Quick read, finished a bit abruptly.

I tried and tried. Couldn't get into it.

Well, this book came to me at just the right time! Last week I found out that a former student of mine has been diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome. I knew he had difficulties when he was in my first grade class, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Now that he is in 4th grade, the work load has become more demanding and other students less forgiving about behavior outside of the "norm." I am so glad to have read this book to get a glimpse of what life might be like for him.

I was drawn right into the story. I really appreciate the story being told from Icy's perspective. Even more than just Tourette's, it spoke to me about how we are all "different" is one way or another. I was a bit disappointed with the wrap-up ending, but overall I found it a quite enjoyable read.

I started and stopped this book a few times before committing to it and now that I’ve finished it I’m not sure how I feel about it. It is more like 3.75 stars for me.

Another Oprah book, about a woman's plight in first-person. This one actually did have resolution, though. The characters were great, and the bickering was well-written. Just a few characters, but all were realistic.
I find it interesting that the book seems to be marketed as a Southern novel, and not about Tourette's Syndrome. I bet that marketed well, but the book wasn't simply about a young girl from the South.

This book turned into a hate read for me, and fast. I hated everything about it except for the prologue. I should have quit while I was ahead but I didn't.

I know this book was set in the 1950's and life was much different but that doesn't excuse horrible story telling. The sad part is that she's a good writer. I enjoyed her writing. Her story telling? Awful. Descriptions of flowers every other paragraph. Ten full pages of revival descriptions. Random time jumps that made no sense.

I hated this book. Oprah is the worst.

Sometimes when I come to the end of a good book I feel a little sad because I've enjoyed the story so much and now it's come to an end. That's how I felt when I closed the book on Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio. I'd picked up the book because it was one of Oprah's selections and the book jacket sounded interesting--a little girl with a troubling affliction grows up in 1950s Kentucky. As one growing up with deaf parents, I felt very different from the others as a child. I would be able to relate to this character.

Icy Sparks is going to be one of those memorable characters for me, like Scout Finch and Francie Nolan. Orphaned at a very young age, spunky Icy is raised by her loving grandparents. When she is about 10, she begins to struggle with a frightening condition--she'll get an urge to tic, pop her eyes, or croak. She tries really hard to hide what is happening to her but it all comes out in the presence of one very cruel teacher.

Icy spends time in a mental institution which seems brutally cruel but, after all, this is the 1950s when people didn't understand about these kinds of things. They didn't accept people's differences as easily as they do today.

Luckily, Icy is surrounded by enough love from her grandparents, her friend Miss Emily, her principal Mr. Wootten and the hospital aide Maizy that she isn't lost forever. She's got a gift that helps her deal with what's happening to her--a lovely singing voice.

I thought this book was fantastic and definitely recommend it as an excellent read!

Super boring book, I had to force myself to finish it. I didn't feel like it had too much of a point. There were many parts where I felt like the author was just trying to write to make the book longer.

Basic Summary: Girl, with ridiculous name of Icy Sparks, grows up in very rural Kentucky during the 1950s with a case of Tourette's Syndrome. Only, they don't know it's Tourette's and she must spend her youth trying to hide her painful secret from shaming her family. It doesn't work and she ends up in a state hospital [not a spoiler].

This book had an interesting premise, in my humble opinion. Her parents both die [at separate times and not in a freak thunderstorm car accident, which was a relief] and she is raised by her grandparents 'Matanni & Patanni'. She is an outcast from her town, shunned and humiliated by her peers, confused and feeling alone in the world where she will never find love.

The problem is that it wasn't well executed. The narration is supposed to be that of a barely 10 year old girl and the writing does not match it, not even one little tiny bit does Gwyn Rubio manage to seem like she knows how to get inside the head of a scared child. There was almost no plot or character development, of a notable level, and the Tourette's Syndrome portion seems unresearched and eventually tossed to the wayside as an afterthought.

What I did like was the very great dialects she was able to produce. She is clearly a very gifted author who just needs a little practice on development.

I read it in one afternoon and it didn't leave too big of an impression on me, though I did still enjoy the read overall because of the aforementioned skill of the author.