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Summary
Summary
The extraordinary tale of a refugee youth soccer team and the transformation of a small American town
Clarkston, Georgia, was a typical Southern town until it was designated a refugee settlement center in the 1990s, becoming the first American home for scores of families in flight from the world's war zones--from Liberia and Sudan to Iraq and Afghanistan. Suddenly Clarkston's streets were filled with women wearing the hijab, the smells of cumin and curry, and kids of all colors playing soccer in any open space they could find. The town also became home to Luma Mufleh, an American-educated Jordanian woman who founded a youth soccer team to unify Clarkston's refugee children and keep them off the streets. These kids named themselves the Fugees.
Set against the backdrop of an American town that without its consent had become a vast social experiment, Outcasts United follows a pivotal season in the life of the Fugees and their charismatic coach. Warren St. John documents the lives of a diverse group of young people as they miraculously coalesce into a band of brothers, while also drawing a fascinating portrait of a fading American town struggling to accommodate its new arrivals. At the center of the story is fiery Coach Luma, who relentlessly drives her players to success on the soccer field while holding together their lives--and the lives of their families--in the face of a series of daunting challenges.
This fast-paced chronicle of a single season is a complex and inspiring tale of a small town becoming a global community--and an account of the ingenious and complicated ways we create a home in a changing world.
Author Notes
Warren St. John is a reporter for The New York Times and the author of the national bestseller Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer .
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Adult/High School-St. John, a New York Times reporter, brought Clarkston, GA, to national attention in 2007 with a series of articles about the changes in the small Southern town brought about by an influx of refugees from all over the world. This book comes out of those articles. It gives more detail about the town and, most particularly, the three soccer teams composed of refugee boys (the Fugees) who were coached by Luma Mufleh, an American-educated Jordanian woman. The book is a sports story, a sociological study, a tale of global and local politics, and the story of a determined woman who became involved in the lives of her young charges. Keeping the boys in school and out of gangs, finding a place for them to practice, and helping their families survive in a new world all became part of her daily life. Engagingly written, this volume will appeal to fans of Larry Colton's Counting Coup (Grand Central, 2000), H. G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights (HarperCollins, 1991), and Madeleine Blais's In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle (Grand Central, 1996).-Sarah Flowers, formerly at Santa Clara County Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
St. John (Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer) builds on his 2007 New York Times article about the Fugees, a soccer program for boys from families of refugees from war-torn nations who have been resettled in the town of Clarkston, Ga., 13 miles east of Atlanta. Led by the founder and coach Luma Mufleh, a strong-willed, Jordanian woman who turned her back on a privileged past to stay in America after attending Smith College, the three youth teams are a conglomeration of players from Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East. The challenges they face are many, including an ongoing fight against city hall for a field on which to play, and getting by with subpar equipment. Their biggest challenge, however, is the difficulty immigrants face in learning the ways of a strange land and living with the memories of tragedy (some players had lost a parent to violence or imprisonment). In spite of it all, the Fugees compete admirably with mostly white, better-funded suburban teams. St. John begins with an inspiring description of a beautifully played game and then delves into the team's formation, but his storytelling takes on the methodical approach of a long series of newspaper articles that lack narrative flair and progression. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Tales of tough coaches and playing-field redemption are so ingrained in our culture as to seem a uniquely American phenomenon. So, too, are stories of immigration and assimilation. St. John (Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, 2004) hits a trifecta, finding a story of strictly coached immigrant soccer players faced with another familiar plot element: a small town's distrust of outsiders. Sleepy Clarkston, Georgia, surprised to find itself hosting refugees from more than 100 war-torn countries, refuses to allow youth soccer games on its baseball fields, even though it's been years since the town had an active baseball team. Luma Mufleh, the Smith College-educated daughter of wealthy Jordanians, seems an unlikely coach, but as she wages a relentless fight to let the kids play and help their families thrive we soon realize that her accomplishments are far greater than any college coach with an undefeated season. Inspired by articles St. John reported for the New York Times, this is a fascinating and fast-moving account of big-picture politics, small-town sports, and some very memorable people.--Graff, Keir Copyright 2009 Booklist
Library Journal Review
St. John (Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania) tells the tale of the Fugees soccer team and their enigmatic coach, Luma Mufleh. The members of the Fugees were refugees from all over the globe, rescued by the UN's High Commission for Refugees, living together in a crime-riddled settlement center in Clarkston, GA. The stories of their escapes are harrowing. For example, Paula Balegamire and her five children fled civil war in Kivu through Rwanda, Tanzania, and Congo before accepting resettlement in Clarkston six years later. Her husband was jailed along the way. Not merely about soccer, St. John's book teaches readers about the social and economic difficulties of adapting to a new culture and the challenges facing a town with a new and disparate population. Despite their cultural and religious differences and the difficulty of adaptation, the Fugees came together to play soccer. This wonderful, poignant book is highly recommended for libraries collecting on the role of sport in people's lives and for those with an interest in immigration.-Todd Spires, Bradley Univ. Lib., Peoria, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.