Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, And The Battle For The American Dream,New

Joshua Davis'S Spare Partsnow A Major Motion Pictureis A Story About Overcoming Insurmountable Odds And The Young Men Who Proved They Were Among The Most Patriotic And Talented Americans In This Countryeven As The Country Tried To Kick Them Out.Four Undocumented Mexican American Students, Two Great Teachers, One Robotbuilding Contest . . .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 Muchbut 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 Competitionand Yet, Against All Odds . . . They Won!But This Is Just The Beginning For These Four, Whose Storywhich Became A Key Inspiration To The Dreamers Movementwill Go On To Include Firstgeneration College Graduations, Deportation, Beanpicking In Mexico, And Service In Afghanistan.Finalist For The J. Anthony Lukas Book Prizenew York Times Best Seller