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Summary: The new Oprah book!
Review: On March 8th, a new version of this book will be released as the newest selection of the Oprah book club. Get it now!
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Summary: Wonderful Appilachian story about overcoming your difference
Review: Icy Sparks is a wonderful, enjoyable read. It is set in a place most of us know little of and is about a little known syndrome, Tourettes. I read to learn more about people, places, and things and I learned alot from Icy. Men, women, and young adults will all enjoy this one.
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Summary: a tender story that sparked my own childhood memories
Review: Although I am neither a literary professional nor an expert on Tourette Syndrome, I am a woman who somehow made it through that awkward period of adolescence and now has a daughter of my own. I relived much of that time while reading Icy Sparks -- the feelings of embarrassment and "sticking out", the flush of puppy love, and the discovery of an adult woman who became a mentor to me and remains a confidante to this day. Of course, my experience pales in comparison to Icy's courageous journey that included a culture which couldn't accept her differences and an illness that she could not control. Icy's story is a powerful victory over a painful past and should challenge all women readers to re-kindle a vanishing tradition - the art of mentoring to our young girls.
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Summary: Icy Sparks' Authenticity Is The Soul of Its Truth
Review: Icy Sparks is as unique as the place in which she lives, but unlike many of her fictional peers, she is cut of whole cloth and presented as a lovable, incorrigible, searching young girl, rather than as a predictable stereotype. So many books set in specific and unique places such as Appalachia have been written by "outsiders" who rely too much on images perpetrated by filmmakers, writers, and publishers with little or no firsthand experience of the place. The fact that Icy Sparks' creator lives in the very region (eastern Kentucky) in which the book is set lends authenticity and value to the content. Icy is not a stereotype at all, and neither are her neighbors and family and friends. She is as universally unique as is each and every reader who will encounter her. In segments where the story could have dissolved into cliche, Rubio has beautifully avoided the temptation. A good example is the tent revival scene. It would have been easy to choose to let this character with Tourette Syndrome blend and fade into a noisy background of the religiously possessed who speak in unknown tongues and contort their bodies in fits of worshipful zeal. Instead, Rubio has demonstrated a writer's maturity and excellence in chosing to allow Icy to find her own way into, through, and out the other side of the experience. The irony of how Icy uses her discoveries and the truths she recognizes along the way are testaments to this remarkable book's strengths and beauty. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Not to be missed by lovers of Appalachian Literature.
Review: The reader is immediately drawn into the strange world of Icy Sparks. From the hauntingly beautiful prologue to the last word in the epilogue, the novel is beautifully written . With vivid imagery and solid, believable characters that move you through a world of emotion as unpredictable, wild and ranging as the mountains themselves. Calling upon and trusting in her own voice and sense of place to rise above the lonliness and isolation of being different, Icy is truly a heroine. I applaud Rubio for breathing life into this unique, brave and quirky character and for giving a voice to those who have had little understanding and too much stereotyping. Definitely a novel for everyone, adults and students alike. Rubio captures a place, a people and a time in this novel with clarity, truth and astounding beauty that rings so true to me, not only as a person from Appalachia, but as a human being as well. Bravo.
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Summary: Excellent use of fiction to depict Appalachia/mental health
Review: Rubio depicts the culture of Appalachia and the mystification of mental illness as displayed by the young lady with Tourette's Syndrome. Still a mystery to many health care providers, but an even greater mystery to the laity. What a beautiful story of the cruelties of misunderstanding the health of others, more so the joy of overcoming a debilitating illness. Congratulations to another Appalachian writer with the courage to address such an issue and the intelligence to research the diagnosis and bring it to our attention. I will look forward to future writings of this talented writer, for it is through story telling that life's concerns are brought to our attention.
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Summary: ICY SPARKS DID NOT CREATE SPARKS
Review: Read the Amazon.com and Kirkus Review book reviews before you consider purchasing this title. I did not find Icy winsome or interesting and the church revival meeting, where Icy encounters Jesus, and has an "epiphany" about loving herself was just too much. I think the book had potential, but I was disappointed not to see it realized. I would NOT recommend this novel.
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Summary: A ceasingly hopeful tale about growing up different.
Review: A dramatic new southern female voice makes her presence felt in her first novel. Hopeful, witty, and, ultimately triumphant, Icy Sparks (both the character and the book) will renew your faith in the power of people to overcome.
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Summary: Dear readers,
Review: I want to thank everyone who has read Icy Sparks and especially those who have taken the time out of their busy lives to tell me they enjoyed it. I want to express my gratitude to all the dear people who have attended my readings and booksignings. Their kind faces have given me an extra dose of confidence when I most needed it. As an unknown writer breaking in, I do appreciate the constructive comments I've received on AMAZON.COM.These past eight months have been a roller coaster of ups and downs, but, much to my delight, the year ended positively when The New York Times Book Review listed Icy Sparks as one of the notable books of 1998, when Keith L. Runyon, book editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal, listed it as one of the top ten books of the year, and when Fred Chappell, poet laureate of North Carolina, put it on his "Must Buy" Christmas list in the Raleigh News & Observer. Comments like the following from newspapers across the country have also been encouraging: "Wondrous reading...a combination of emotional fire and ice that will take your breath away." -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Vivid and unforgettable...brimming with love and hope."-- The New York Times Book Review "Gwyn Hyman Rubio's plucky, imperfect heroine Icy Sparks throws herself into life with a ferocity that cannot be denied." -- San Diego Union Tribune "This book...puts [Rubio] on the map as an impressive new Southern female voice...richly inspired."--Time Out New York "ICY SPARKS is an inspiring first novel... a story of hard-won redemption... a significant contribution to the literature of Appalachia, and the world."--Louisville Courier-Journal "A triumph of heart and humor...Gwyn Hyman Rubio writes with depth, wit, and sympathy."--Lexington Herald-Leader "Sensitive...funny...remarkable."--Publisher's Weekly Again, I want to thank those people who have read my novel and recommended it to their friends. A writer is only as good as her audience. I am grateful that I've found an audience in you.
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Summary: Very enlightening - enjoyed tremendously.
Review: For a first novel I thought Ms. Rubio did an excellent job. It is a joy to read a down to earth novel that I would allow my children/grandchildren to read. It really lets one know the terrible effects of Touretts Syndrome and how one learns to cope. Keep on writing.
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