Rating: 
Summary: Oxymoronically named Icy Sparks ignites understanding
Review: Having taught children who have suffered with Tourette's, I have great compassion for the unwanted problems that Icy faces. However, I have never witnessed my students in such an uncontrollable state as the young Icy experiences. In present day situations, medications exist to aid these children. Thank heaven for medical and educational advances. The fact that this novel takes place in the 1950's in Kentucky says a lot about the ways in which disabled children were treated in many places in the United States. While I enjoyed Icy's voice and her loving grandparents, Patanni and Matanni, I was saddened that Icy was whisked off to Bluegrass Mental Hospital's Sunshine facility. Her school principal seems well-intentioned, however, and Icy grows from her experience, as she develops a life-long friendship with hospital attendant, Maizy. To know that Icy only fits in with the misfits and oddballs represents the terrifying truth before mainstreaming in public schools. The torments she suffers at the hands of her classmates and her teacher are inexcusable, but truthful. Her horrid teacher reminds me of the cruel teacher in George Washington Gomez and the other horrid teachers who appear in the novels of Charles Dickens. While Icy receives undying support and education from her obese storekeeper friend, it is tragic that she remains hidden from the people of Gensing, Kentucky. One hopes these small town folks from the coal mines accept Icy as one of their own. Yet, their lack of compassion and understanding reflects the tragically normal behavior that results from the fear of the unknown. As Icy discovers an unlikely love in Peavey and then loses it to the onset of one of her spells, she moves deeper into isolation. Her conflict with her grandfather seems to reflect the rejection she feels. Miraculously, after her beloved Patanni's death, she gets drawn into Matanni's new life as an active member of a church community. It is the acceptance of this all-welcoming group of Pentecostal believers that begins to turn Icy's life around. Icy's singing in the Christmas pageant while at Bluegrass Hospital and the joy it gives her foreshadows her future. Appropriately, her movement towards personal independence comes on July 4 as she sings in five different church choirs on the steps of the courthouse in Ginseng. She finally emerges from her incubation, and her self-acceptance and deliverance through music make for a joyful ending. Icy is unforgettable, but she is not my favorite character. While I do not recommend this novel as a must read, there is understanding to be gained from reading it. I definitely understand why Oprah chose it. Her mission to broaden minds through reading continues.
Rating: 
Summary: A Courageous Story
Review: Icy Sparks is a young girl inflicted with the scary, and often misunderstood disease of Tourettes Syndrome. The reader will follow Icy during the trials and transistions in her life, the tics, and uncontrollable cursing as she comes to terms with her disorder. The novel is set in the 1950's, an era that was not understanding and tolerant to differences. Icy faced community and peer rejection in her small southern community. The rejection that Icy experiences is unforgettable and her strength over adversity is courageous. Icy's supporting cast of characters include her grandparents and her best friend Miss Emily. It is only with her grandparents and Miss Emily that Icy feels relaxed and at ease. Through these people Icy learns to accept herself and take risks! Icy began as a strong willed child who eventually blossoms into a determined woman. This novel will evoke many feelings inside the reader and it is likely a very good representation of the time and the response to differences. I appalued Gwyn Hyman Rubio for bringing the issue of Tourettes Syndrome to the forefront!
Rating: 
Summary: I thought this was a great book!
Review: One of the things you have to keep remembering about this book is that it takes place in the 1950's. You really get a feel for what kids/adults with disabilities had to go through back then and how far (hopefully) we've come with understanding and caring for those who happen to have a disability. I cried at times and I laughed at times! I also liked the fact that Icy learned to control her disability without medication (I know this isn't always possible) and it was evident that she became worse when she was distressed in some way. Really enjoyed it!
Rating: 
Summary: Who Is She Kidding?
Review: As the mother of a "special" child living in a small town in Virginia, I thought this might be a good fit. I believed that there might be some insight into what my son and other children plagued by compulsions and tics experience and how they and other come to terms with that experience. But that is not it at all. This novel turns the very serious and complex job of supressing one's instincts into pablum. Bad people are just stupid and closed-minded. Salvation comes from simply loving oneself. Oh, Icy, if it were only that easy. Save yourself the trouble. If you are really interesting in the subject, meet someone with Tourette's, talk to them about the difficulty of loving it. Heck, if you're really interested, why don't you go to a tent revival and see if Jesus tells people to just accept themselves. I don't know about that but I do think that this novel was silly and maudlin and mystical when it could have been insightful.
