Customer Reviews

Icy Sparks (Oprah's Book Club (Prebound))

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(66)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(35)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

I would like to counteract the following customer comments from "a reader in the Appalachian mountains," who was so bored by the book. His or her remarks are shortsighted, even malicious, and should not be heeded by thoughtful readers looking for good fiction.

That customer gives himself (or herself) away as a small-time, limited reader by remarking against "the idea that a child of 10 years old could have such mature thoughts." In the first place, such a reader probably never encountered Huck Finn, who could have such mature thoughts at the age of 14, or Jo, who could have such mature thoughts in LITTLE WOMEN. In the second place, that reader fails to notice that the book is written by Icy Sparks as a grown-up, looking back on her early years.

ICY SPARKS tells the story of how an orphaned girl in the Kentucky mountains comes to grips with a terrible affliction, the "cussing disease," that years later she will identify as Tourette's Syn! drome. Her behavior mystifies her community and causes her great humiliation, particularly among her classmates, who call her the "Frog Child."

But her condition of being an outcast, which leads eventually to incarceration in a children's asylum, should be understood as a metaphor for the condition of anyone who is a loner, a misfit, a stranger to "conventional" society.

How she learns to live with her condition, and how she triumphs over it, makes a compelling story that will entertain and instruct any reader...except the sort of misguided soul who wrote the following unfortunate words:

This book was a gift to me from a person who recognized the difficulties a family faces when a child has Tourette Syndrome. It follows the childhood, adolescence and early adulthood of a girl in the 1950's with a condition that we now know as Tourette Syndrome, but back then, and in that area, was simply called "the fits." We see the heroine as a person first, even a delightful and insightful person, but one whose symptoms are misunderstood, and who sometimes endures egregious "treatments" that never cure her "problem."

Today, we consider ourselves "enlightened" in our views of Tourette Syndrome, but I can report that this is only true in the abstract. Revulsion toward people who cannot control some movements or noises continues even to this day, and prevents their full acceptance and participation in activities that we 'normal' people take for granted; attending church, being allowed in a 'normal' classroom, being accepted by 'normal' peers. The book details how cruelly a likable and talented girl is treated because of her differentness in the 1950's, but it is not so far from the truth of what sometimes happens today to these defenseless and innocent children.

This book could have descended into the misery these people often suffer, but instead it's a book of self discovery, and even triumphs. There is a hilarious passage where Icy is involved in her first relationship with a boy. Although she has Tourette's, we know her as a teenage girl first. We can all identify with the awkwardness that she encounters in what she might have expected to be a romantic interlude.

The book follows Icy to early adulthood, with the scars but also the self knowledge that Icy carries like a veteran. The ending is so uplifting, that I wanted to shout and applaud. All children with Tourette Syndrome, and all the people who care about them, especially their teachers, should read this book cover to cover. Yes, there can be happiness and achievement and triumph for people with Tourette. The book reminds us not to write them off.

Gwyn Hyman Rubio's "Icy Sparks" is an exceptional book. She has created an unforgettable character in Icy -- a young girl suffering from Tourette's syndrome. Set in rural Kentucky during the late 1950s and early 1960s, the reader is consistently challenged to question their response to the incidents and situations that occur in this novel.

The book is so rich in detail that the reader is often left feeling as though they have actually witnessed one of Icy's outbursts. The question is -- from which point of view? One of Gwyn Hyman Rubio's strongest assets is her ability to convey the shock and horror of those around Icy as she "jerks" and "croaks," while at the same time describe Icy's self-hatred of the inablity to control her body.

In the end, this book is not simply about Tourrette's syndrome. It is about human igonrance, fear and tolerance. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

I enjoyed reading this book, because I learned about a subject I knew nothing about before. This is a wonderful coming of age novel set in rural Kentucky in the 1950's. The main character is an orphan named Icy Sparks. She suffers from Tourette's syndrome which causes her body to jerk involuntarily. Tourettes also causes Icy to repeat curse words uncontrollably. This condition leads to much embarassment at school in her early years. She is teased and shunned by her classmates. Icy spends some time in a mental hospital upon the suggestion of her school principal and grandparents. She makes friends with other disabled people there. She also learns new ways to deal with her disorder during her stay. Miss Emily is a compassionate fat woman. She is Icy's best friend throughout the book. I loved the relationship between these two characters. She teaches Icy her academic subjects and about life too. I loved the ending of the book. It is so touching when Icy finally finds her gift. I highly recommend Icy Sparks.

