Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle… (edició 2014)

Joshua Davis' book "Spare Parts", reminded me a lot of that 1998 film "Stand and Deliver". That movie was about a Los Angeles area high school teacher who inspired underpriveledged children to learn and achieve high marks on college level calculus tests. In "Spare Parts", Davis writes about four poor teens, children of illegal immigrants from Mexico, who were inspired by their science teacher and won top honors in a robotics competition, beating college teams from across the country, including one of the best, if not THE best, of our nations engineering schools (MIT).

It's one of those uplifting, feel-good stories about underdogs striving, doing the right thing, and coming out on top - to a point. While the story does describe the academic struggles and overcoming their environment to succeed, their academic success did not fully translate to continued life success due to their immigrant status.

Given that illegal immigration, calls for building a great wall between the Southwest U.S. and Mexico, and anger against any program which sounds like amnesty are hot topics of debate now, especially with the 2016 Presidential Election coming up, the book also serves a secondary purpose of placing a human face on the topic. The boys were brought to the U.S. as young children, and knew no other Country than the U.S. They worked hard, succeeded, and wanted to live their live in the only Country they knew, however strict immigration laws made that all but impossible.

That led to a brief mention of The Dream Act legislation introduced by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) a number of years ago, to allow children of illegal immigrants who have met certain conditions to remain in this Country. Not quite balancing that side of the argument, Davis does provide a brief discussion of the argument against allowing these children to remain in the Country. Davis presents this side of the argument by talking mostly about the tough stance of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and some of the legislation introduced in the State of Arizona to prevent illegal immigrants from benefiting from state funds. Clearly the argument in the book favors the softer stance of many Democrats rather than the harsher perspective of most Republicans, but if you look carefully, at least you will hear some of the rational of those opposing the Dream Act in Congress.

But the political argument discussed above is not the focus of the book. It probably only occurred to me to mention it because Candidate Donald Trump made a big splash in the first Republican Presidential Debate by focusing on the negative side of our porous southern border. So it's being discussed by people on both sides of the political spectrum now. But the book's actual focus isn't on the political debate, but on the inspiring story of a teacher and his underdog students, who through hard work, grit, and determination were able to overcome their handicaps and compete against the brightest and best, and come out ahead.

I understand the book has already been made into a movie. Hopefully, it will be true to the book. ( )

What an amazing story that was in turns something to cheer and something to weep. I could write an entire commentary on how we treat immigrants in this country, but I am here to talk about the book. The author does a wonderful job of sucking you into each student's life, from Mexican roots to struggles with post-high school life. The structure and writing keep you engaged throughout, and not once does the pacing or commentary leave you bored. My heart was with these guys as they worked their way to the final competition, and I wept with joy when they started getting awards. I really hope they all end up with their dreams coming true -- I especially hope that Cristian manages to finish school. I was heartbroken that he had to drop out because of Arizona's laws. ( )

You read this to find out if this foursome can actually beat colleges like MIT that they're competing against. You're introduced to the teenagers, how they wound up in United States, and how the high school robotics program helped kept them in school, giving their school a boost as well. To remain in the robotics program they had to maintain a certain grade point average and it became a family away from home where they could express their ideas. They were always in danger when crossing state lines that they could be picked up by ICE and came close when their teachers took them to California to see the facilities where they'd compete. Fortunately, they were traveling in school vans and their teachers managed to get them by the checkpoint and back home. One started the Robodevils at Arizona State University before deporting himself so he could enter the United States legally. I only put this book down when I was forced to. ( )

Feel-good story that will likely work better as a movie. Four teenagers born in Mexico and growing up in poverty went up against the best student engineers in the country (that had both great access to education and funds). It's the story of hard beginnings, finding mentors/teachers who are willing and the occasional helping hand along the way. Sometimes these stories don't end well: deaths, deportation, membership in gangs, jail, etc. Luckily that's not the case here.
 
It was an interesting premise to look at the potential of some of the people who come across the border from Mexico. In light of certain remarks made by certain US Presidential candidates, this was an actually really interesting read to see how these young men had the interest and willpower, but perhaps needed some guidance, opportunity and some help here and there to go up against some of the "best and the brightest" who came from some of the best schools and had the backing of major corporations, etc.
 
Unfortunately a lot of it is lost. Author Davis is a journalist and as always that style rarely ever works for me. Initially I was drawn into the stories and childhoods of these young men from crossings back and forth across the border, to growing up with little, to struggles with the language barrier, the fear of deportation, distinct possibilities of getting into gangs or drugs, etc. But Davis keeps switching the narrative too many times to too many perspectives when it might have been good to keep just one chapter to introduce the students, one to introduce the teachers/mentors and go from there. The book really is quite interesting in parts but tends to wax and wane quite a bit. It's really a pity because it is a great story that could easily be hammered into a 2, 2.5 hour movie that could even be Oscar-bait if done right and marketed well.
 
Still, it was an interesting read. I certainly don't regret it and think it's pretty relevant in light of the current discussion of immigration. Not to mention education, poverty and many of the other secondary and tertiary issues that go along with these larger ones.
 
That said, I'd borrow it from the library unless you have a special interest in the above or robotics. ( )

Undocumented high school students in Arizona compete in an underwater robotics contest, going against MIT and other colleges. This true story is inspirational, both for what the boys accomplished and for what the teachers did to guide them. You will have more faith in the young people today after reading this, although it may challenge what you think about illegal immigrants. It's not as cut and dried as it would seem. ( )