Spare Parts

Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream

By: Joshua Davis

Narrated by: Will Damron

Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

Four undocumented Mexican-American students, two great teachers, one robot-building contest... and a major motion picture.

In 2004, four Latino teenagers arrived at the Marine Advanced Technology Education Robotics Competition at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They were born in Mexico but raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where they attended an underfunded public high school. No one had ever suggested to Oscar, Cristian, Luis, or Lorenzo that they might amount to much - but two inspiring science teachers had convinced these impoverished, undocumented kids from the desert who had never even seen the ocean that they should try to build an underwater robot. And build a robot they did.

Their robot wasn't pretty, especially compared to those of the competition. They were going up against some of the best collegiate engineers in the country, including a team from MIT backed by a $10,000 grant from ExxonMobil. The Phoenix teenagers had scraped together less than $1,000 and built their robot out of scavenged parts. This was never a level competition - and yet, against all odds... they won! But this is just the beginning for these four, whose story - which became a key inspiration to the DREAMers movement - will go on to include first-generation college graduations, deportation, bean-picking in Mexico, and service in Afghanistan.

Joshua Davis' Spare Parts is a story about overcoming insurmountable odds and four young men who proved they were among the most patriotic and talented Americans in this country - even as the country tried to kick them out.

©2014 Joshua Davis (P)2014 Macmillan Audio

American Dream

Would you try another book from Joshua Davis and/or Will Damron?

Excellent work, I would definitely recommend him to other people

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Narrated flawlessly, it was both, hilarious and sad.

Any additional comments?

Spare Parts portrays the bittersweet story of these boys and their families and the real effort involved conquer the American Dream.

the book was so much better than the movie

enjoyed getting to know and understand these characters and feeling my way through their experience. the movie was a feel good snapshot part of the story, the book is excellent.

a true focus on immigration status

the story will inform those who need to be informed regarding the difficult situation we have in this country and the lives of immigrants who were brought here as children illegally

Good book

What an inspiring (and enlightening) story. It was well worth listening to. Now I'm intrigued to see the movie.

Great Book, Great Story!

I personally enjoyed the story. The book is great but the movie isn't that great. I would recommend only reading the book.

inspiring

The inscription on the Statue of Liberty should be written upon all of our hearts. we have so much in this country and we all can share! This should inspire people to action.

Great all around true story

Story, performance, everything was engaging. This is a great road trip with hubby kind of book...when hubby isn’t a huge reader & you like different genres of books. Both of us were engaged in the book & actually mad when we reached our destination without being an,e to finish it.

A must-read for young STEM enthusiasts

Loved the story. My favorite part was the road leading them to success. They are an inspiration to not only immigrants, but anyone who faces difficult challenges.

Beautiful story, exciting performance

This is a beautiful true story, told with emotion and enthusiasm. I have recommended it to friends and, most of all, to my kids.

my childhood explained

this gave me a unique perspective of my childhood. latterly I was in 4th grade when this story began and a lot of the facts about how some Americans viewed immigration. just blew my mind. I work on a great environment except for the hole nc state get your laws straighten out. your ruining us. my coworkers have always been so supportive. I couldn't imagine trying to get through college during that time.