I always spend my lunch break, at work, reading fiction novels. I can partially gauge how much I enjoyed each book by how often I have to work late, making up the time I lost when I couldn't stop reading. While I was reading my latest acquisition, Icy Sparks, I had to work late a lot.

I was pulled into Icy Sparks immediately by the interesting prose and became completely immersed during the sequences when Icy would struggle to control the outbursts brought on by her disorder. The excellent narration of these events is fluid and believable.

Although the narrative is excellent, a well-crafted plot is what makes Gwyn Rubio's first published novel outstanding. The novel describes the universal plight of a young girl trying to understand the differences which set her apart from her peers. The plot unfolds in a natural way, with Icy, a victim of Tourette Syndrome, trying to come to terms with her undiagnosed condition. Her search for acceptance and understanding culminates in a beautifully written scene which is charged with emotion.

I enjoyed this book immensely.

This wasn't a bad read but it could have been a great read. Yes, Icy was a spunky little girl and one who seemed to have dealt well with Tourette Syndrome. But she could have been the kind of character that one would never forget. And while the book dealt well with the idea of accepting people who are different, it could have been a one-of-a-kind book dealing with this idea if only it went a bit deeper.

I began Icy Sparks with all sorts of hopes that this would be a book I could read and really enjoy and then say wow at the end of it. While the beginning was poignant and informative about Tourette Syndrome, the rest wasn't all that much to write about. Sadly at some point during my reading, I lost interest. And I felt that the author rushed the ending and simply wrapped up Icy's future with a neat red bow.

If there is anything which I will remember vividly it is the portrayal of Icy's grade school teacher. She has now earned my award for being the nastiest teacher I have ever learned about. It certainly makes one glad we live in the year 2001 and have a better understanding of children who are different. I certainly hope that anybody who needs kindness and compassion in their life is surrounded by the kind of peole who will help them. Luckily for Icy she had the kind of spirit which allowed her to grow and mature happily. I would be curious to revisit Icy ten years after the book left off to find out what did happen to her.

Rubio intertwines the lives of different characters to show that everybody has differences and that empathy can help people be more understanding. Icy Sparks reveals herself to the reader allowing a glimpse into her world dealing with Tourette's Syndrome. Much more is revealed to the reader though through Miss Emily, Mamie Tillman, Matanni & Patanni, and the patients at the Sunshine Building at Bluegrass State Hospital. A world filled with judgement & intolerance is shown through the eyes of Icy Sparks who hopes to overcome these judgements.

This novel will leave the reader feeling empathetic towards Icy and realizing that everyone has some ICE (bad) and some SPARK (good) in them.(some people are just better at hiding the ice than others).

Although I am neither a literary professional nor an expert on Tourette Syndrome, I am a woman who somehow made it through that awkward period of adolescence and now has a daughter of my own. I relived much of that time while reading Icy Sparks -- the feelings of embarrassment and "sticking out", the flush of puppy love, and the discovery of an adult woman who became a mentor to me and remains a confidante to this day. Of course, my experience pales in comparison to Icy's courageous journey that included a culture which couldn't accept her differences and an illness that she could not control. Icy's story is a powerful victory over a painful past and should challenge all women readers to re-kindle a vanishing tradition - the art of mentoring to our young girls.

Read the Amazon.com and Kirkus Review book reviews before you consider purchasing this title. I did not find Icy winsome or interesting and the church revival meeting, where Icy encounters Jesus, and has an "epiphany" about loving herself was just too much. I think the book had potential, but I was disappointed not to see it realized. I would NOT recommend this novel.

This is a brilliant novel, even more so when coupled with the awareness that this is the author's first. What an accomplishment. The book centers around Icy Sparks, age 10, orphaned and afflicted by "fits", as Tourett's was known back then in 1950. She is tormented by her classmates, and suffers the consequences of her tics; throwing her head back, assuming strange posturing and yelling profanities. The urge to do these tics becomes so powerful that she runs to her grandmother's and grandfather's cellar to turn them loose. The burden is great, but not as large as the ignorance of the town folk as they shun this charming, sensitive child. The story line centers on Icy and the few people who support and love her. It is this strength which allows Icy to tackle the difficulties that confront her.