The Someday Suitcase

Starred review from March 15, 2017
If two people connect through symbiosis, what happens when one weakens?Clover and Danny, both 10 and both white, have known each other since birth. They have an unmarred record in the statue game, closing their eyes and striking the same pose; he eats her pizza toppings because she only wants sauce and crust. They're more than next-door best friends--Clover believes they're literally symbiotic. Then Danny starts fainting and getting infections. Hospitalizations, specialists, and a long trek to diagnosis arc ensue. Danny has common variable immune deficiency, but it's not identified until late. With Danny out of school, there's nobody to fill in the paper outline of Clover in art class--a keen symbol of his absence and her need--so Clover uses her scientist's heart and acute eye for detail to do a science project on Danny himself. She identifies something that actually improves his medical symptoms: her. There's magic here--in her personal contribution to his wellness, in their stowaway adventure from Florida to a last-ditch clinic in Vermont, and in Haydu's quietly superb prose. But Danny's CVID is serious and worsening, and his improvement from Clover's nearness is fading. 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. (Fiction. 10-13)

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June 1, 2017

Gr 4-6-Fifth graders Clover and Danny are best friends and have had an incredibly close bond since they were babies. Early on in the novel, Danny develops a serious illness that eludes his doctors and keeps him out of school, leaving Clover to navigate the social side of school without him. When it comes time to choose a science fair topic, Clover decides to study Danny's illness, reasoning that she knows and cares more about him than his doctors do, and slowly deduces that his condition improves when the two are together. At the same time, Clover is learning about symbiosis and thinks there may be a special link between her and Danny that eases his symptoms. Concerned that Danny's doctors aren't doing enough and that he is running out of time, Clover and Danny devise a secret plan that combines Danny's dream of seeing snow for the first time with a visit to the Somerset Clinic, a facility that specializes in a holistic approach to healing. Clover is a compassionate and reflective narrator, and readers will experience her anxiety and overwhelming need to help her friend. The parents are portrayed with refreshing honesty, as are the challenges in various relationships and friendships. While the last few chapters of the book, after Danny's death, are fragmented, they perfectly capture the unfocused feeling of grief. VERDICT Haydu does not shield readers from hard truths, creating complex characters who face difficult situations. This sensitive work will strike an emotional chord with middle graders.-Juliet Morefield, Multnomah County Library, OR

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

domosaur - Clover and Danny are about to experience some of the saddest yet happy times of their lives. In this inseparable pair of best friends, Clover is the list maker, while Danny adds the flare of fun. Clover loves science and is quiet, while Danny fills in the chat and loves art. Clover has a theory that Danny and her are symbiotic, which means they can’t function without one another. One day, Danny falls off his chair, which is not a normal thing for him to do. Soon Danny gets worse and worse, even though he claims to be okay. He is gone for weeks at the hospital, leaving Clover alone at school. The doctors still can’t find out what his illness is, but it is only getting worse. Clover starts taking notes as well, to figure out what is wrong. After a few hypotheses, she theorizes she makes Danny feel better. Whenever she is around him, he feels better. Together they find out Danny’s ancestors also suffered from this disease, and finds out they went to a special care facility to cure them. They plan to travel there alone so Danny can get better, but it might be too late. Will Danny make it and live? Or will Clover suffer from such a big blow to her life? To find out read The Someday Suitcase, which I give 5 stars. This was such a heartwarming book and I recommend it to anyone who loves a book filled with hope.