Icy Sparks

a sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes ugly story about a wonderful family with loads of unconditional love. I was sad these people weren't in my life...and that, to me, is the hallmark of a book worth reading.

If the first half of "Icy Sparks" was as lackluster and contrived as the second half, I would have never finished it. Fortunately, the first half painted a riveting and memorable portrait of a young girl coping with a mysterious malady. But then the story strayed, getting bogged down in predictable

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straits. This is one of Oprah's picks that simply didn't live up to its billing.

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Listened to this on audio and had a hard time getting through it. It could have been that the reader was annoying.

I didn't enjoy this one at all - seemed cliqued. Ending takes the cake for sentimentality.

The writing is not bad and I usually enjoy a well-written character driven story, but in this case, I found it very difficult to connect to Icy or maintain interest in her story. This story is told from 1st person view, but some how the reader still seems to be kept at a distance.

I liked the premise of a main character with Tourette's, and that part of the story was well-written and interesting, but other than that, the plot was unremarkable and easily forgotton. I read this just last week, and it's already a blur. The ending was cute but not very believeable. I would

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recommend this only if you want to know more about what it's like to have Tourette's, not if you want a good read.

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This book is awful...hence the tag "yuck!".

I found myself very frustrated with the book. It is hard for me to be objective about the writing since I spent most of the time being so aggravated by the way people treated her. I only finished the book because I could reason that it was the 1950's and people did not understand the disorder.
With

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that being said, could it be a good book because it did affect me so much? I suppose, but on this one I am rating it based on how much I enjoyed the book.

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This book was better than I thought it would be. A definte good read. I would recommend this book to anyone. The book takes place in a rural town in Kentucky and shows the coming-of-age tale in a small town. Definitley worth reading!

A coming of age story about a young girl growing up in 50's Appalachia. The main character, Icy, struggles with "fits" of jerks, croaks, and eye pops which drives her out of school, into seclusion, and eventually into a hospital for children with special needs. Unfortunately Icy's tourette's

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syndrom goes undiagnosed until adulthood and she is forced to find ways to cope with her differences on her own and by clinging to her family.

I really enjoyed this novel. I am a teacher who interacts with special needs students each day. I also grew up and live in Appalachia. I found a lot to relate to with this story and it's now a new favorite!

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I thought this would be a good book. It's about a young girl growing up in 1950s Kentucky with undiagnosed Tourette Syndrome, which seemed like an interesting story. But it was largely uneventful and I found the characters completely two dimensional. Some books I hate, but I don't have strong

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enough feelings about this book to hate it. It just wasn't worth reading.

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I really enjoyed most of this book, but the last couple of chapters went downhill quickly. I did not like how everything turned to religion in the end. Icy was a very likeable character and I wanted to know more about what was done for her diagnosis of Tourette's Syndrome, if anything.

The characters in this book were fantastic, and I loved Icy. I wasn't crazy about the ending, but a good read overall. Intriguing and interesting.

This was a great book for me to read since I am a teacher and have had a child with Tourette's syndrome in my classes. It was not only a good story, it gave me insight into the disease. Very interesting and made me realize how lucky I am to have such good health in my family.

What's especially

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interesting is that the story takes place in rural Kentucky in the 1950's and Icy has many of the peculiarities that those with the syndrome exhibit. (motor and vocal tics)Icy is an orphan, raised by her grandparents and she tries to hide the symptoms but is often teased by those around her (even a teacher) until she learns to accept herself. Interesting, touching and yet fun to read.

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Basic Summary: Girl, with ridiculous name of Icy Sparks, grows up in very rural Kentucky during the 1950s with a case of Tourette's Syndrome. Only, they don't know it's Tourette's and she must spend her youth trying to hide her painful secret from shaming her family. It doesn't work and she ends up

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in a state hospital [not a spoiler].

This book had an interesting premise, in my humble opinion. Her parents both die [at separate times and not in a freak thunderstorm car accident, which was a relief] and she is raised by her grandparents 'Matanni & Patanni'. She is an outcast from her town, shunned and humiliated by her peers, confused and feeling alone in the world where she will never find love.

The problem is that it wasn't well executed. The narration is supposed to be that of a barely 10 year old girl and the writing does not match it, not even one little tiny bit does Gwyn Rubio manage to seem like she knows how to get inside the head of a scared child. There was almost no plot or character development, of a notable level, and the Tourette's Syndrome portion seems unresearched and eventually tossed to the wayside as an afterthought.

What I did like was the very great dialects she was able to produce. She is clearly a very gifted author who just needs a little practice on development.

I read it in one afternoon and it didn't leave too big of an impression on me, though I did still enjoy the read overall because of the aforementioned skill of the author.

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Icy Sparks has Tourette's. No one knew what was wrong with her and she was an outcast because of it.

It had potential, but it never took me over the edge. It was boring, especially the ending.

Loved this book because Icy Sparks is a young girl that you just fall for.Set in the 1950s in the mountain area of Kentucky She has Tourette's syndrome but is not diagnosed even after spending time in the children's section of a mental hospital. She has an incomparable spirit filled with humor,

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anger and such sweetness.This spirit carries her through a rough childhood because of t he isolation she creates and her community creates because of her condition. She has loving grandparents who she lives with who protect her but allow her to self isolate. But she hangs in through it all and in the end, well, Hallelujah !!!!

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Book on CD performed by Kate Miller

From the book jacket: Rural Kentucky in the 1950s is not an easy place to grow up, and it’s especially hard for ten-year-old Icy Sparks, an orphan who lives with her grandparents. Life becomes even more difficult for Icy when violent tics and uncontrollable

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cursing begin – symptoms brought on by a troubling affliction that goes undiagnosed until her adulthood.

My reactions
We know much more about Tourette’s Syndrome today than during the timeframe of this story, and I hope even the residents of rural Appalachia would be more compassionate about a young girl so afflicted.

Icy Sparks jumps off the pages of this book straight into the reader’s heart. This is a child who is curious, intelligent, kind, loving, and who learns to stand up to bullies and fight for herself. She shows empathy and compassion in her dealings with others even when they ostracize and belittle her. I loved her friendship with Miss Emily, an obese woman who knows a thing or two about being friendless and lonely. I wanted to throttle the teacher who so obviously hated this child. I was glad that the principal showed more genuine caring for Icy and that he made efforts to help and encourage her. And I can’t say enough bad things about the hospital worker who delighted in inflicting pain (physical and mental) on the vulnerable patients in her charge. As distressing as that episode was for Icy, it helped define the woman she would become.

Kate Miller does an excellent job narrating the audiobook. She brought these characters to life, and I really loved how she interpreted Icy.

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