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The Girl with the Empty Suitcase
The suitcase sat at the top of Danielle’s closet for years, holding memories, promises, and undeveloped film.
From struggling with homework, to her final farewells with her parents, this is the story of one woman’s life and loves. Through hopes and laughter, heartaches and tears, Danielle is shaped by the family, friends, and romances around her.
This emotional story gives us a woman,
a window through whom we may see our own realities, our own challenges, our own quiet triumphs.
From struggling with homework, to her final farewells with her parents, this is the story of one woman’s life and loves. Through hopes and laughter, heartaches and tears, Danielle is shaped by the family, friends, and romances around her.
This emotional story gives us a woman,
a window through whom we may see our own realities, our own challenges, our own quiet triumphs.
- GenresFiction
200 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2017
1 person is currently reading
530 people want to read
About the author
Krysta MacDonald
4 books104 followersKrysta MacDonald writes about realistic characters confronting the moments and details that make up lives and identities.
She lives in a small Canadian town in the Rocky Mountains with her husband and veritable zoo of pets. She has a B.A. in English and a B.Ed. in English Language Arts Education, and spends most of her time teaching, prepping, marking, and extolling the virtues of Shakespeare. When she isn’t doing that, she’s writing, and when she isn’t doing that, she’s reading.
The Girl with the Empty Suitcase is her debut novel.
She lives in a small Canadian town in the Rocky Mountains with her husband and veritable zoo of pets. She has a B.A. in English and a B.Ed. in English Language Arts Education, and spends most of her time teaching, prepping, marking, and extolling the virtues of Shakespeare. When she isn’t doing that, she’s writing, and when she isn’t doing that, she’s reading.
The Girl with the Empty Suitcase is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 22, 2018
It was very easy to become emotionally invested in the characters, even though you only get to understand them through specific points of time in their lives. They say you can be defined by the moments in your life, and the author did a very good job defining her characters through the "snapshots" of their lives (pun intended!) Some moments were subtle, others were impactful, but both were combined in a way that created a honest, relatable story of love, loss, and self. A great debut novel!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 6, 2017
A beautifully honest story of two lives intertwining through the very relatable obstacles of life! A lovely debut novel for the author :)
October 6, 2017
“Nothing symbolizes discontent like an empty suitcase. Or perhaps an undeveloped roll of film” (85). Armed with both, Danielle can make her getaway, away from Mark, her husband, and into her art. The suitcase may be empty, the film may not become pictures, but they are far from void. Instead, they are full of intangibles: Danielle’s expectations and regrets, her hopes, fears and her vision for something better, something more. These symbols are her power. This isn’t just her story, however. Krysta MacDonald tells two first person narratives. Danielle and Mark alternate telling their tale over the course of forty years, from childhood, before they meet, to old age, after one of them has passed. Together and separately, they grapple to balance life goals, career, family expectations and affection. It is not a particularly colorful tale; rather, it is muted and understated. The sentences are short. The characters struggle to find words for their feelings; they come out sideways. Far from a fairy-tale romance, this book still conveys a heroic and enduring love. I was inspired by this down-to-earth, relate-able couple and MacDonald’s care for them.
October 21, 2017
LIFE! What we do with this life. The choices we make. The expectations thrust upon us. This is two characters, trying to find themselves and find their purpose. This is a story of love, loss, survival. Managing hurt, heartbreak, and disappointment. But most of all, a story of discovery. Discovery of healing and hope through it all.
Krysta MacDonald observes the connection of people. As the reader gets to know Danielle and Mark through their relationship, we identify struggles and the challenges of living up to our own assumptions. This could also be a good reminder to select what baggage we really want to hoist through life. Life is a boundless journey. Pack well.
Krysta MacDonald observes the connection of people. As the reader gets to know Danielle and Mark through their relationship, we identify struggles and the challenges of living up to our own assumptions. This could also be a good reminder to select what baggage we really want to hoist through life. Life is a boundless journey. Pack well.
October 3, 2018
What a delightful read! An inventive format that is easy to read and propels you forward wanting to know the next stage of 'her' life. Perfectly voiced for every age and renders memories of the readers own life at those ages.
Full of surprises, emotion and love. I highly recommend this book.
Full of surprises, emotion and love. I highly recommend this book.
June 5, 2018
I received this book thought a Goodreads giveaway. first off I must say that I love that I received the book signed by the author.
When I started the book it took me a chapter or two to get used to the back and forth of the chapters being different characters and different years, but once I started to think of it as a journal then I was able to think further about it.
There were some big time gaps that made me wonder what happened within them and I found myself making up scenarios of what did.
I liked that I felt like the story of Danielle was me and my future as her and I seem to follow the same path. It's sad to a point when you think of the end being truly the end with no one left from you to continue on. While reading this I thought a lot about myself and self reflected on the things that happened in my own life that resulted in it being the way that it is now. This is just as how I think Danielle did as she wrote her passages in the novel.
