Speaking as a kid who did the same robotics contests at more or less the same time (FIRST 2002-2004, MATE 2005), Spare Parts is the real deal.

They were four kids born in Mexico and living in the bad part of Phoenix, undocumented immigrants with one shot at glory. Oscar was ROTC, a born leader. Lorenzo torn between flashy style and even flashier outbursts of anger. Cristian was a natural scientist and inventor. Luis a gentle giant. Together with two talented and dedicated teachers, they made an underwater robot that took first place in the 2004 MATE contest, defeating a score of well-funded teams, including MIT.

It's a true underdog story, and on that is every bit as inspiring as you'd expect (god, even reading the prior paragraph of this review makes me want to throw up a little from the schmaltz). This book is light on the technical details, but manages to capture all the excitement of making something and having it work--or explode spectacularly.

But the technical cannot be distangled from the political. Our four protagonists excelled, and then hit a brick wall as their undocumented status barred them from engineering programs and the Army. They became political footballs in nativist Arizona politics and the debacle of the DREAM act. I'm angry that people who are smarter and harder working than I am can't live up to their potential in America because of a choice their parents made when they were children. I'm ashamed at how easy I've had it by comparison. Davis doesn't hammer the politics, but even the most even-handed account of the actual lives of these people reveals shocking injustice. So yeah, come for the robots and the underdog story, stay to find out how America betrays those who best embody its ideals.