Paul Faustino

In the second of the Paul Faustino novels by Carnegie Medal-winning author Mal Peet, teenage football prodigy El Brujito, 'the Little Magician', has vanished without a trace, and Paul finds himself reluctantly drawn into the mystery. As the city of San Juan pulses to summer's sluggish beat, Paul gets more than he bargained for as a story of corruption and murder unfolds, forcing him to confront a bitter history of slavery and the power of the occult.

When a black South American soccer star signs on to a team in the country’s racist south, headlines blare. And when he falls for the sensual Desmerelda, a stunning white pop singer and daughter of a wealthy politician, their sudden and controversial marriage propels the pair to centre stage, where they burn in the media spotlight. But celebrity attracts enemies; some very close to home. And its dazzle reaches into the city’s hidden corners, exposing a life of grit and desperation the glitterati could never imagine.