When I started the book it took me a chapter or two to get used to the back and forth of the chapters being different characters and different years, but once I started to think of it as a journal then I was able to think further about it.
There were some big time gaps that made me wonder what happened within them and I found myself making up scenarios of what did.
I liked that I felt like the story of Danielle was me and my future as her and I seem to follow the same path. It's sad to a point when you think of the end being truly the end with no one left from you to continue on. While reading this I thought a lot about myself and self reflected on the things that happened in my own life that resulted in it being the way that it is now. This is just as how I think Danielle did as she wrote her passages in the novel.
September 5, 2018
The opening lines of the first chapter hooked me: “This is stupid. I mean, math is stupid. I totally get why I have to go to school and do homework and all that crap, but math? Come on.” I liked 12-year-old Danielle and willingly accompanied her on her journey through life, her suitcase in hand.
I met her friends, her family, Mark – the man who would be her husband, the man she would love and leave and come back to. Sometimes I wanted to shake her. Sometimes I wanted to shake Mark. I experienced her happiness, her disappointments, her sorrows.
Towards the end of her life, Danielle reflected, “When I was a kid I always thought there would be some moment when I would realize I was an adult, some magical time when I’d feel all grown up, when I’d have all the answers.” Neither Danielle nor her creator, Krysta MacDonald, had all the answers, but MacDonald made Danielle real and she made me care about her.
I met her friends, her family, Mark – the man who would be her husband, the man she would love and leave and come back to. Sometimes I wanted to shake her. Sometimes I wanted to shake Mark. I experienced her happiness, her disappointments, her sorrows.
Towards the end of her life, Danielle reflected, “When I was a kid I always thought there would be some moment when I would realize I was an adult, some magical time when I’d feel all grown up, when I’d have all the answers.” Neither Danielle nor her creator, Krysta MacDonald, had all the answers, but MacDonald made Danielle real and she made me care about her.
March 11, 2024
HOLY CRAP WAS THIS A GOOD BOOK! I will forever recommend it. The way it was written was absolutely beautiful and the way she morphed plot after plot after plot was exquisite. She kept me hooked the whole time, letting me wonder what would happen in the next chapter. I loved how the chapters allowed us to see the character's lives in their entirety. I will say I did have some beef with Mark, mainly in the middle and near the end. I hated how he cheated on Danielle and how he missed treated her and wasn't be a proper "gentleman". Anyways... I would probably read this book again and give it 5 stars again. I love you Mrs. Mac! Thank you for writing this book and I hope to read everything else you will ever write.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2017
A look into the life ...
It's an interesting premise and the story doesn't disappoint. It follows Danielle and Mark, at different ages throughout their lives. I enjoyed the growth of the characters, but there was something about the two POV's that didn't change. It wasn't so easy to see the growth through the words of the characters, or the difference between the two. It was written pretty well, and set a good plot for the story.
It's an interesting premise and the story doesn't disappoint. It follows Danielle and Mark, at different ages throughout their lives. I enjoyed the growth of the characters, but there was something about the two POV's that didn't change. It wasn't so easy to see the growth through the words of the characters, or the difference between the two. It was written pretty well, and set a good plot for the story.
October 30, 2024
“The Girl with the Empty Suitcase” resonates with anyone who has sought parental acceptance or struggled to share their gifts. Krysta’s engaging prose captures life’s nuances, from the joy of a partner’s familiar coffee ritual to the urge to escape tough moments. Her vivid storytelling invites readers to reflect on their own lives, leaving them feeling seen and understood.
April 20, 2018
I won this book on goodreads. It was a good story, that I wish Danny would of been able to have more of her dreams. I can't figure out why Mark cheated on her. This story could take place now, or like it did in the future.
October 25, 2020
My heart aches for the protagonist, Danielle, who seemingly spent her entire life sombrely and seldom having her major needs met by her partner (who cheats on her early in the relationship.) If I were in Danielle's position, I would have left Mark.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2025
3.5 but rounding up
Great quick read. This couple just being so miserable made me so frustrated and I was hoping for the downfall of both of them. I know Krysta wouldn't do this but I was hoping that Danielle would kill Mark and put him in the suitcase because he pissed me off.
Great quick read. This couple just being so miserable made me so frustrated and I was hoping for the downfall of both of them. I know Krysta wouldn't do this but I was hoping that Danielle would kill Mark and put him in the suitcase because he pissed me off.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2018
This is a really charming book with an interesting central premise. Highly recommended!
November 29, 2018
Awesome!!
September 4, 2018
This book made me laugh. It also made me cry significantly more than I anticipated. The pages of “The Girl With The Empty Suitcase” contained a real mug-shot of marriage, both the highs and potential lows and loneliness. It was a realistic, poignant and often relatable story. I’m highly anticipating Krysta MacDonald’s next book!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews