Icy Sparks

Icy Sparks

3.6 of 5 stars 3.60  ·  rating details  ·  18,072 ratings  ·  743 reviews
A New York Times Notable Book and the March 2001 selection of Oprah's Book Club® ! Icy Sparks is the sad, funny and transcendent tale of a young girl growing up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky during the 1950’s. Gwyn Hyman Rubio’s beautifully written first novel revolves around Icy Sparks, an unforgettable heroine in the tradition of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird or...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published March 8th 2001 by Penguin Books (first published July 1st 1998)
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Jen
Icy Sparks is Anne of Green Gables with Tourette Syndrome. I loved the character, but wasn't super crazy about the story.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part was kind of painful because it shows her at 10 years old first beginning to manifest Tourette's, and becoming an outcast in her community--it's the 1950's in rural Kentucky and nobody had a clue about Tourette's. I really liked the second part, which induced me to keep reading the book (saying what it's about would be a spo...more
Sammy
Good read. For the most part, this book was a very enthralling and entertaining read. The story itself and the writing both very fine. It's not a book, though, that's going to go down in history as one of my favorites, despite the fact I really did enjoy it.

The main problem I had with the book was the characters themselves. They were likeable enough, but with the exceptional of Icy, most everyone she encountered seemed 2Demensional at most, they weren't flushed out enough for my taste. I'm not s...more
Jeff-is
Ugh. I just saw the book cover, and wanted to hurl. My sister told me to read it. Thats the last recommendation she ever gave... I killed her.
Irishcoda


Sometimes when I come to the end of a good book I feel a little sad because I've enjoyed the story so much and now it's come to an end. That's how I felt when I closed the book on Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio. I'd picked up the book because it was one of Oprah's selections and the book jacket sounded interesting--a little girl with a troubling affliction grows up in 1950s Kentucky. As one growing up with deaf parents, I felt very different from the others as a child. I would be able to relate...more
Anna
i read this in high school and used it as part of my research for a paper on tourette's. "but anna," you may be thinking, "this book has a publication date of 2001, and you are 26 years old. that math doesn't compute."

yeah, well, books exist before oprah gets her hands on them. TAKE THAT, OPRAH! WHO SCOOPED YOU NOW, HUH??!?!? you think you're SOOOOOO cool with your show and your book club and your free iPods? well GUESS WHO READ THIS BOOK before you?????

anyway, i remember liking it.
Jessica
i thought this book would be interesting: a little girl growing up with Tourette's in 1950s Kentucky. i was so wrong. this book does a horrible job of getting inside a child's mind and does little to show us how her doctors at the institution came to understand enough about it to finally send her home. then it gets all Jesus-freak at the end. i have no idea why this is in Oprah's book club. no sir, i didn't like it.
Robin
Mar 15, 2008 Robin rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: adult
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Aimee
Jul 20, 2009 Aimee rated it 2 of 5 stars
Shelves: 2009
i didn't care for this book. it felt like one of those that you're supposed to like to seem smart of part of a certain crowd-ie oprah's book club. i got this from a thrift store, since normally i don't read the oprah books.

even with icy's "episodes" it was a lot of nothing that happened with a bunch of wildflower descriptions thrown in. i didn't really care about her as a character.

i was also very annoyed that i read 275+- pages then it went very "God showed me the way" in the last 20-30 pages...more
Liz
This book has committed the ultimate crime (in my opinion). It has made me apathetic to the characters. Which is to say I don't care about what happens to them and THAT is absolutely inexcusable.

I am about sixty pages from the end (so I have not gotten to this Pentecostal revelation Icy has that I keep reading about). I will most likely read those sixty pages because I feel compelled to do so(and am curious about this Pentecostal revelation that ruined this book for so many readers) but I am sa...more
Gail Smith
I really enjoyed this story, set in the 1950s, of a young girl with Tourette's. Of course, at that time not much was known about the syndrome and her grandparents, who were raising her, and her school officials were at at a loss to know what to do.

Narrated by the girl, Icy, she doesn't have a clue what is going on and in spite of all her efforts finds she is increasingly unable to control her actions and speech.

This story reminded me so much of an author I know who had similar experiences growin...more
Maria
Ordinarily, I hate all literature, fiction, or story-telling about Appalachia. HATE. And I mean that as forcefully as the all caps implies. Silas House? So twee and building stereotypes that some of us would rather not have to fight against on a daily basis. Jesse Stuart? Please spare me.

But this book, while set in eastern Kentucky, isn't really about Appalachia. It's about a girl who happens to grow up in an isolated community, surrounded by mountains. But she's a special girl -- and she's got...more
Ashley
When I read the back of the book cover to Adam he gave a big dramatic sigh and declared, "You read the most depressing books in the world." A book about a young girl growing up with undiagnosed Tourettes Syndrome, a story where the heroine feels completely unable to adapt to the world around her, a girl with no mother, raised by her loving but confused grandparents, a child who's only friend is a 400 pound adult, a stint in a mental hospital where the main character struggles and still remains u...more
Madi J
This book is interesting at first as it takes place during a time and in a place where knowledge of Tourette's syndrome is non-existant. Icy is ten when she develops symptoms of Tourette's and she struggles in school with it. She also has a real bitch of a teacher that she struggles with. Eventually, the principal of her school finds her a hospital where she lives for a period of time with other children with various mental and physical disorders. The doctor there basically tells her to deal wit...more
Rebekah Anderson
Icy Sparks was set in a small rural town in Kentucky during the 1950's. It follows the life of young Icy Sparks as she's struggling through school and her family life as an outcast. At a young age, Icy knew she was different. But it wasn't until the uncontrolable tics and outbursts started occuring that she became an outcast. Icy doesn't know what's wrong with her and her grandparents, who raised Icy, don't understand what's happening with her either. After a number of outbursts at school. Icy i...more
Mckenzie
Several times throughout this book I asked myself why I was still reading it, and after finishing it the only answer I have is "I was bored and kept hoping it would get better". It never really did. Don't get me wrong - if it was THAT horrible, I'm sure I would've given up - but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

The premise, that of a young girl growing up in Appalachia in the 50's with Tourette's syndrome, sounded interesting and promising, but the writing is...unskilled. The dialogue ranges be...more
Brandy
I always feel bad when I give a book only one star, because I know that an author puts a lot of hard work into any novel that they write. That being said, I couldn't help myself but to give this book one star. I was also disappointed that this one was endorsed by Oprah's book club. The more I read of Oprah's recommendations, the less that I hold her opinion in high regard.
There are several reasons that I wasn't taken in by this book:
First, I found myself laughing in places that I'm fairly sure w...more
Hannah Hanson
Icy Sparks follows the life of a girl named Icy and her struggle with her undiagnosed tourettes. I really enjoyed the concept of this book. Icy was a really fun main character to follow. I think one thing that Rubio did amazingly of was explaining what it felt like for Icy to have tourettes. The imagery that she uses to convey this idea is brilliant and I could actually feel what it felt like for Icy. Because of this indirect characterization, I was then able to identify with her daily struggles...more
Sarah Beth
Icy Sparks tells the story of a young girl growing up in rural Kentucky and suffering from undiagnosed Tourette's syndrome. Icy is rejected by her peers and hospitalized because of her twitches and uncontrollable outbursts. Icy has few friends other than her grandparents and Miss Emily, a heavily obese woman who is also ostracized by the community.

While the plot of this novel was classic Oprah's Book Club, I was disappointed by the quality of the narrative. I found the dialogue stilted, and didn...more
Katy Major
This book was interesting, yet still somehow disappointing. I found it when I was rummaging around in a book sale at the Akron Library. I saw that it was an Oprah's Book Club book, and saw the price (fifty cents!) and immediately grabbed it. Not only that, but the synopsis was intruiging. Obviously you know as soon as you read the back that Icy suffers from Tourette Sydrome, but I couldn't wait to hear the details of the disorder, how she dealt with it, the doctors she saw, and finally, her diag...more
Joseph Quinton
On Saturday, I completed my reading of Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio. This book was recommended to me by my son, Andrew, and is one of the best books that I have ever read. The story is set in 1950s Kentucky and concerns the life of Icy Sparks. Orphaned at an early age, she is being raised by her maternal grandparents, in the remote hills of Kentucky. From the onset of the narrative, we quickly learn that Icy is a young girl plagued by tics, croaks, twitches, and profanity. Although not diagnos...more
Yzobelle
It could have been better. The build up of characters and plot was going well at the beginning. It started to decline and get all muddled up when Icy was at the institution. The characters, events, and relationships became so weak and confusing. There was no clear explanation as to what finally made them decide to send Icy home, no clear diagnosis or even a prognosis of what Icy had, and there was no resolution to Wilma's case. (The revelation of the Tourette Syndrome came at the epilogue.) The...more
Tracy
Mar 13, 2013 Tracy added it
I really enjoyed the first half of this book & liked the characters. Then, gradually, I found it more & more ludicrous & unbelievable. I gave up at chapter 26. I wasn't around in 1950's Kentucky, but I just couldn't believe a ten year old would have thought or spoken the way Icy did, nor would she have been placed in that institution, which seemed to have an unusually high staff to patient ratio. Also, what a co-incidence that they had one patient representing different afflictions!...more
Kendra
This is one of those books when I'm not quite sure what I thought. I read the entire book and at times, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it. BUT, I was also confused and disappointed several times and I wanted the story told differently. I wanted to know the views of other characters and why things were happening. I wanted to have a better understanding of why so that I could truly feel for these characters.

