as tough as he seems. 

Keeper is packed full of fascinating facts about famous goalies and the history of goalkeeping.

Union Square & Co.’s EVERYONE CAN BE A READER books are expertly written, thoughtfully designed with dyslexia-friendly fonts and paper tones, and carefully formatted to meet readers where they are with engaging stories that encourage reading success across a wide range of age and interest levels.
 

Genres: Sports, Middle Grade

80 pages, Paperback

Published April 2, 2024

About the author

Alan Gibbons is an author of children's books and a Blue Peter Book Award. He currently lives in Liverpool, England, where he used to teach in a primary school. His father was a farm laborer, but was hurt in an accident when Alan was eight years old. The family had to move to Crewe, Cheshire where Alan experienced bullying for the first time. He began to write for his pupils as a teacher, but never tried to get any of his work published.

Gibbons trained to be a teacher in his mid-thirties and starting writing short stories for his students. Later, he began to write professionally. In 2000, he won the Blue Peter Book Award in the category "The Book I Couldn't Put Down" category for Shadow of the Minotaur. He was a judge for the 2001 Blue Peter Book Awards. He was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal in 2001 and 2003 and shortlisted twice for the Booktrust Teenage Prize. He has also won the Leicester Book of the Year, the Stockport Book Award, the Angus Book Award, the Catalyst Award, the Birmingham Chills Award, the Salford Young Adult Book Award and the Salford Librarians' Special Award.

Reviews

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it because it’s a lot of time for me and I love ❤️ goalkeepers I like it but is not the best.í recomen you

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything that Alan Gibbons writes is gold. It's high-interest, easy reading that involves the readers in the lives of the characters. In this story, new kid Shane Logan is brash and brilliant at soccer, but has a terrible temper and his new mates Peter and Danny struggle to figure out what's going on. Their soccer team can do well if everyone pulls together. There are cut-away references to real-life soccer matches and players, and both the plot and the fact breaks are extremely well-written.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely a hi-low style book that fits better in middle school. I was hoping it would be high school "enough" to purchase, but it definitely reads pretty juvenile. Kind of surface level in the plot, but I liked the incorporation of random goalkeeper facts. Middle school soccer fans would enjoy it for sure.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is great! This tells the story of Shane, a young lad who just seems so angry with the world... but who is a top notch keeper! Is something going on? Why is he so angry? I loved the interspersed facts about goalies and the history of goalkeeping! Brilliant!

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this very short, dyslexic-friendly novel, we meet Shane Logan, a kid from Leeds who comes to a new school. Mrs Ali, his teacher, is very kind despite his angry attitude, and gives him supplies so he can participate in class. Peter, an avid soccer player, thinks that maybe Shane will calm down if they ask him to play soccer, but is as explosive on the field, kicking the subpar soccer ball angrily. There is a Sunday league, the North Park Juniors, and Peter and his friends ask Shane to be a part of that, because he has decent soccer skills. When Shane's father Mick brings him, it's easy to see where Shane gets his attitude, as Mick yells and abuses Coach Gary. At one point, the two have to be sent home because of their outbursts. It turns out that Mick isn't Shane's dad, but rather his mother's boyfriend, and after throwing a chair through a window, Mick has been taken away by the police. Shane continues to play soccer, and the team helps him. There are also short chapters of nonfictional information interspersed throughout, with information on Great Goalies, Over the Top Goalies, Bloopers, and the like.
Strengths: Like Fabbri's Back of the Net series, this book includes plenty of on field action combined with young adult social problems like anger management. This is fast paced, and short, so students who lose interest quickly will be done with the book by the time they are tired of it.
Weaknesses: This is a British title, so I wasn't quite sure why it was so notable that Shane was from Leeds. It's not that important to the story, and readers who are very interested in soccer will be familiar with the international players in the nonfiction section. The writing was on par with other high interest, low level readers.
What I really think: This is a great choice for readers who are successful with titles like Robinson's Carter High or Saddleback Publishing's District 13 books. There's an older feel to it, so readers who think the Jake Maddox books are too young, but who need easier text, will enjoy these. I have a lot of ELL students who enjoy soccer, and this will be perfect for them.

[Josh]

I likes how Mick was a bad person.