Gwyn Hyman Rubio

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 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 show more 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. show less

This is not your average love story, or even your average pet story. It's no Marley and Me, Incredible Journey, or any of the movies and books that claim to be from the point of view of a pet -- at least not from the point of view of the parrot in this book. It's not a "One day I hope to be the person my dog thinks I am", either, as the humans involved vastly underestimate the thought process and intelligence of the particular bird involved. From the human viewpoint, it was a whole lot less show more complex, but the reader is only treated to that p.o.v. via overheard conversations between human characters.

Caruso is one of the most passionate central characters to grace the pages between book covers in a while. That he happens to be a parrot doesn't lessen the intensity of the story. Set on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, in the 1990's, Caruso's world is centered on Clarissa, with whom he now lives, and who he loves desperately. He learned about love, albeit obsessive love, from his previous owner, whose heart never relinquished its hold on a childhood sweetheart, loved and lost. How this translates into the obsessive love Caruso carries for Clarissa, how his world shakes and tilts when Clarissa begins a relationship with a man, and how life resolves it all play out a large part of the book. Another another piece of the book intermingles descriptions of Caruso's memories of life in the wild, the world he was snatched from at a tender age, giving the story a different depth.

There were parts of this book that just grabbed me by the attention horns, and wouldn't let go -- until they did let go, and I found my mind wandering until the next phrase, or scene, or glimmering thought grabbed me again. This is a deeply passionate story. I've rounded up to a 4/5 star because of those moments that caught me in a snare. Thank you LibraryThing and Ashland Creek Press for sending a copy along to me.

Tags: early-review-librarything, read, set-in-the-south, taught-me-something show less

Gwyn Hyman Rubio takes us on a wonderful, unexpected and joyous ride. Caruso, the lead bird, is all too human in his star-crossed love for his "owner" Clarissa. His devotion and his inability to see the situation from her perspective is familiar, but his inhuman-ness gives him a fresh perspective.

Rubio weaves together two tales at once, the Clarissa-Caruso-Joe love triangle, and the triangle of Caruso's previous owner, an old man who has spent his life pining for the girl next door (who is show more married to a man who appears to us as a lout). The limits of perception run rampant throughout this book, and I think most readers would have a hard time not recognizing a little of themselves in every character.

Rubio's biggest achievement is making the impossible premise of the story feel so natural that when the story takes a turn towards magical-realism in its finale, I'd forgotten how amazing Caruso has been all along. It's nice to be reminded. show less

Thoughtful and often compelling novel about a child growing into young womanhood while carrying the burden of compulsive behavior not understood by her family or community.

Most modern readers will have identified Icy's disorder long before it's diagnosed and explained to her, simply because it wasn't on the medical radar in the mid-to-late 1950s when the book is set. Icy was just "tetched" or "loony" or "dangerous" when she began to seize and curse and strike out at people, and her behavior show more combined with her family status -- reared by her grandparents on a remote rural farm after the death of her parents -- exacerbates the isolation and sense of shame she carries with her.

There are lots of wonderful written moments here, from vivid descriptions of the landscape Icy inhabits, to insightful commentary on that which isolates some humans from their rightful communities. Rubio loses points, however, for clichéd characterizations of some important supporting characters and for a motivating force that comes out of left field near the book's climax.

Overall, Icy Sparks is a believable character whose journey is worth following. show less