As it was, I didn't ever really connect with the characters so I didn't really care wha...more
ehnonymus
by far one of the worst books i have ever read. i often snag novels from the high school library when i am bored at work and since there isn't much to choose from i picked up icy sparks, mistakenly believing that a book on the oprah book club list must have some merit (after all, books i have loved for a very long time often end up on her list- east of eden, for instance). anyway, i was instantly disappointed and i think it was only horrified disbelief that kept me going. i kept thinking that th...more
Brooke
Jul 01, 2009 Brooke rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one
I saw this on the shelf at the bookstore and something about it caught my attention. catchy cover, oprah's book club, and the summary on the back interested me... it being about a little girl growing up in a small town in the 50's, manifesting tourettes before they really knew what it was. buuuuuuut sorry, can't finish it. i hate when this happens. i feel like i've wasted precious book-reading time. oh well... got through a hundred pages hoping for it to get better, but never did. The characters...more
Tiffany
Oct 01, 2007 Tiffany rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: NO ONE!!!!
Really good depiction of what I imagine Tourettes is like. Not a great book. I don't really care about the characters or look forward to listening to it. (I'm listening to it on CD). (Edit after it was over: Hated it!!!!! I didn't care about the characters, the story went no where, and it was so boring!!!! BLAH and BLAH.)
Angela Gaskell
I liked this book because of its intensity of emotion. Every moment I followed with Icy was a moment that revealed true personal struggle. I feel that Icy is a character that is extremely likable in an unfortunate body. Her intense observations of other people are interesting. I felt the story did move too fast in the end and didn't give enough attention to the things I needed to know more about as a reader curious to understand her plight. For instance, I didn't really get a sense that she trul...more
Margaret
Icy is a little girl growing up in Appalachia, in the 1950's. She begins to have "the fits" and is so embarrassed that when she feels them coming on she goes to the basement and croaks and twitches - when they happen at school the kids call her frog eyes. The story follows Icy through young adult hood. Her symptoms are misunderstood and she is cruelly treated. In the end it is a book simply about ignorance, fear and tolerance. It is also about a wonderful friendship that Icy forms with an older...more
Mia Queen
Terbagi menjadi 3 bagian sesuai perjalanan hidup Icy. Bagian pertama saat Icy kecil, di mana ia belum mengerti ada apa dengan dirinya. Bagian kedua saat ia berada di institut dan bagian ketiga ketika Icy Sparks telah menjadi wanita dewasa. Terus terang bagian pertama adalah bagian yang paling miris karena menceritakan bagaimana teman-teman sekolahnya mengejek Icy dengan panggilan ‘frog eyes’ apalagi guru yang seharusnya membimbing murid malah sering kali memarahi Icy.

Banyak ciri-ciri dari Touret...more
Natalie
Dec 14, 2008 Natalie rated it 5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Natalie by: Ivy
One of the best pieces of odd story-telling I've read in a long time. Take a little girl in the country who's trying to fit in as best as she can. Add the fact that she has Torette's Syndrome (sp?), and you have fodder for a painfully funny yet touching comedy.

Little Icy finds comfort in the form of an adult, Miss Emily, a grossly obese woman who runs the local seed corn mill where they have tea parties with Miss Emily's cats. What you end up with is unusually unique story-telling style that is...more
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Icy Sparks (Kindle Edition)
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Gwyn Hyman Rubio (born August 7, 1949 in Macon, Georgia) is an American author, best known for her novel Icy Sparks.

Rubio graduated from Florida State University in 1971 with a degree in English. She then joined the Peace Corps and spent several years working as a teacher in Costa Rica. After returning to the U.S. and settling in Kentucky she became interested in writing, ultimately receiving a Ma...more
More about Gwyn Hyman Rubio...
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