By: Warren St. John
I really loved this book, which I actually started before I read The Blue Sweater. There are similarities. Each is about a young woman living far from home, trying "to do something positive for change." And both Jacqueline Novogratz and Luma Hassan Mufleh believe strongly in the concepts of investment, rather than handouts, and accountability. Mufleh, a passionate soccer player, is Jordanian, educated in the United States and choosing to remain permanently in this country despite her family's strong disapproval. Struggling to support herself, Mufleh finds both solace and fun in a pickup soccer game at an apartment complex near her Georgia home. Clarkston, GA is a major relocation site for refugees of many nationalities. While Novogratz works in some of the same regions, her investments are in stable countries - or at least countries that are stable at the time. Mufleh creates a soccer league, the Fugees, for young immigrants from the most poverty-stricken and turbulent areas of the world. Recognizing that her own pampered upbringing has not served her entirely well and that these boys face tremendous obstacles to achievement, Mufleh demands the highest standards of punctuality, preparedness, effort and behavior. As well, she arranges tutoring prior to every practice, requiring every player to participate. She becomes far more than a coach - she becomes a co-parent and surrogate sister to single mothers trying desperately to raise their children well; she buys groceries, arranges medical appointments, provides transportation; and above all fights for a place for these refugees in a town whose older residents long for a less diverse past. St. John, a professional journalist, is an excellent writer (though he could use a bit more editing and some semi-colons). He includes fascinating background material on the political and economic upheaval in the countries from which these families have emigrated and conveys the struggles that Mufleh and her players experience with clarity and empathy. He even made me enjoy a play-by-play account of several of the Fugees' games! Review by Anne. (Non-fiction) 07/23/09
