Icy Sparks
Encyclopedia
Icy Sparks is a novel by Gwyn Hyman Rubio
, and was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club
Selection.
s and croaks. Icy goes down into the root cellar to let out her tics, hiding the condition from her grandparents. Finally she tells her friend, Miss Emily Tanner, a local store owner who is also an outcast from society at 300 pounds. Her teacher tries putting her in a solitary classroom but even that doesn't work. Her grandparents have Icy admitted to a mental institution for observation.
Even in the institution, Icy is an outcast. She sees herself as not as mentally ill as her peers there, and is tormented by one of the hospital workers. She befriends a second worker, but really just wants to go home. When she is allowed to go home, she stays in her house or on the surrounding property, but does not venture out in public.
After her return home, the atmosphere is tense even there. Icy stays in the house and does not socialize. After her grandfather dies, Icy and her grandmother turn to religion for solace. Inspired by a tent-meeting revival where she observes that people touched by the Holy Spirit
behave as if they have Tourette's syndrome, Icy discovers she has a gift for music. She proceeds to attend university, where her disorder is diagnosed officially. Later, she becomes a therapist, working with children with Tourette's syndrome and with selective mutes
.
Selection in March 2001
Gwyn Hyman Rubio
Gwyn Hyman Rubio is an American author, best known for her novel Icy Sparks.Rubio was born in Macon, Georgia, and graduated from Florida State University in 1971 with a degree in English. She then joined the Peace Corps and spent several years working as a teacher in Costa Rica. After returning to...
, and was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club
Oprah's Book Club
Oprah's Book Club was a book discussion club segment of the American talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, highlighting books chosen by host Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey started the book club in 1996, selecting a new novel for viewers to read and discuss each month. The Club ended its 15-year run, along with...
Selection.
Plot introduction
A young girl struggling with accusations of Tourette's Syndrome lives in Eastern Kentucky in 1956.Plot summary
Icy Sparks is a young girl living in Eastern Kentucky with her grandparents in the 1950s/1960s. She doesn't get along well with her peers and suddenly starts having ticTic
A tic is a sudden, repetitive, nonrhythmic, stereotyped motor movement or vocalization involving discrete muscle groups. Tics can be invisible to the observer, such as abdominal tensing or toe crunching. Common motor and phonic tics are, respectively, eye blinking and throat clearing...
s and croaks. Icy goes down into the root cellar to let out her tics, hiding the condition from her grandparents. Finally she tells her friend, Miss Emily Tanner, a local store owner who is also an outcast from society at 300 pounds. Her teacher tries putting her in a solitary classroom but even that doesn't work. Her grandparents have Icy admitted to a mental institution for observation.
Even in the institution, Icy is an outcast. She sees herself as not as mentally ill as her peers there, and is tormented by one of the hospital workers. She befriends a second worker, but really just wants to go home. When she is allowed to go home, she stays in her house or on the surrounding property, but does not venture out in public.
After her return home, the atmosphere is tense even there. Icy stays in the house and does not socialize. After her grandfather dies, Icy and her grandmother turn to religion for solace. Inspired by a tent-meeting revival where she observes that people touched by the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
behave as if they have Tourette's syndrome, Icy discovers she has a gift for music. She proceeds to attend university, where her disorder is diagnosed officially. Later, she becomes a therapist, working with children with Tourette's syndrome and with selective mutes
Selective mutism
Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder in which a person, most often a child, who is normally capable of speech is unable to speak in given situations, or to specific people...
.
Characters
- Icy Sparks – a young girl, protagonist
- Matanni – Icy's grandmother and legal guardian
- Patanni – Icy's grandfather and legal guardian
- Miss Emily Tanner – a local store owner and friend
- Mrs. Stilton – antagonist; 4th grade teacher
Awards and nominations
Was chosen as an Oprah's Book ClubOprah's Book Club
Oprah's Book Club was a book discussion club segment of the American talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, highlighting books chosen by host Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey started the book club in 1996, selecting a new novel for viewers to read and discuss each month. The Club ended its 15-year run, along with...
Selection in March 2001