A New York Times Notable Book and the March 2001 selection of Oprah s Book Club(R) ! Icy Sparks is the sad funny and transcendent tale of a young girl growing up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky during the 1950 s. Gwyn Hyman Rubio s 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 spasms--keep afflicting her. As an adult she will find out she has Tourette s 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 barriers--physical mental and spiritual--in 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 teachers--including 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 children s asylum where it is hoped that the roots of her mysterious behavior can be discovered. Here Icy learns about difference--her own and those who are even more scarred than she. Yet it isn t 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 Emily s tutelage Icy learns about life s struggles and rewards survives her first comical and heartbreaking misadventure with romance discovers the healing power of her voice when she sings and ultimately--takes her first steps back into the world. Gwyn Hyman Rubio s 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.