Monday’s Not Coming. Tiffany D. Jackson. 2018. Katherine Tegen Books. 432 pages. [Source: public library.]
Friendships during your teen years can often feel like a lifeline when you’re navigating home, school, hormones, and the rest that comes with transitioning from a kid to a young adult. That is absolutely the reality for Claudia and Monday, best friends who are on the brink of 8th grade. Although their home lives are markedly different, the two are kindred spirits facing life together.
That changes when Claudia returns to Washington, D.C. from her annual summer vacation to Georgia. Despite promises, Monday hasn’t written a single letter and doesn’t show up for school for months. No one notices, no one looks, and no one cares about Monday’s disappearance except Claudia. Early in the book, Claudia asks: “How can a whole person, a kid, disappear and no one say a word?” This is central to the plot of the book, which follows Claudia in her pursuit of the truth about where Monday’s been.
With Monday’s Not Coming, Jackson has given a voice to stories that often go unheard. Missing black girls and women do not get the same media coverage as other demographics, though their absence is no less troubling. I found it poignant that this story is set in Washington, D.C., which has had several high profile incidents of missing black girls, so much so that it sparked a hashtag, #missingDCgirls in 2017. Jackson’s careful examination of what happened to Monday was like peeling an onion, showing how someone can fall through the cracks, even when seemingly under heightened scrutiny. She sheds light not just on school officials, but also social services, law enforcement, and local communities’ roles in addressing issues around child welfare.
Jackson’s writing style in Monday’s Not Coming can be confusing, but is clearer on a second read. She tells the story chronologically, but hops back and forth in time by month and year. In so doing, she sheds light on the girls’ friendship, Monday’s disappearance and the search for her, and Claudia’s response to the truth. Admittedly, I didn’t understand it completely on the first read. But going back with clarity allowed me to see the skill in Jackson’s approach. Things I hadn’t picked up on the first time were glaring, and the theme of “breadcrumbs” became even more apparent.
Monday’s Not Coming strikes close to home — as a parent of a young black girl approaching Claudia and Monday’s age, I couldn’t help but put myself in the shoes of people throughout this book. I constantly asked myself how I would respond in a similar scenario. This isn’t an easy read by any stretch of the imagination. It was frustrating, angering, and heartbreaking. Nonetheless, it is a story that needs to be more widespread and is so critical in highlighting what is not uncommon in communities around the world.
Monday’s Not Coming is an emotional read, but so necessary. It is filled with suspense and angst about how a child could disappear with so little attention called to them. But more than that, it offers a critique of systems put in place to protect children and how they can so readily fail at their purpose. As with her previous release, Allegedly, Jackson has presented a book that lacks a neat, happily-ever-after but instead forces you to open your eyes and think.
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