Outcasts United

Outcasts United by Warren St. John

I always cheer for the underdog, I'm always happy to see the little guy do well, and I love the fact that there are people out there that are quietly giving of themselves to better a situation. Outcasts United embraces all of these things. What's not to like.
I don't know much about the game of soccer. I've never played it. I've never watched a full game of it. I don't know how many players are on a team, what their positions mean, but that didn't stop me from understanding this book. Because this book although it is about soccer, the heart of the book is about community, about a team, about struggle, about committment and about a coach who believes in the game and her players. If you're in need of an uplifting story don't miss out on this one.
pg. 226
"Luma is really a normal person doing what she can for the people around her. If people can look at her and see that, that she's human, not a saint or a superhero, and that she doesn't  - can't- do everything or effect miracles, then maybe they can say to themselves, 'I need to look around myself and see my neighborhood, and what is going on here and five streets over, and what I can do in terms of investing myself and my time , to be present for the people around me, and to do something positive for change in my community.' "No one person can do everything," Tracy said. "But we can all do something."

From the book jacket:
More than half of the people who live in clarkston, Georgia, are refugges, mostly women and children, form more htna fifteen countries. Twenty year ago, clarkston was sparsely populated by working-class families. Then the federal government designated the town a refugee centre. Almost overnight, Clarkston changed in countless ways.
One day, Luma Mufleh, a young Jordanian woman educated in the United States and working as a coach for private youth soccer teams in Atlanta, was out for  a drive and ended up in Clarkston. She was pleasantly surprised by the ethnic restaurants and by the sight of women wearing the hijab. Most of all, she was amazed and delighted to see young boys, black and brown and white, some barefoot, playing soccer on every flat surface they could find. Luma decided to quit her job, move to Clarkston, and start a soccer team. This was where she needed to be, and this was where she would make a huge difference.