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Summary: WONDERFUL STORY
Review: THE LORD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS...ICY SPARKS WAS COLD AS ICY CREEK WHEN SHE WAS BORN, HENCE THE NAME ICY, BUT BY THE TIME SHE WAS 21 YRS OLD SHE HAD BECOME A WONDERFULLY WARM COLLEGE GRAD IN MUSIC THERAPY. THIS IS THE STORY OF THAT JOURNEY...HOW DESPITE ALL THE TICS, JERKS AND CROAKS SHE ENDURED FROM TOURETTE SYNDROME, A NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER, HOSPITALIZATION IN A MENTAL FACILITY AND RIDICULE FROM HER PEERS AS WELL AS A MEAN FOURTH GRADE TEACHER WHO UNMERCIFULLY TORMENTED HER, SHE WAS ABLE TO SURVIVE. ICY WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE A GOOD FRIEND, MISS EMILY, WHO MADE HER CONTINUE HER EDUCATION AT HOME, GAVE HER ENCOURAGEMENT TO GROW FOR HER FUTURE...TO PLAN ON COLLEGE AND NEW FRIENDS. BUT ICY SEEMED TO BE SLOW GROWING UNTL HER GRANDOTHER AND MISS EMILY TOOK HER TO A REVIVAL MEETING AND THAT EXPERIENCE GAVE ICY THE NEEDED SPARK. THIS LITTLE GIRL FROM THE HILLS OF KENTUCKY LEARNED VALUABLE LESSONS ALONG HER JOURNEY OF 21 YEARS. IF YOU THINK YOU WOULD NOT LIKE THIS STORY OR COULD NOT LEARN FRON A LITTLE GIRL, THINK AGAIN AND GIVE IT A GO! THIS IA A FIRST NOVEL FROM GWYN HYMAN RUBIO AND I HOPE THERE ARE MORE TO COME..SHE IS A SPELLBINDER, BELIEVE ME.
Rating:
Summary: Icy was just OK
Review: This wasn't a bad read but it could have been a great read. Yes, Icy was a spunky little girl and one who seemed to have dealt well with Tourette Syndrome. But she could have been the kind of character that one would never forget. And while the book dealt well with the idea of accepting people who are different, it could have been a one-of-a-kind book dealing with this idea if only it went a bit deeper. I began Icy Sparks with all sorts of hopes that this would be a book I could read and really enjoy and then say wow at the end of it. While the beginning was poignant and informative about Tourette Syndrome, the rest wasn't all that much to write about. Sadly at some point during my reading, I lost interest. And I felt that the author rushed the ending and simply wrapped up Icy's future with a neat red bow. If there is anything which I will remember vividly it is the portrayal of Icy's grade school teacher. She has now earned my award for being the nastiest teacher I have ever learned about. It certainly makes one glad we live in the year 2001 and have a better understanding of children who are different. I certainly hope that anybody who needs kindness and compassion in their life is surrounded by the kind of peole who will help them. Luckily for Icy she had the kind of spirit which allowed her to grow and mature happily. I would be curious to revisit Icy ten years after the book left off to find out what did happen to her.
Rating: 
Summary: Icy Sparks ~~ Mountain gal and Philosopher
Review: I loved this book! I found Icy Sparks to be an unforgetable character and I grew to love her. Raised in the mountains by extremely loving grandparents, Icy Sparks must grow up and learn hard lessons about what it's like to be different in a "normal" world because she has a "disorder." The story centers around her journey through life trying to feel loved in a world that does not treat her very kindly. As a child, she is rejected by her teacher, her classmates, and her community and eventually hospitalized because of her illness. Icy has tremendouse spunk and spirt which somehow carries her through the years. She even falls in love and, although, it does not work out the way she planned, the love letters and poems written between the two youngsters are laugh out loud funny. I laughed with her; I cried with her. It was wonderful to watch her grow and find the acceptance and love she thought would always escape her. A great book for a first-time artist~~~I highly recommend it.
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Summary: This book is extremely boring
Review: Sure you could read this book... Or you could repeatedly push toothpicks into your navel. Sure you could read this book... Or you could walk outside and start screaming abuse at passers by. This is what you will feel like doing after reading this book. Save yourself the time and money of reading this book. You can't possibly imagine the prolific boredom you will experience if you attempt to read this book. The author could not hold my attention for more than a few sentences and even they were hard to bare. To summarize: This book would make a great doorstop if it were heavy enough.
Rating:
Summary: Great story with a Great moral to it.
Review: Very enjoyable gook. Such a good mix of characters' personalities. This young girl, Icy, encounters some pretty mean people in her young life. Icy has to deal with the bullies at school as well as a humiliating teacher. Icy also encounters good people who are tender to her and love her. She definitely has a loving family which she seems thankful for. And Icy learns that no one is perfect and that we should be more concerned with our good qualities instead of we don't like about ourself. Very good book and is a blessing to read.
Rating:
Summary: Icy Sparks
Review: I went to this book looking for understanding. My understanding grew but there was entertainment and as well a certain kind gentleness that came unexpected. Hurrah!
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