Gather 'round, friends, and listen to a story. That's the feeling you'll get right from the start of Warren St. John's Outcasts United, narrated with warmth and precision by Lincoln Hoppe. The book expands on St. John's 2007 New York Times article about The Fugees, a group of soccer teams in Clarkston, Georgia, made up of relocated refugees from war-torn countries across the globe. "On a cool, spring afternoon, at a soccer field in northern Georgia," Hoppe reads, "two teams of teenage boys were going through their pre-game warm ups when the heavens began to shake." From that opening line on, Hoppe's voice never breaks from its steady narration half reporter, all storyteller. Be prepared to settle into the tale, equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking, of families and lands immediate and far away, made accessible by Hoppe's even, yet emotive rendition.

The heart and soul of The Fugees is their volunteer coach and founder, Luma Mufleh. St. John wisely begins with her, tracing back to her upbringing in Jordan, and the circumstances of her relocation to the US. It's a trick St. John keeps up throughout, deftly weaving multiple narratives and back stories that ultimately play out during hard-fought soccer matches. As Hoppe narrates, his voice takes on a friendly professorial vibe when going into the history of conflict in, say, Liberia, then switches cadence and tone to connote suspense. The story itself is as much about the new immigrant experience and the changing face of a small southern town as it is about the boys and soccer. Nothing's easy. Each chapter contains a battle whether on the field, at city hall, with the police, or between the YMCA and no-nonsense Coach Luma as she fights tirelessly for the rights of her team and their families turning the details of individual lives into a sweeping epic. Sports fan or not, you'll root for The Fugees the whole way, hanging on every detail of their lives and games as the last seconds tick off the clock, driving home the big conclusion. Kelly Marages