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Icy Sparks
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
A New York Times Notable Book and the March 2001 selection of Oprah's Book Club ! Icy Sparks is the sad, funny and transcendent tale of a young girl growing up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky during the 1950s. Gwyn Hyman Rubios beautifully written first novel revolves around Icy Sparks, an unforgettable heroine in the tradition of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird or Will Treed in Cold Sassy Tree. At the age of ten, Icy, a bright, curious child orphaned as a baby but raised by adoring grandparents, begins to have strange experiences. Try as she might, her "secrets"verbal croaks, groans, and physical spasmskeep afflicting her. As an adult, she will find out she has Tourettes Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, but for years her behavior is the source of mystery, confusion, and deep humiliation.Narrated by a grown up Icy, the book chronicles a difficult, but ultimately hilarious and heartwarming journey, from her first spasms to her self-acceptance as a young woman. Curious about life beyond the hills, talented, and energetic, Icy learns to cut through all barriersphysical, mental, and spiritualin order to find community and acceptance.Along her journey, Icy faces the jeers of her classmates as well as the malevolence of her often-ignorant teachersincluding Mrs. Stilton, one of the most evil fourth grade teachers ever created by a writer. Called willful by her teachers and "Frog Child" by her schoolmates, she is exiled from the schoolroom and sent to a childrens asylum where it is hoped that the roots of her mysterious behavior can be discovered. Here Icy learns about differenceher own and those who are even more scarred than she. Yet, it isnt until Icy returns home that she really begins to flower, especially through her friendship with the eccentric and obese Miss Emily, who knows first-hand how it feels to be an outcast in this tightly knit Appalachian community. Under Miss Emilys tutelage, Icy learns about lifes struggles and rewards, survives her first comical and heartbreaking misadventure with romance, discovers the healing power of her voice when she sings, and ultimatelytakes her first steps back into the world.Gwyn Hyman Rubios Icy Sparks is a fresh, original, and completely redeeming novel about learning to overcome others ignorance and celebrate the differences that make each of us unique.
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Deblovestoread
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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📚 tagged
🖋 Eowyn Ivey
🎞 Indiana Jones
🎤 INXS, Chris Isaak
🎶 Iridescent (Linkin Park), Iris (Goo Goo Dolls), I Want to Break Free (Queen), I am a Stone (Demon Hunter) I Don‘t Love You (MCR who I get to see tonight🙌🏼) It‘s Beginning to Get to Me (Snow Patrol)

CBee Have fun tonight 😊😊 2y
39 likes1 comment
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Deblovestoread
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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I read the tagged book years ago and was reminded of it when I watched David Lettermen‘s Billie Eilish interview.

#AlphabetGame

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I like her 🎶 2y
37 likes1 comment
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Addison_Reads
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Mehso-so

I've owned this book far longer than I care to admit. 😂

I'm torn on how I feel. I truly loved Icy's character and I'm a fan of books set in the rural South, but once I finished I felt a disconnect with the overall story.

Icy suffers from Tourette's but goes undiagnosed for most of her life. The author did a great job of portraying Icy's loneliness and her desire to find somewhere she fit in.

Overall it ended up just being okay.

Cathythoughts Interesting review 👍 Great picture! I love the book cover too. 2y
35 likes1 comment
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all_4_kb
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Friday night at work + downtime = starting this gem!

57 likes1 stack add
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CassieT
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Panpan

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one took me an inordinate amount of time to finish because I just couldn‘t get into it. It had some poignant moments, but overall it fell flat for me. I didn‘t connect with any of the characters, who were mostly underdeveloped and static. The ending lacked closure and felt rushed. I wish there had been more exploration of music therapy. There were some good points, but I was fairly disappointed and wouldn‘t really recommend it.

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Lcsmcat
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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OriginalCyn620 👍🏻📚😊 4y
ValerieAndBooks I was so confused at first by your hashtag, which I had read as “Antony Ms” (instead of antonyms) and was wondering what this had to do with Cleopatra 😂 4y
Lcsmcat @ValerieAndBooks 🤣😂🤣 4y
Deblovestoread Love Icy Sparks! 4y
49 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Deblovestoread
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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The tagged book. Currently reading Anne of Green Gables for the first time. Not sure how I didn‘t read this when I was younger. I thinks it‘s lovely.
I container garden: raspberries, Blueberries, cherry tomatoes and herbs and some flowers
We went to see The Clairvoyants last weekend on a lark
Louise Penny, Nancy Atherton, Jacqueline Winspear, working on Willy Vlautin
#weekendchat @CSeydel

8 likes1 stack add
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Jennick2004
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
Pickpick

Though it started out a little slow, this book captured my attention and my heart. Imagine growing up different from everyone else and not knowing why. Only learning in college that there is a name and reason for what you've experienced. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Jennick2004
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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I think he's trying to tell me something 🤣
#dogsoflitsy #dozerdog

35 likes2 stack adds
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Jennick2004
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Feels like I haven't posted in forever!! Had trouble getting into the first 75 pages of this book but it has gotten much better 😃

