The Suitcase Kid is a children's novel by written by Jacqueline Wilson. The story focuses upon a young girl caught between her warring parents' bitter divorce, and the determination the girl has to get her parents back together, as is common amongst children whose parents are divorcing. However, as the young girl proceeds, she realises that she has to accept that her parents will not reunite and that she must move on like they did.
Andrea, known as Andy in the story, is a tall, awkward ten-year-old whose parents have recently divorced, much to her dismay. Her mother remarries Bill, who Andy takes a strong dislike to, as well as his other three children (especially Katie,a girl her own age but is five days older). Her father remarries Carrie, who has twins Zen and Crystal and is pregnant with her dad's new baby. Andy doesn't mind Carrie and her kids as much as Bill and his, but she still wishes she could have her dad to herself.
Throughout the book, Andy wishes that her parents would get back together and move back into their little house called Mulberry Cottage. Andy loses focus at school, getting poorer results, and loses touch with her previous best friend. As she becomes more and more isolated, she draws support from her Sylvanian Families rabbit, Radish, often playing imaginary games with her.
One day she finds a secret garden with mulberries growing in it, and she begins to go there after school. She accidentally drops Radish down a tree and can't get her out. Andy runs away in the middle of the night to get Radish. Her parents are distraught but soon finds her. Andy insists that she must go and retrieve Radish, and they meet the owners of the garden, Mr and Mrs Peters, who soon befriend Andy, acting as honorary grandparents.
By the end of the book, Andy has befriended her step-siblings, (including Zoe, her father and Carrie's new baby daughter) and accepted that her parents are not getting back together.
The chapters of the book are in alphabetical order: