Joshua Davis (3)Rezensionen

Four teenagers, who live with the constant threat of deportation, two dedicated teachers, and one simple, underwater robot come together in this inspiring story of street smarts, ingenuity, courage, teamwork, and unlikely friendship. These kids didn’t have a choice in coming to America; their parents brought them in the hopes of living a better life. As they grew up, these kids identify as American and remember very little about their lives in Mexico, and yet America isn’t eager to claim them.
Faced with stereotypes and misperceptions about immigrants, these four teens beat the odds and outperformed some of the most privileged students in the country to win a prestigious robotics competition. More importantly, these teens garnered respect from their peers and brought national attention to the plight of many children who were brought to this country illegally by their parents. This is their story, one of hope and struggle.

The Bottom Line: This inspiring tale makes discussing tough topics like immigration approachable. Written in short chapters, this is a quick read. The author makes the topics of technology and robotics easily understandable. Highly recommended reading for students in and teachers of high school and college. Also of interest to those in politics, science, and technology.

For the complete review including Book Club Notes, please visit the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog.½

I heard the author speak on a radio show a while back, and this one went on my to-read list right away. Finally getting to it. My son is involved in FIRST Robotics, so I started with a little background info. I really enjoyed this book.

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.

John McAfee is an odd, damaged man. I haven't followed the story too much before reading this but its truly stranger than fiction.

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.

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.

A fascinating look at a robotics program that had nothing but sheer interest and willpower and became a fierce competitor on the national stage. An inspiring read.

The high school boys from Arizona that were involved with the building of 'Stinky' - the ROV that took the to the Underwater Robotics Championships in California in 2004 traveled far to get where they are today. And it was a dangerous journey, every step of the way. Continually at risk of being deported (they were all originally from Mexico), and at odds with each other, this is a story of overcoming adversity and what it means to be American.

Read the full review here:
https://ermareads.wordpress.com/noticing-non-fiction/spare-parts/

I'm a sucker for come-from-behind underdog stories, so loved this one. Four undocumented teenagers from Arizona take on well-funded college teams in an underwater robotics contest, overcome many, many challenges, and end up astounding everyone, including themselves. What happens afterward isn't quite the happy ending I'd have wished for them due to the pervasive anti-immigration sentiment at that time. Well written and compelling, it's an interesting challenge to the current "rapist and drug-dealer" stereotype.

It seems there’s a bit of a trend when it comes to books about teachers and students: the outsider teacher steps in and struggles for some time before finding a way to completely turn his or her students around. Crowds cheer and a hero is born. As an educator, I’ve always found these narratives to be exaggerated and problematic, but I continue to seek out books that show a more realistic view of teacher-student relationships.

Thankfully, Spare Parts bucks the trend. Written from a journalist’s perspective, the book follows a group of four students who come together to form a competitive underwater robotics team at a Phoenix high school. Before landing in a supportive science classroom, the team members were born in Mexico and brought to the United States by their parents in hopes of creating better lives for their families. Joshua Davis highlights the individual circumstances each family faced and puts names and faces with stories we often hear only in snippets.

Teacher Fredi Lajvardi saw promise in those stories; in the boys who gathered scraps that blew into yards and learned English by watching Bob Vila on TV. But Fredi didn’t fall prey to the hero teacher stereotype. Instead, he welcomed the boys into his classroom and provided them with a safe, stimulating environment that allowed their imaginations run wild. When thrown together, the students found that their ideas were successful enough to put them in competition with prestigious schools like MIT. Though they found comfort, intellectual challenges and encouragement in their team, the students routinely faced the looming fear of deportation.

In the final pages of Spare Parts, as Davis follows the team members after their time in high school, we get a true sense of the mountains our country expects undocumented immigrants to climb, even after years of hard work and success. It’s both an inspiring story of overcoming odds and a reminder of the work that must be done in order to create a truly level playing field.

Read more at rivercityreading.com

The first few stories were strong, but the book loses steam over time. However, the author's outlandish desire to achieve greatness through attempts to win unusual competitions has many funny moments.