Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

 

I first came across Monday's Not Coming on a trip through the young adult section of Barnes and Noble a few years ago. I was drawn in by the striking red cover, and intrigued by the description on the back. I picked it up not realizing that I already had another Tiffany D. Jackson novel, Allegedly, sitting on my shelf at home, unread. What can I say? I guess I like the way Jackson writes summaries. I ended up reading Allegedly first, at the start of this year, and liked it well enough. I was really into the dark, gritty story for the majority of the book, but was disappointed by the twist ending that I felt undercut the novel's messaging. As I got started reading Monday's Not Coming, I was curious to see if I would feel the same about the ending in this one, or if I would have a different experience. 

The plot of the novel follows Claudia, a thirteen year old girl living in Washington D.C. At the start of the story, Claudia returns from a summer vacation out of state to find that her best and only friend, Monday Charles, has disappeared. She doesn't turn up at school once the new year starts, and her phone number has been disconnected. Claudia is frantic with worry; Monday was a sister to her and they did almost everything together. She knows that she wouldn't just leave without saying something. She goes to several adults for help, including her parents, teachers, Monday's mother, and even the police. Each time, she is brushed off as if nothing is wrong. Her parents tell her that Monday is either busy or just cooling on their friendship, her teachers tell her that she withdrew from school, Monday's mother tells her she is staying with her father in Maryland, and the police tell her that since no one filed a missing person's report for Monday, there's nothing they can do.

Undeterred by this frustrating lack of help, Claudia continues her search for her friend. Eventually, all of her persistence pays off and she starts to uncover some disturbing information that points towards Monday being in real trouble. Thinking back over the course of their friendship, she begins to realize that there were a lot of signs that Monday was struggling with serious issues at home that she didn't pick up on. As she keeps digging, some of this trouble starts to creep into her own life, putting her in danger. She will stop at nothing to find Monday though, even it it means defying her parents, and risking her own safety.

I enjoyed this novel quite a bit. I was very engaged while reading and I ended up finishing the story quickly because I was so interested in finding out what happened to Monday. Much like in Allegedly, Jackson touches on several social issues within the text and doesn't soften her subject matter for her young audience. The harsh realities of poverty, abuse, and systemic racism are unflinchingly explored and Claudia finds herself in some truly harrowing situations throughout the story. The novel is divided up into sections discussing the past and the present, and the flashbacks to Monday and Claudia's friendship do a nice job of giving good background details and highlighting the warning signs that showed something was wrong with Monday long before she disappeared. There were a few instances where I thought that Claudia was a little too naïve when it came to Monday's obvious distress, but I could forgive those moments in the interest of storytelling. 

I thought that the novel's best theme concerned which kinds of kids tend to attract attention from adults. Monday, a young Black girl living in poverty, is allowed to slip through the cracks with alarming ease. Most people have no idea she's missing until Claudia brings it up, and even when social services and the police are alerted, no one is in a hurry to help. They are overwhelmed with other cases and are unable to make time for another kid. It is probable that a wealthier kid, a kid living in a better neighborhood, or a whiter kid wouldn't suffer the same treatment. I liked that the novel drew attention to this idea. 

Much like in Allegedly, there is a twist at the end of this story. Also much like in Allegedly, I felt like the twist was unnecessary. It wasn't quite as clear as I would have wished it to be either. Once I knew what it was and thought back across the events of the book, I still couldn't piece together an accurate timeline, which is exactly what I said in my Allegedly review. What was better about the twist in Monday's Not Coming though, was that it didn't undercut the overall message of the story. So while I didn't love the ending, it wasn't actively harmful to the novel. I do wish that Jackson could resist slipping in these surprise endings - her writing is strong enough to play it straight.

Ultimately, I really did enjoy Monday's Not Coming. It was a dark, emotional, and gut-wrenching reading experience. Jackson did a nice job incorporating a lot of social issues into the story and the novel left me with a lot to think about beyond just the events of the plot. It hit me a little bit different because as a teacher, I see a lot of kids with tough home lives that end up being absent quite a bit, often for long stretches of time. It's disturbingly easy for these kind of at-risk kids to slip through the cracks and disappear. It's a sobering thought, and I appreciate Jackson bringing some attention to this issue through her story. This probably isn't a novel that I would choose to reread, so I'm going to add it to my donate stack and let someone else discover it. I do think it was a worthwhile and engaging read though. I preferred it to Allegedly and I'm glad I gave it a shot. 

Challenge Tally

Clear the Shelves 2021: 9/50 (donate)

Total Books Read in 2021: 16