The Someday Suitcase
June, 27 2017
The science of magic
Clover and Danny are the kind of best friends who make each other better: Clover makes lists, and Danny makes fun. Clover is thoughtful and quiet and loves science. Danny is chatty and funny and loves art. They’re so important to each other that Clover believes they’re symbiotic: her favorite science word, which describes two beings who can’t function without the other.
But then Danny comes down with a mysterious illness that won’t go away, and the doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong with him. So Clover decides to take matters into her own hands by making lists—lists of Danny’s symptoms, his good days, his bad days, and his moods. As the evidence piles up, only one thing becomes clear: Danny is only better when Clover is around. When they’re separated, he’s in danger.
Clover knows they need to find a cure—together. Will science be able to save Danny, or is this the one time when magic can overcome the unthinkable?
Corey Ann Haydu, the author of the critically acclaimed Rules for Stealing Stars, has written another dazzling, heart-tugging novel about the power of love.
REVIEWS
* A Summer 2017 Indies Next Selection
* “In this moving, exquisitely written story, Corey Ann Haydu explores the thin line between science and magic within an intense bond of friendship.”
– Shelf Awareness, Starred Review ★
* “There’s magic here… in Haydu’s quietly superb prose… Haydu doesn’t romanticize illness, but she provides comfort through art, science, magic, love, and a purple suitcase. A sharp, clear-cut piece that knows life is beautiful and sickness isn’t.”
– Kirkus, Starred Review ★
* “Haydu’s second middle grade novel is poignant and powerful. Clover’s efforts to save Danny become more and more draining,robbing her of many regular childhood joys in a way that is painfully honest about the real experiences shared by friends and family of the terminally ill. The boy-girl friendship between Clover and Danny will call to mind classics like Bridge to Terabithia. While a story with this subject could stray into saccharine territory, Haydu never lets it, consistently grounding us in Clover’s perspective, and her hope, resilience, and belief in both science and magic ring true. A heartbreaking story about the healing power of friendship amid human fragility.”
– Booklist, Starred Review ★
PRAISE
“A touch of magic, the promise of snow, and so much love I can barely keep it together to write this sentence. I know Clover and Danny will stick with me for a long, long time.”
– Kate Milford, New York Times bestselling author of The Greenglass House
“Beautiful, true, and magical. This book touched my heart.”
– Lauren Myracle, author the Wishing Day series