Gwyn Hyman Rubio’s novel revolves around Icy Sparks, a young girl growing up in the hills of eastern Kentucky during the 1950’s. Icy Sparks is an unforgettable heroine in the tradition of Scout in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The author lives in Kentucky and her novel became an Oprah Book Club selection.
This is the sweet, optimistic story of a young girl who learns to accept and embrace what is most alarming about herself. Icy Sparks, an orphan, struggles to find hope and happiness while battling Tourette’s syndrome.
Ashamed and betrayed by the inexplicable convulsions of her body, unable to control the repeated and often volatile outbursts that accompany her rare neurological disorder, the 10-year-old Icy tries to keep her disturbing fits a secret from her loving grandparents and unkind schoolmates. For a time she succeeds, enjoying an idyllic homelife.
When a cruel, unsympathetic schoolteacher pushes Icy to the breaking point, the inevitable happens. (Rubio’s characterization of this villain is the most gripping in the book: “All the while, I stared at the purple veins on her forehead, throbbing heartbeats against her skin, and thought: So demons have hearts.”) Her difficulties take a turn for the worse. Icy is exiled from her school room and temporarily placed in the Bluegrass State Hospital, a children’s asylum. Icy is later released without a diagnosis or a cure, but she finds unexpected friendship and reassurance during her hospitalization.
Rubio is a writer of uncommonly warm and tender vision, often comic, brimming with love and hope. No sweetness is spared at the conclusion when Icy, now 15 years old and recovering from the death of a loved one (as well as an unexpected romance with one of the novel’s most delightful and repulsive characters), discovers her love for God and an amazing talent for singing church spirituals.
Rubio displays a powerful grasp of the world of Tourette’s syndrome. At her most vivid and unforgettable moments—when Icy, overcome with a fit in the secrecy of her grandparents’ basement, is “forced to cast wild, unfettered shadows in the candlelight against the root cellar walls,” or when Icy’s remarkably intelligent and obese mentor, Miss Emily, makes a heartbreaking revelation about the solitary and sexless lives destined for outcasts like Icy and herself (“We might be liked. We might even earn a town’s respect. But we’re different—too different. We exist beyond the comfort of touch”) — Rubio displays sensitivity and promise. In particular, her use of dialect gives the book a lively, authentic feel.
Rubio tells an entertaining and absorbing story. Anyone who has ever had to confront disconcerting differences and has discovered the strength to respect them will appreciate Gwyn Hyman Rubio’s positive and hope-filled book.
“Icy Sparks” is a fresh and original novel about learning to overcome the ignorance of others while celebrating the differences that make each of us unique.
This book is available at the JSF Bookstore at 4440 13th Street in Ashland. For more information, call 606-326-1667, or email jsf@jsfbooks.com.
We have scheduled the Writer’s Workshop for Friday and Saturday, June 21 & 22, at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park’s Jesse Stuart Lodge. If you would like to attend—or if you want to be placed on a mailing list for more information—please contact me at gifford@jsfbooks.com. Please include your mailing address and telephone number.
By James M. Gifford
JSF CEO & Senior Editor
Gwyn Hyman Rubio’s novel revolves around Icy Sparks, a young girl growing up in the hills of eastern Kentucky during the 1950’s. Icy Sparks is an unforgettable heroine in the tradition of Scout in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The author lives in Kentucky and her novel became an Oprah Book Club selection.
This is the sweet, optimistic story of a young girl who learns to accept and embrace what is most alarming about herself. Icy Sparks, an orphan, struggles to find hope and happiness while battling Tourette’s syndrome.
Ashamed and betrayed by the inexplicable convulsions of her body, unable to control the repeated and often volatile outbursts that accompany her rare neurological disorder, the 10-year-old Icy tries to keep her disturbing fits a secret from her loving grandparents and unkind schoolmates. For a time she succeeds, enjoying an idyllic homelife.
When a cruel, unsympathetic schoolteacher pushes Icy to the breaking point, the inevitable happens. (Rubio’s characterization of this villain is the most gripping in the book: “All the while, I stared at the purple veins on her forehead, throbbing heartbeats against her skin, and thought: So demons have hearts.”) Her difficulties take a turn for the worse. Icy is exiled from her school room and temporarily placed in the Bluegrass State Hospital, a children’s asylum. Icy is later released without a diagnosis or a cure, but she finds unexpected friendship and reassurance during her hospitalization.
Rubio is a writer of uncommonly warm and tender vision, often comic, brimming with love and hope. No sweetness is spared at the conclusion when Icy, now 15 years old and recovering from the death of a loved one (as well as an unexpected romance with one of the novel’s most delightful and repulsive characters), discovers her love for God and an amazing talent for singing church spirituals.
Rubio displays a powerful grasp of the world of Tourette’s syndrome. At her most vivid and unforgettable moments—when Icy, overcome with a fit in the secrecy of her grandparents’ basement, is “forced to cast wild, unfettered shadows in the candlelight against the root cellar walls,” or when Icy’s remarkably intelligent and obese mentor, Miss Emily, makes a heartbreaking revelation about the solitary and sexless lives destined for outcasts like Icy and herself (“We might be liked. We might even earn a town’s respect. But we’re different—too different. We exist beyond the comfort of touch”) — Rubio displays sensitivity and promise. In particular, her use of dialect gives the book a lively, authentic feel.
Rubio tells an entertaining and absorbing story. Anyone who has ever had to confront disconcerting differences and has discovered the strength to respect them will appreciate Gwyn Hyman Rubio’s positive and hope-filled book.
“Icy Sparks” is a fresh and original novel about learning to overcome the ignorance of others while celebrating the differences that make each of us unique.
This book is available at the JSF Bookstore at 4440 13th Street in Ashland. For more information, call 606-326-1667, or email jsf@jsfbooks.com.
We have scheduled the Writer’s Workshop for Friday and Saturday, June 21 & 22, at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park’s Jesse Stuart Lodge. If you would like to attend—or if you want to be placed on a mailing list for more information—please contact me at gifford@jsfbooks.com. Please include your mailing address and telephone number.
By James M. Gifford
JSF CEO & Senior Editor
