Review: The Someday Suitcase
by Corey Ann Haydu
Age Range: 8-12
Release Date: June 27, 2017
Katherine Tegen Books
9780062352750
Some stories are just special. They manage to wriggle their
way into your heart, find a place to hunker down, and simply stay there. The Someday Suitcase is one of those
stories.
Clover and Danny have been best friends their entire lives. The
close-your-eyes-and-know-exactly-what-the-other-is-doing kind of friends. But
everything they know is derailed when Danny comes down with a mysterious
illness. Test after test after test and the doctors are flummoxed. Luckily, Clover
is a scientist, and she intends to figure out exactly what is wrong with her
best friend. As Danny’s illness progresses and Clover takes meticulous notes, she
begins to see the common denominator, the one thing that always makes Danny
feel better: her. How is this possible? Her scientist brain is on overdrive,
trying to figure out how this could be. But she can’t ignore the truth right in
front of her, and what explanation can there be but magic?
The friendship between Clover and Danny is lovely. They are in sync to such a
strong degree that it’s disturbing when Danny becomes ill and falls out of their
rhythm. In other hands this friendship could come off as dangerously codependent,
but the brilliance of Haydu’s writing prevents that. It’s not codependent. It is,
as Clover views it in scientific terms, symbiotic. They each do and provide
something crucial that the other cannot, and this makes them a perfect pair. And
when it comes down to it, their friendship is about how you can love someone
with all your heart, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t enough room for more
than one person. This is done in such a gloriously natural way. Clover’s
struggle with guilt at beginning to make friends outside of Danny, when he is
so sick and needs her, is completely realistic. She feels the weight of
responsibility, but is just a kid, and only now opening up to the idea of
having more than one best friend.
Everyone, from Clover, to Danny, to Clover’s new friend
Elsa, is fleshed out and has a personality. Clover’s little brother Jake is a
goofy run-of-the-mill kid, but has a form of autism, and I thoroughly
appreciated his sensitively drawn portrayal. When Jake is having a particularly
bad day, it is always handled in a constructive way by his family, and Clover’s
relationship with him is so positive. She knows Jake may sometimes have
different rules than she does and that it can seem unfair. She knows this, and
she does her best, but she is still a kid and sometimes being understanding is too
hard. But ultimately, she always tries to be the best big sister she can be,
and she is good at it.
The school setting and teachers are also marvelous. They are
positive, caring, and an inspiration to Clover, as teachers should aspire to be.
The two we see the most of are Ms. Mendez and Ms. Fitch, who teach science and art
respectively. I love this commingling of what are typically seen as two very
unrelated subjects. Clover considers herself a scientist first, but Ms. Mendez
opens her up to the idea of science being magical, and Ms. Fitch builds on
this, finally making Clover see science can be an art too.
Finally, the suitcase. And the power of “someday.” Honestly,
this symbol’s power is cheapened by breaking it down out of context. Simply
put, it is beautiful, heartbreaking and heartwarming,
and stands for possibilities. The true power of it comes with experiencing
Clover and Danny’s story, in which hope, love, and magic is so prominent, and
ultimately what The Someday Suitcase
is about. After all, “magic is love with a twist.” So open up your heart, let
this charming and achingly real story in, and prepare to let it stay there for
a while.
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