28 likes2 stack adds
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Jennick2004
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Book Jar told me to read this next...I don't know anything about it; anybody read it?
PS like how I had to get my pretty new leggings in here? 😉

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Lcsmcat
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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From my TBR, this is the only book I could find with #ice in the title. #sizzlinsummerreads @Tiffy_Reads

28 likes2 stack adds
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KVanRead
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Mehso-so

Somewhere between a so-so and a pan for me. It started off really well and I was initially very intrigued to read about a 1950's Appalachian girl coming of age while struggling with undiagnosed Tourette's, but ultimately it didn't live up to its promise. The writing was too cloying and often downright cringey. Some moments felt sensitively drawn but others not at all. Things wound up in a bunch of platitudes- felt like a bit of a bait and switch!

37 likes1 comment
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KVanRead
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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And another one comes down off #TBRMountain. #BirthdayChallenge #1998

49 likes1 stack add
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MrBook
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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#LitsyQuiz Round 2, first selection! Have you read/bought/heard of this veteran Oprah Book Club selection? Considered one of the most popular books of its year. It's got a strong overall rating on Goodreads as well. 😊👍🏻

DGRachel Unpopular opinion time - I tend to avoid Oprah book club books like the plague. 😳 7y
Suzze I have liked quite a few Oprah picks. Somehow I missed this one. Never heard of it! 7y
Ange44 I read this years ago when it was chosen as an Oprah pick. I liked it at the time, but I don't remember much about it now. 7y
See All 29 Comments
sparingqueen I've had this for years on my TBR pile but somehow have never gotten around to it. It seems my book reading can't keep up with my book buying! 7y
Leniverse @DGRachel I wouldn't let it be the deciding factor, but Oprah book club doesn't exactly recommend the book to me, no. 😂 7y
Tcip I haven't heard of it. 7y
Ashley31 I've read...couldn't pass up esp because Rubio is a KY writer! I read it the year it came out so it's been a while but I do remember liking it. 7y
TNbooklover66 Read it and owned it at one point don't have it any more. I think I've read all of Oprah's picks. 7y
kristina_with_a_k Read it and enjoyed it. 7y
Peddler410 Another no from me 😕do a round of YA and I bet you will be hard pressed to stump me 😉 7y
lynneamch Yes. I think my colleagues and I read all the Oprah books for the first three years or so. 7y
AprilMae I read this! I enjoyed it.📚 7y
SaturnDoo I read this book and didn't really care for it 🖓 7y
ValerieAndBooks I've heard of this, but that's all. 7y
sherryvdh I did a paper on it in college (and on Tourette's). I don't really remember much about it though, other than writing the paper, which is somewhere in my mountain of school stuff in storage. 7y
JanuarieTimewalker13 Never saw it in my life. 7y
Karkar I loved this book! 7y
JacintaMCarter I own this one. It's a great read. 7y
LuLeeBelle I think I read it in high school 7y
rdkate Heard of it, may own it, not sure, haven't read it.... 7y
LaurenAsh Yep! Read it awhile ago...gifted to me by my uncle who was a middle school English teacher. 7y
Debiw781 Own it but haven't read it 7y
Joybishoptx Yes! 7y
Kangaj1 Own it but still have not read it 7y
Jinjer No! Howd I miss it? Thought I'd read all her selections!😳 7y
LeahBergen Know it! 7y
BeckyRoy 4 stars in 2007😍 7y
LitsyGoesPostal 😊👍🏻 7y
KVanRead Just starting it now- loaned to me by a friend who considers it a favorite. 7y
87 likes7 stack adds29 comments
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EmilyChristine
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Pickpick

Ok so I'm not a fan of the main character but I will say this is a good book. You follow Icy Sparks through her childhood and it's not until college where a doctor tells her she has Tourette's. She has grown to accept and appreciate all her quirks.

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EmilyChristine
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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"A part of me wanted to break his heart..." This is why I don't like this character. She's mean and cruel to the people who love her. And there is no doubt that people treat her badly because of illness but I cannot like a person who lies to those she loves and is deliberately mean to them.

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EmilyChristine
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Main character is 14 now and being home schooled by her friend Miss Emily. Kennedy was just elected president. Icy is still trying to figure out why she acts the way she does.

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EmilyChristine
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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I'm curious to know what is wrong with her. Some of her behavior can't be controlled. But she also knows that much of her behavior is her choice which is why I don't like her. Yes she's a child but she's mature enough to think before acting and speaking. #halfwaydone #bookclub

BookishFeminist This sounds like the character may have Tourette's Syndrome. Nothing's wrong with her, but it is a disorder where you're unable to control a lot of verbal and physical impulses, called "tics." Lots of people who have it frequently yell out sounds and words and don't have control over it- quite an embarrassing condition to have! 8y
AmyS @BookishFeminist The summary of the book says the girl is diagnosed with Tourette's as an adult so good diagnosing skills! @EmilyChristine I am a special education teacher and while none of my students has a Tourette's diagnosis, this passage reminds me of several of them, particularly my autistic kids. When I am teaching lessons on "expected" behavior and "wacky" behavior or talking through how to deal with these kinds of "trigger" situations... 8y
AmyS ...many of them can tell me exactly what they "should" do but applying that knowledge in those situations is extremely difficult. They are trying so hard to control some of these things that they reach a breaking point (sometimes several times a day) and have outbursts like in the passage. A part of them knows they shouldn't yell/storm out/hit but in that moment, they often can't control it yet, no matter how much they want to... 8y
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AmyS ...Sorry to get all "advocate-y" on you but this is a conversation I have a lot with my students' general ed teachers when I have to explain why the 4th grader with autism can't stop screaming the f-word in the middle of class even though he knows it's against the rules. And I haven't read the book so I may be way out of line. I'm sorry. It just hit a button for me. 8y
BookishFeminist @AmyS ! Good catch- I didn't even think to look at the book description, but I'm glad I didn't give misinformation! You're so right about autistic children too- as with a lot of mental disorders a lot of impulses are hard to control, especially in younger years before they've had the opportunity to develop coping skills that work for them. So many non-neurotypical kids are often just told to stop misbehaving, so I'm glad you work to erase stigma! 8y
AmyS @BookishFeminist Thank you. I love my non-neurotypical kids. They're so much fun. 😊 8y
BookishFeminist @AmyS Ableism is so viral in our culture and I think a lot of it is because we're still weeding out older educational styles & don't know as much about mental health/neurological disorders as we do physical illnesses. Plus it filters into so many behavioral & social situations that it's often hard to see the difference between mental health disorders & just being a jerk. As someone who faces MH struggles, education is so important for all. 😊 8y
BookishFeminist @AmyS You're welcome! They are lots of fun despite the frustrations at times. It's incredibly rewarding I imagine, especially when they finally get the hang of coping skills to make their lives easier! So many invisible hurdles to overcome for these kids. 8y
AmyS @BookishFeminist I'm trying to break down some of these stereotypes, at least in my own school. The most heartbreaking thing is that a lot of my students have internalized these messages and think they are bad/stupid/worthless, etc. I had a 9-year-old tell me, "I'm all beauty, no brains. That's what my grandma always tells me." I *really* wish I could tell of her grandmother but that wouldn't be professional. ? 8y
BookishFeminist @AmyS Yikes! That's awful for her. I'd be tempted to break professionalism for that, too. Very heartbreaking. Honestly I think we should start teaching psychology as part of a health curriculum in schools - it would make things so much better for kids that face struggles like that. 8y
AmyS @BookishFeminist Our school counselors do a little bit of psychology instruction with our students. It's a start. Things definitely seem better than they were when I was a student (not that I was aware of ableism or pedagogy at the time) so I think things are improving overall. I hope. 8y
EmilyChristine I definitely understand what you're saying. And the book takes place in the 50s so things are very different from today. I'm not if she's autistic or not but there are times that she can control her behavior. At least from what I can tell. And by that I mean there are times where she purposely riles up other kids. Other times she can't control it. And in this book she is obviously not getting the right help. 8y
EmilyChristine They sent her to a special hospital for kids but they see nothing wrong with so they send her home. And now I see that she has Tourette's and what she says and does is not controllable. And like in the blurb I posted some people are purposely trying to get her to act out just because they are mean people. 8y
AmyS My students are able to control their behavior sometimes, too. It depends on the intensity of the trigger, how tired/hungry/grumpy they are, etc. And there are other students who try to trigger my kids because they think it's funny to see their reactions and get them in trouble. Kids can be jerks. 8y
EmilyChristine It seems her triggers are being scared and angry. She definitely had a rough life. I'm curious what my book club will think about it. They're all 40 years older than me so their perspective is different from mine. 8y
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EmilyChristine
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Maybe it's just me but I find the main character rather annoying. She obviously has some issues from her parents dying and being raised by her grandparents but the amount of acting up she does, much of it seems like she's purposely being obnoxious to get attention. #bookclub #notlikingityet

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EmilyChristine
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Okay so this fourth grade teacher, who I do not like at all, is now reading to them "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. What kind of teacher is this?!

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EmilyChristine
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Completely forgot that I have book club on Tuesday. So I guess I'll put other books on hold a little this weekend. #bookclub

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KVanRead
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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I ❤️ Spine Poetry!! Here's my contest entry from my TBR: Out/Beloved icy sparks/All over/Coffee #spinepoetry

13 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Conleyheather
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Pickpick

Read Icy Sparks in high school. My dad was a big fan of buying books from Oprah's Book Club. Whenever he didn't know what to get me, he'd buy me the most recent selection. Icy Sparks is a great piece of Appalachian literature and a wonderful buildingsroman. So happy I get to teach it to my students.

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RosiePosie
Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio
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Just started reading this; only a few pages in and I think this will be a very interesting read.