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The Penalty
The Penalty
The Penalty
Mal Peet
From the award-winning author of TAMAR, a time-shifting thriller about a vanishing soccer star, occult secrets, and the dark history of slavery.As the city of San Juan pulses to summer’s sluggish beat, its teenage soccer prodigy, El Brujito, the Little Magician, vanishes without a trace — right after he misses a penalty kick and loses a big game for his team. Paul Faustino, South America’s top sports reporter, is reluctantly drawn into the mystery of the athlete’s disappearance. As a story of corruption and murder unfolds, Faustino is forced to confront the bitter history of slavery and the power of the occult. A deftly woven mystery flush with soccer and suspense, this gripping novel is a thrilling read not to be missed.
1 Vote

Book Details

Genre: 

  • Fiction
  • Mystery
  • Sports

Age Level: 

  • 12 and up
The Penalty review by SMill
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SMill

In the second Paul Faustino novel by Mal Peet we are once again drawn into a world of mystery surrounding a famous soccer star. After superstar El Brujito simply disappears Faustino is thrown into the deepest, darkest parts of South America to find him. The story is intertwined with vast African American history and culture, including flashbacks to the life of a slave boy almost 100 years ago when practicing magic and selling people was the norm. Faustino is forced to follow around crooks and off shore criminals while taken captive, to write the story that was never his.

Rating:
4
Content Rating:

Content rating - some mature content
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