I can see why this was made into a movie; 20 pages in and I can’t wait to read the rest (grant-writing is getting in the way). Within the first couple pages, I rooting for Luis, Oscar, Lorenzo, and Cristian. Plus, intermingling their story with the history of West Phoenix including “white flight” from the area drew me in; it’s all a very familiar story of how infrastructure in this country has been built for white people. More to come when I get a chance to finish. – Madalyn
I finished it last night. Really a well-told story. I felt for the students; I held my breath when they were competing, I laughed with them, and I cried at the frustrations and injustices they faced as undocumented students. I would read it again. I think that the age and experiences of the students would resonate with our students. This book taught me more about the plight of DREAMers, DACAmented individuals, and undocumented individuals. Their hardships are woven into a story about education and about who we are/could be, as a country. I think we could bring this book into a lot of very different classrooms (Latinx Studies, Political Science, Engineering, Computer Science, etc), but we have to decide if it is okay that it has broken the “Must not be made into a film before or during the year of its selection” selection criteria. – Madalyn
I’m not too far into this book yet, but am eager to finish it. It starts off intriguing me to want to read more and see what this robotics team is doing. I think the topics covered present many varied topics for discussion. I also think this book will be interesting to students.
Having finished the book, I highly recommend it. It was easy to get into and it is very engaging and memorable. The author does a great job telling us about the students and their families and their challenges. It is a very positive story on determination and not giving up despite the odds.
We used to avoid books that were made into a movie, but I don’t think this movie is well known (well, I had never heard of it). But I think that is ok. Perhaps we can make arrangements to show the movie in spring and even have the local author speak.
Out of the books I’ve read for the CRP, I thought this one would work best. It offers topics that could be discussed in many different classes (per Madalyn’s earlier review). The DACA kids in the book overcame enormous odds to succeed in a highly competitive contest. Their story drew me in more than the other books I read. The only issue of concern is that it was made into a movie (we usually choose a book that hasn’t been made into one).
Full disclosure – I am an engineer, so I may be biased. I loved the description of building and competing the robots. We have held the FIRST competition on campus. Our frosh engineering students all build robots and our more senior students compete in a variety of competitions like the ones described in the book. Perhaps we could have the engineering students demonstrate their robots or run some kind of robot competition for the campus. The last couple of chapters that highlight the difference in the trajectories of these undocumented students versus the equally talented American citizens could generate lots of interesting discussion. As Madalyn indicated there are so many good topics in this book about DACA, deportation, the constant fear of undocumented students, the difficulty of making the decision to leave you home country in the first place, etc. Perhaps we could bring the Film and Theatre Department in to discuss how you make a book into a film and critique the interpretation the film makes of the book. I think this would make a very good Campus Reading selection.
I found this book to be really wonderful. It brings together lots of great features: self-motivation, friendships, challenges of all sorts, and disparities in life choices and outcomes. Length is right, and while there is a film, without having seen it, I don’t know if it will be a substitute for the book. I could imagine the AMS169 (The American Dream) class using it when it is taught. It is my favorite of the three books I reviewed.
I can see why this was made into a movie; 20 pages in and I can’t wait to read the rest (grant-writing is getting in the way). Within the first couple pages, I rooting for Luis, Oscar, Lorenzo, and Cristian. Plus, intermingling their story with the history of West Phoenix including “white flight” from the area drew me in; it’s all a very familiar story of how infrastructure in this country has been built for white people. More to come when I get a chance to finish. – Madalyn
I finished it last night. Really a well-told story. I felt for the students; I held my breath when they were competing, I laughed with them, and I cried at the frustrations and injustices they faced as undocumented students. I would read it again. I think that the age and experiences of the students would resonate with our students. This book taught me more about the plight of DREAMers, DACAmented individuals, and undocumented individuals. Their hardships are woven into a story about education and about who we are/could be, as a country. I think we could bring this book into a lot of very different classrooms (Latinx Studies, Political Science, Engineering, Computer Science, etc), but we have to decide if it is okay that it has broken the “Must not be made into a film before or during the year of its selection” selection criteria. – Madalyn
I’m not too far into this book yet, but am eager to finish it. It starts off intriguing me to want to read more and see what this robotics team is doing. I think the topics covered present many varied topics for discussion. I also think this book will be interesting to students.
Having finished the book, I highly recommend it. It was easy to get into and it is very engaging and memorable. The author does a great job telling us about the students and their families and their challenges. It is a very positive story on determination and not giving up despite the odds.
We used to avoid books that were made into a movie, but I don’t think this movie is well known (well, I had never heard of it). But I think that is ok. Perhaps we can make arrangements to show the movie in spring and even have the local author speak.
Out of the books I’ve read for the CRP, I thought this one would work best. It offers topics that could be discussed in many different classes (per Madalyn’s earlier review). The DACA kids in the book overcame enormous odds to succeed in a highly competitive contest. Their story drew me in more than the other books I read. The only issue of concern is that it was made into a movie (we usually choose a book that hasn’t been made into one).
Full disclosure – I am an engineer, so I may be biased. I loved the description of building and competing the robots. We have held the FIRST competition on campus. Our frosh engineering students all build robots and our more senior students compete in a variety of competitions like the ones described in the book. Perhaps we could have the engineering students demonstrate their robots or run some kind of robot competition for the campus. The last couple of chapters that highlight the difference in the trajectories of these undocumented students versus the equally talented American citizens could generate lots of interesting discussion. As Madalyn indicated there are so many good topics in this book about DACA, deportation, the constant fear of undocumented students, the difficulty of making the decision to leave you home country in the first place, etc. Perhaps we could bring the Film and Theatre Department in to discuss how you make a book into a film and critique the interpretation the film makes of the book. I think this would make a very good Campus Reading selection.
I found this book to be really wonderful. It brings together lots of great features: self-motivation, friendships, challenges of all sorts, and disparities in life choices and outcomes. Length is right, and while there is a film, without having seen it, I don’t know if it will be a substitute for the book. I could imagine the AMS169 (The American Dream) class using it when it is taught. It is my favorite of the three books I reviewed.