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A review by gracefulbooks
Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Once again I am at a loss for words and am unsure of what to rate this book. I will say this is a very heavy and dark book.
So oh boy where do I even start. So to give you an idea of what this book is about it follows a young black girl Claudia who has a best friend (Monday) who is constantly by her side and is legitimately like a sister to her. But when she gets back from a summer at her grandma's house and prepares to start 8th grade Monday is nowhere to be seen. No one seems to know where she is, and it feels as if people forgot that Monday even existed. With Claudia seeming to be the only one who is worried she does everything in her power to figure out where Monday is.
I thought this book was going to centrally focus on black women & girls going missing and the cases not being taken seriously and treated the way they should be treated. While I do feel this was a part of the story and also an important part of it-this book was SO MUCH MORE. It discussed community, gentrification, loss, and the fact that people rarely do what they should do in situations like these. It also discusses abuse. In very deep detail, especially near the end. Then we also get discussions and exposure to dyslexia which I am surprised to say I don't think I've ever read a book that has a protagonist that is dyslexic. There is also homophobia and bullying, this book seriously covers and goes over so much. I don't understand how Jackson does it.
But to give my thoughts on this book I want to say first off that I adored the family aspect of this book. I think that Claudia's relationship with her father and mother was just so wholesome, sweet, and warm. My heart melted several times with how touching particular scenes were and just how great Claudia's family was. Then to top it off I really enjoyed Michael as a character too. I maybe didn't see the romance until near the end but the way he genuinely cared about Claudia was very touching and gave me pure joy. I also want to say that I really loved the girls that took her in under their wings like Megan, Kit Kat, and Paris. The sense of community that came from multiple scenes in this book warmed my heart and made me wish I was apart of something like it.
I want to say that this book is so important. I don't know how else to put it, I think it gave off very touching, warm, and happy vibes while also discussing something so serious and heartbreaking at the same time. I think Jackson did something great as she could've easily made this book entirely heavy with no bright lights in it. But she managed to make you feel happy for Claudia and for what she had while also feeling this deep visceral worry for what happened to Monday and why nobody seemed to care!? Also feeling impacted and upset for what was happening to others in this community not just Monday and her family.
I want to say that I also loved the use of color and the formatting in this book. I think it was interesting and I just loved Claudia's love of using colors to tell you how she felt or saw people in her life. As someone who loves art and has a passion for it I really thought this was a cool part of the story.
I also want to say that a lot of the flashbacks we witness made me picture things perfectly in my head. With how Monday & Claudia would spend their time and it was just perfect, and the atmosphere was set so well with each chapter and scene. It was simultaneously upsetting for some scenes and heartwarming for others.
The main reason I can't decide on my rating for this book is the reveal that happened. I was so confused by the titles of the chapters throughout the entire story and found myself just giving up and thinking they were all apart of the same timeline. I had so many theories for what was going on so when the reveal happened I was like..."I did not even think of that." But I also wasn't losing my shit feeling like it was a grand reveal. I don't know if it's because we just got slammed with what happened to Monday & August and maybe I just wasn't able to process the twist. But it didn't leave me feeling any specific way and I feel like it was supposed to and that made me feel slightly unsatisfied.
But if anything that is an INCREDIBLY small part of this book when I enjoyed basically everything else about it. I mean I had a physical reaction to everything that happened to Monday & August. I had chills several times and cried too. Because I was just so...taken aback. I knew that Monday was either dead or a runaway but when it was revealed how she died-that her little brother suffered the same fate. It slapped me across the face hard.
If anything I hope people take something from this book and that more people pick it up. I think it talks about so much important subject matter while also telling people to basically speak the fuck up when shit happens. Not to ignore it until it's too late. Because if something had been done sooner, if action had been taken sooner, if people had listened-what happened in this book could've been prevented. I feel like I may be putting the spoilers in the wrong spots but I don't want to give away too much about what this story is about.
Anyway, I seriously enjoy Jackson's writing so much and the hard topics she puts into each one. She seriously is a great author and I want more people to check her out.
So oh boy where do I even start. So to give you an idea of what this book is about it follows a young black girl Claudia who has a best friend (Monday) who is constantly by her side and is legitimately like a sister to her. But when she gets back from a summer at her grandma's house and prepares to start 8th grade Monday is nowhere to be seen. No one seems to know where she is, and it feels as if people forgot that Monday even existed. With Claudia seeming to be the only one who is worried she does everything in her power to figure out where Monday is.
I thought this book was going to centrally focus on black women & girls going missing and the cases not being taken seriously and treated the way they should be treated. While I do feel this was a part of the story and also an important part of it-this book was SO MUCH MORE. It discussed community, gentrification, loss, and the fact that people rarely do what they should do in situations like these. It also discusses
But to give my thoughts on this book I want to say first off that I adored the family aspect of this book. I think that Claudia's relationship with her father and mother was just so wholesome, sweet, and warm. My heart melted several times with how touching particular scenes were and just how great Claudia's family was. Then to top it off
I want to say that this book is so important. I don't know how else to put it, I think it gave off very touching, warm, and happy vibes while also discussing something so serious and heartbreaking at the same time. I think Jackson did something great as she could've easily made this book entirely heavy with no bright lights in it. But she managed to make you feel happy for Claudia and for what she had while also feeling this deep visceral worry for what happened to Monday and why nobody seemed to care!? Also feeling impacted and upset for what was happening to others in this community not just Monday and her family.
I want to say that I also loved the use of color and the formatting in this book. I think it was interesting and I just loved Claudia's love of using colors to tell you how she felt or saw people in her life. As someone who loves art and has a passion for it I really thought this was a cool part of the story.
I also want to say that a lot of the flashbacks we witness made me picture things perfectly in my head. With how Monday & Claudia would spend their time and it was just perfect, and the atmosphere was set so well with each chapter and scene. It was simultaneously upsetting for some scenes and heartwarming for others.
But if anything that is an INCREDIBLY small part of this book when I enjoyed basically everything else about it. I mean I had a physical reaction to everything that happened to Monday & August. I had chills several times and cried too. Because I was just so...taken aback. I knew that Monday was either dead or a runaway but when it was revealed how she died-that her little brother suffered the same fate. It slapped me across the face hard.
If anything I hope people take something from this book and that more people pick it up. I think it talks about so much important subject matter while also telling people to basically speak the fuck up when shit happens.
Anyway, I seriously enjoy Jackson's writing so much and the hard topics she puts into each one. She seriously is a great author and I want more people to check her out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Murder