For the fifth year, Hesston College invites individuals and groups in the local communities to join students, faculty and staff for a community read during the fall 2016 semester starting in August.

The book selection for the 2016 read is “Spare Parts” (2014, FSG Originals) by Joshua Davis. The book tells the true story of four undocumented teenagers, born in Mexico but living in Phoenix, who were inspired by their high school science teachers to build an underwater robot out of “spare parts” and compete against corporate-sponsored collegiate teams. The teens prevailed against underfunded public school programming, poverty and other struggles to find success and improve their futures.

Davis will visit the Hesston College campus and speak at Hesston Mennonite Church on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 4. Through a grant from the Hesston Community Foundation, he will also make additional local presentations during the day on Wednesday, Oct. 5.

The 2016 community read is again engaging the wider community as well as Hesston High School, Hesston Middle School, Hesston Public Library (HPL) patrons and a Newton Public Library book club. Individuals are invited to participate through these more public forums or on their own. HPL will have 22 copies of the book available for the public. It will also be uploaded to the eLibrary and an audio book will be available.

The book has also developed into a major motion picture released in 2015, with well-known actors George Lopez and Jamie Lee Curtis.