Icy Sparks

Loved this book, loved the reader such a good book.

The only reason I am giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is because it was the abridged version. I could tell parts were missing and I would have liked to have heard the unabridged version. However, this was a really good book. It's not a book about Tourette's Syndrome, it's a book about a girl who has Tourette's Syndrome. Keep that in mind as I can tell some previous readers did not. And, the accent of the narrator was spot on!! Some previous readers made comments that I'll have to disagree with because I live in WV, the neigboring state of KY. I know for a fact that even today that accent still lives in parts of KY, WV and VA.

I've always been partial to anything involving Tourette's Syndrome as I've had a friend since 1st grade with Tourette's. This was a very interesting point of view but the accent and reading voice was a little wierd.

Good story. A tad slow at times but entertaining.

I barely made it through the book, and this is only because my ride to and from work is very long and I had no other audiobook available. Icy Sparks may be a loveable character, but the story itself is dry and uneventful, with no true plot. The singing parts really turned me off and I kept fast forwarding. I expected more from this story and was deeply disappointed.

This was a great book. Icy is such a great characters to make Tourettes relatable.

This story kept me laughing and crying. I adored everyone in this book. What a great read!

Being originally from the region this story takes place, I can vouch for the accent being used in the recording. It's quite authentic and unique among Southern accents. Having said that, by the end and all of the song lyrics woven into the story, I was close to fast forwarding. In many ways though this is a weakness in the writing. A period story about Tourette's is a great story base but the ending doesn't really deliver. Too tidy, a bit too preachy, a little too "Disney" to satisfy.

I'm from the South and can tell you that the narrators accent was not "perfect" and her voice was so irritating that I almost couldn't get through it. The story was good -- over the top, but good. The characters were very pleasant. I don't mind an unrealistic story if that's the writer's intention, but this one was just too abrupt. Apparently, listeners either love the narrator or find it grinding -- I'm at the furthest end toward the latter. See if you can get a short clip of it before listening to the whole thing.

I loved the book when I read it. I don't do well with the abridged versions though. Kind of a disappointment.

I liked the narrator's voice, but like everyone else, I didn't really see the plot. In truth, I thought it was a bit too pleasant, I was constantly waiting for something bad to happen. I wouldn't recommend this book.

I thought a story about Tourette's would be interesting, and it was. But I actually found it a bit disturbing, and it didn't really help me understand this disorder in the way I hoped it would. And while the characters of Icy and her large friend/mentor were beautifully created, the ending was sappy and disappointing. It's like the author ran out of steam, wrote one inspirational paragraph and declared it done.

I didn't make it all the way through the book. The plot was lacking. Her accent was annoying. The story was unbelievable. Save your time and get something else.

This book was a disappointment in that I anticipated "something" "anything" to be climatic but that didn't occur. The end could very well have done without the reader endulging in an overabundance of singing. It was at that point that I removed the disc and sent the package back.

Great book, although I wish we had the unabridged version (always!) as it was shorter than I'd like. The voice actor was superb, and brings the main character to life as one of the most adorable teens I've ever met in a novel. It also does a wonderful job negotiating southern life.

VERY DIFFICULT TO LISTEN TO -- MOST OF THE TIME I WAS WAITING TO ACTUALLY SEE IF THERE WAS A STORY BUT NEVER FOUND ONE

Wow- This audio was a tough one for me to stay with. I found it to be quite slow in the beginning. I also found it to be difficult to stick with it due to the harshness that Icy had to indure from her teacher and classmates. I'm happy I stuck with the audio because I admired how Icy was able to go on in spite of her surroundings.

I really couldn't get into this book. Halfway thru the second disc there seemed to still be no plot line and I gave up. The southern accent of the narrator seemed fake (my pet peeve as a Southerner!). Also, I personally dislike books in the 1st person when the 1st person is a child. They never seem natural to me.

I loved this book. Following a troubled girl through her life issues was interesting and fun. The voice actor was fabulous. Her use of the accent was perfect.

The story description sounds very good, but I couldn't even finish listening to the first disc! I wouldn't recommend.

I wanted to like this book, but could not sympathize with the main character. I thought there would be a lot of insight into her painful childhood, but there was much self-absorbed drama, dialogue, and singing that seemed to be trying to entertain rather than bring to light her painful struggle with Tourette syndrome.

It was an ok book. The end felt like a drag. it seems that the author just ended the book with quick and nice solution - not sure if that is that easy in real life.

It started off slow but picked up quickly. I found it interesting to hear Icy's thoughts as she was experieinceing these attacks. Children can be cruel especially to someone who is "different" and Icy struggles (valiantly) with her affliction and the fact that she doesn't quite "fit in" at school.... great story.

Interesting story. I would recommend this book. You could empathize with the main character.

Overall a very enjoyable listen. As a musician though, it drove me nuts that of all they hymns that Icy sang, she only sang two of them with the correct melody! If she was to be so convincingly musical, the reader needed to sing the tunes of these good old hyms--at the very least. Otherwise though, it was an enjoyable read. Such a pleasure to experience a story with a loving family and loving friends like Miss Emily, instead of the life of an oppressed adolescent!

Being a special education teacher, I love to hear well written stories about people with disabilities. This author did a very good job describing Tourettes Syndrome. The horrors that Icy endured were, I am quite sure accurate for the education system of the 1950's and 60's. I would love to hear more from this author.

It was ok, but not a 5 star book. I felt like the ending dragged. It was about the struggles of life for this little girl, but it could have been told in about half the time. Not a book my husband would have enjoyed.

The narrator of this book is awesome. She reads with such emotion, you feel all the heartache and pre-adolescent pain of Icy. The book is also packed with laughs and smiles. It was definetly worth the listen.