Goalkeeper

Bloor, Edward. Goalkeeper (Tangerine #2)

October 14, 2025 by Clarion Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this sequel to the 1997 book Tangerine, we catch up with Paul Fisher in Florida. His brother, Erik, is under house arrest after a robbery that left a young man dead, even though the cause of death was listed as a brain aneurysm. Paul was expelledd from Tangerine Middle School, where he was on the soccer team, and is currently enrolled at St. Anthony's, because the expulsion covers every school in the county. He makes friends with Jeffrey Kaplan when he protects the younger boy from being bullied, and spends time hanging out with him. He also goes to the eye doctor for new glasses, and his eyesight has recuperated enough (from Erik having thrown paint in his face when he was five) that he no longer has very thick glasses. Paul's grandparents visit from Ohio to tell the family that the grandfather has stage four lung cancer and is planning his funeral and burial in Florida. There are new neighbors, the McCarthy's, who are opening up a franchise of a sub shop. The father asks Mr. Fisher for help establishing contacts, but Paul is very concerned about the children, Connor and Caitlin, who seem to have criminal leanings. Caitlin often asks Paul for "protection", but Connor has stolen money from Erik. When Tropical Storm Ann hits the area, Erik and his accomplice Arthur threaten to beat Paul and damage his new glasses, but Jeffrey (who has been studying martial arts) saves Paul from being beaten. Erik and Arthur run off, and the Fishers wash their hands of him. The McCarthy's have the opening of their shop, but there is no food, and Connor claims that he has been robbed when he was closing up. One of Paul's teammates from Tangerine, Luka Guzman, is seen running away from the shop, and arrested for the theft. The Fishers get a call that Erik has been arrested in Houston, and go to see him. Meanwhile, Paul realizes that the McCarthy's has staged the theft and framed Luka, so Paul tells the police that he lied about seeing Luka, and spends the night in jail. He gets help from Jeffrey's mother, who is a youth lawyer. In the end, the McCarthy's leave town, Erik and Arthur go to jail, and Paul goes back to Tangerine Middle School to play soccer. 

Strengths: At one point in time, Tangerine was a popular title that was used as a class novel, and which won a number of awards. It was quirky and innovative, and beloved by soccer fans. The storyline with Erik's legal trouble, and his mistreatment of Paul, is something that is unusual for middle grade. The McCarthy's scams that fleece so many people in the neighborhood are vaguely reminiscent of Korman's Faker. The story moves fairly quickly, and the book is not very long. Paul is an engaging characters, and I was glad that his eyesight had improved. 
Weaknesses: It was hard to tell when this book was set. The cars mentioned were older (the Buick LeSabre hasn't been produced since 2005), the father mentions have a high lottery number for Vietnam, and there are other things that make this seem like an older title. The writing style reminded me of Robert Cormier for no specific reason that I can describe. The Home Owners Association gets a lot more mentions than one would expect for a middle grade book. There is no soccer played. 
What I really think: I am always curious as to why publishers come release sequels years after books are published; Holt's 1999 When Zachary Beaver Came to town was followed by the 2021 Ambassador of Nowhere, Texas, and Schmidt's 2007 The Wednesday War was followed by the 2021 Just Like That. I weeded Tangerine years ago, after the teacher who loved it retired, in part because the cover art was very much in the style of the 1990s. I won't be purchasing this new title.