The Silver Suitcase by Terrie Todd

The Silver Suitcase

by Terrie Todd

A Word Award winner.

It’s 1939, and Canada is on the cusp of entering World War II. Seventeen-year-old farm girl Cornelia has been heartbroken since the day her mother died five years ago. As a new tragedy provides Cornelia still more reason to reject her parent’s faith, a mysterious visitor appears in her hour of desperation. Alone and carrying a heavy secret, she makes a desperate choice that will haunt her for years to come. Never telling a soul, Cornelia pours out the painful events of the war in her diary.

Many decades later, Cornelia’s granddaughter, Benita, is in the midst of her own crisis, experiencing several losses in the same week, including the grandmother she adored. The resulting emotional and financial stress takes its toll on her and her husband, Ken, who is unemployed. On the brink of divorce, she discovers Cornelia’s diary. Now the secrets of her grandmother’s past will lead Benita on an unexpected journey of healing, reunion, and faith.

Reviewed by readingwithwrin on

2 of 5 stars

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"The first Canadian solder to be killed during World War II never saw a battle. He died in a train accident on his way to Halifax to ship out to England."

This book has a dual perspective of Cornelia and Benita, and then a random short chapter where Miriam is given her own voice.

I wanted to like this book, and I really really tried to, but after a while I realized that this book was not what I thought it would be. Instead of being about Cornelia's life and what happened during the war in Canada it was about Benita and how reading her grandmothers diaries were showing her a different perspective and slowly making her realize that others had feelings as well and they also had their own struggles.

Throughout this story I really struggled reading Benita's parts just because of how awful she treated her husband Ken in the beginning and then how he treated her towards the middle of the book. They had horrible communication with each other and Benita always made everything into his fault and didn't try to help him out when needed or let him have any feelings really at all until the end when she realized how close he had been with Cornelia and how she had helped him out.

Now to the part of the story I really did enjoy reading. Cornelia's diary entries. I loved reading about her struggles and triumphs and how she dealt with something that wasn't ever supposed to happen to girls during that time and if it did then, they were supposed to hide it and then get rid of it. She handled it all so well and I really wish that she had been able to deal with it a little better and not have to hide it as her life went on and the world changed. I also really liked how as she grew as a person and didn't let anything stand in the way of her being a teacher. I didn't end up figuring out the whole Miriam issue well before it was explained in the book thanks to their being several hints thrown throughout.

To me this book would have been so much better if it had just been Cornelia's diary entries and Benita's story-line completely left out.

I received this book from Netgalley and Waterfall Press in exchange for my honest review, Thank you.
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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 23 January, 2016: Finished reading
  • 23 January, 2016: Reviewed