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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780142000205
ISBN number: 0142000205
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 336
Printing Date: 2001-03
Publishing house: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Release Date: March 08, 2001
Sale Popularity Level: 32728
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
In the tradition of To Kill a Mockingbird and The Cape Ann, a funny, sad, wise, and redeeming very first novel about a young girl's battle with a troubling affliction. Rural Kentucky in the 1950s is not an easy place to grow up in, and it's especially hard for 10-year-old Icy Sparks, an orphan who lives with her grandparents. Life becomes even more difficult for Icy when the violent tics and uncontrollable cursing begin. Icy's adolescence is marred by the humiliation brought on by her mysterious condition, and its all-too-visible symptoms are the source of endless hilarity as everyone around her offers an opinion about what's troubling the girl. Eventually, Icy finds solace in the company of an obese woman who knows what it's like to be an outcast in this tightly knit Appalachian community. Narrated by a now-grown Icy, this very first novel shimmers with warmth and humour as it recounts a young girl's painful and poignant journey to womanhood--and the many lives she touches and enriches along the way.
--Icy Sparks was a New York Times Editor's Choice
'Awesomely intelligent . . . Robinson's accurate but unstuffy writing has done much to popularize wine and make it accessible to new drinkers.' --The Guardian (London)
Amazon.com Review:
The eponymous heroine of Gwyn Rubio's Icy Sparks is only 10 years old the very first time it happens. The sudden itching, the pressure squeezing her skull, and the 'little invisible rubber bands' attached to her eyelids are all symptoms of Tourette's syndrome. At this point, of course, Icy doesn't yet have a name for these unsettling impulses. But whenever they become too much to resist, she runs down to her grandparents' root cellar, and there she gives in, croaking, jerking, cursing, and popping her eyes. Nicknamed the 'frog child' by her classmates, Icy soon becomes 'a little girl who had to keep all of her compulsions inside.' Only a brief confinement at the Bluegrass State Hospital persuades her that there are actually children more 'different' than she.
As a very first novel about growing up poor, orphaned, and prone to fits in a small Appalachian town, Icy Sparks tells a fascinating story. By the time the epilogue rolls around, Icy has prevailed over her disorder and become a therapist: 'Children silent as stone sing for me. Children who cannot speak create music for me.' For readers familiar with this particular brand of coming-of-age novel--affliction fiction?--Icy's triumph should come as no great surprise. That's one problem. Another is Rubio's tendency to lapse into overheated prose: this is a novel in which the characters would sooner yell, pout, whine, moan, or sass a sentence than simply say it. But the real drawback to Icy Sparks is that some of the characters--especially the bad ones--are drawn with very broad strokes indeed, and the moral principles tend to be equally elementary: embrace your difference, none of us is alone, and so on. When Icy gets saved at a tent revival, even Jesus takes on the accents of a self-help guru: 'You must love yourself!' With insights like these, this is one Southern novel that's more Wally Lamb than Harper Lee. --Mary Park
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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Read this on vacaction - it was an OK read. I learned more about a disorder that for some reason we didn't study much in psychology courses (maybe it was too new when I was in college). I had a little trouble connecting with the characters and culture the author tried to represent. I typically enjoy books that expose me to different dialects and cultures. I do like southern novels but some drive me crazy (like the Ya Ya Sisterhood variety). This one, "dag nabit", just didn't do it for me. I would give it a 2.5 if amazon would allow half stars.
Rated by buyers -
This book started off on a good note and was interesting for the very first 20 - 30 pages or so. After that, it seemed to merely be an endeavor by Rubio to show that she could write descriptively, ad infinitum, without contributing anything to a real plot. Icy's story became boring quickly. Many of the characters Rubio introduced served little purpose and simple events were granted far more description than warranted. Some of those events were valueless to the story.
The aim of the book, (exploring Tourette's Syndrome) missed its mark. Icy Sparks is a forgettable character as were most of the characters in this story. Peppering a story with multiple characters for the sake of merely having a large cast does not serve the reader except to confuse and frustrate.
However, since this was Rubio's very first attempt, I intend to read more by her in the hope that she's honed her craft. She certainly displays a strong potential to be a very good author.
Rated by buyers 
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Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio was a good book but it did not leave a lasting impression on me. The main character suffers from Tourette's Syndrome which causes the young girl to have bouts and fits of twitching and cursing. Parts of this book are beautifully written but the characters besides Icy are one-dimensional and unlikeable. Icy Sparks tackles an important issue but the outcome is somewhat disappointing.
Rated by buyers -
The character Icy Sparks brought tears and laughter as I rooted for her to overcome many insecurities. Through Icy, Mantanni and Pantanni's characters, the author taught lessons about selfishness, judgment, vanity, imperfection, acceptance, jealousy, self-esteem and most importantly a lesson about LOVE. The characters were developed so well that I could feel Icy's need for acceptance. People are so cruel and judgmental that I feared for Icy and her possible loss of her closest relatives and friends. I thought if she lost them, she'd be stuck in those back woods forever.
The ending however, was disappointing because of the preachy sermon that was used to wrap up the story. Surely, there had to be a better way to deliver the message of accepting God. I could have read a T.D. Jakes self-help novel if I wanted to hear a long sermon.
Rated by buyers 
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I was intrigued by Icy Sparks and her interesting life. This book was an easy read that I didn't want to end.
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