Outcasts United

December 22, 2008
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.

March 1, 2009
Richly detailed, uplifting account of a young Jordanian migr who created a soccer program in Georgia for young refugees from war-torn nations.

Expanding on his front-page series in the New York Times, St. John (Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, 2004) shows one determined woman profoundly impacting the lives of dozens of impoverished families. Arriving in the sleepy Atlanta suburb of Clarkston shortly after her graduation from Smith College in 1997, Luma Mufleh saw young refugee children playing soccer in the vacant lots around town. She persuaded the local YMCA to fund a free soccer program and signed on as its unpaid coach. She forged a team, the Fugees, out of recruits from such disparate lands as Liberia, Sudan, Zaire, Kosovo and Afghanistan. She offered youngsters traumatized by civil war and genocide the chance to enjoy a familiar pastime, often acting as a surrogate mother for children whose struggling parents worked long hours to support them. The Fugees' birth was not without challenges. Mufleh had to overcome prejudice from wary Clarkston residents, who resented the thousands of foreigners placed in their midst by the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement. Mayor Lee Swaney repeatedly blocked the Fugees from practicing on the town's unused playing fields. Mufleh also had to combat the lure of local street gangs,"which promised both belonging and status" to kids who had little experience of either. Nevertheless, under her stern but steady guidance, the Fugees proved more than competitive against their better-equipped, well-supported suburban opponents. St. John combines this underdog sports saga with shocking background on the frequently bloody journeys taken by refugee families en route to Clarkston. He also provides some valuable sociological insight into the adjustments required from both the refugees and their Clarkston neighbors to keep this small-town melting pot from boiling over.

Readable, educational and enriching.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from January 15, 2009
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

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2009
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

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2009
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 towns 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 its been years since the town had an active baseball team. Luma Mufleh, the Smith Collegeeducated daughter of wealthy Jordanians, seems an unlikely coach, but as she wages a relentless fight to let the kids playand help their families thrivewe 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)