Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream by Joshua Davis

1 review

megmro's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I loved this, and would highly recommend it. The author gives a backstory on each student and the robotics teacher, and it really sets the stage for this David-and-Goliath triumph.  Descriptions of the boys' creative problem-solving are interspersed with events happening around the nation, showing the political climate these undocumented teens faced.

I loved their triumph, but I really appreciated that the story continued *after* the big win at the robotics competition.

The battle was not over, and there were still countless obstacles for these teens. It felt insurmountable at times, and your heart just aches for them. 

There is a young readers edition, and I'm interested in reading it, just to see what is different. The only content warning I would give to parents is that sometimes they describe something as bada$$. :) Also, there are descriptions of poverty, alcoholism, and systemic racism that could be triggering. Overall, I'd feel comfortable recommending this to any teen. I wonder if the young readers edition is shorter, or maybe goes into the political details a bit less? Not sure, but I'd like to look into it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Deportation