Icy Sparks

Icy Sparks is the first-person narrator of the novel, which covers much of the events from ages 10-15 in her life. Icy is a resident of Poplar Holler, outside of the small town of Ginseng, Kentucky, where she lives with her grandparents (nicknamed "Matanni and Patanni") after both of her parents passed away early in her life. Icy has Tourette's Syndrome, and the central conflict of both of the novel and her life is her inability to control her sudden verbal outbursts. Icy has difficulty making friends during this point of her life, with the exception of the middle-aged woman Emily Teller, who runs a feed store.

Icy's childhood, despite the death of her parents, is mostly idyllic, thanks to the supportive nature of her grandparents. However, she begins to struggle with her sudden outbursts of behavior after beginning fourth grade, which is talked by the strict...