Icy Sparks

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 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, show more 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

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 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 show more 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

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, 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 !!!!

When she was 10 years old Icy Sparks began to feel strange sensations in her body, ones that made her limbs twist or stiffen, her head feel like it was about to explode and a desperate need to release the pressure by 'croaking' and spewing curses and ugly phrases into the air. Icy's grandparents, with whom she lived since her parents had died, were unaware of Icy's affliction for months as Icy hid in the root cellar when she felt an episode coming on. One person she shared her secret with was Miss Emily a sweet-natured woman who was so fat she rippled when she moved. Icy felt a kinship with Miss Emily as they both were different from everyone else and seemed destined to be lonely. After Icy began having episodes at school the other show more children and a most hateful schoolteacher began to tease and taunt Icy eventually relegating Icy to a storage closet for her own private classroom to keep her away from the 'normal' children. Fortunately the kindly prinicpal kept Icy supplied with books and schoolwork and eventually he approached Icy's grandparents about sending Icy to an institution where, hopefully, the doctors would understand Icy's condition and help her.

Life in the institution was both wonderful and horrific for Icy. Instead of a hateful schoolteacher Icy was now confronted with a cruel aide who poked, insulted and treated the young inmates no better than animals. The rest of the staff however were kind and tried to help Icy learn how to control the impulses that Icy called her 'bad side". Icy wanted nothing more from life than to be a normal girl with friends and a bright future but even after her release from the institution and her return home to her grandparents her episodes continued and Icy closed herself off from the rest of the world. Her fear of people's reactions to her disorder would rule the next few years of her life making her a sad, disagreeable young woman. Her grandparents and Miss Emily never gave up on Icy and they struggle to show her what a sweet person lives inside that tortured shell.

The story was set in the mid-to-late 50's when Tourette's syndrome was not widely recognized even by the medical community. Icy did not learn the name of her probelm until she was in her 20's and that none of the episodes were her 'bad side' coming out but uncontrollable brain signals that caused them. I enjoyed Icy's story and seriously wanted to smack a few of the characters in the book, namely that horrible teacher and the hospital aide. Icy is a strong young woman who fortunately had a loving and caring support system. I recommend this one. show less

This one took me an inordinate amount of time to finish because I just couldn’t get into it. Being a counselor, I enjoy reading books about the ever changing world of psychology and the mental system in the US. This book explores the life of a young girl growing up with Tourette’s Syndrome in a rural community in the 1950s. Not much was known about Tourette’s at that time and, to be honest, not much has changed (except treatment methodology).

This book had some poignant moments, but overall it fell flat for me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters; I felt they were mostly underdeveloped and static. Due to the subject matter, I expected the language, so that didn’t bother me as it otherwise would. The ending, however, show more lacked closure and felt rushed. I wish there had been more exploration of music therapy as it’s proven to be highly (miraculously even) effective across the spectrum of mental disorders. There were some good points, but I was fairly disappointed and wouldn’t really recommend it nor do I think I’ll ever need to read it again. show less

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 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.

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