Monday’s Not Coming

Claudia’s best friend, Monday, is missing, and she’s the only one who cares. Determined to find her friend, eighth-grader Claudia conducts an investigation into Monday’s disappearance, hindered by her age and naivety. The book is told from Claudia’s point of view, giving readers insight into her fear and confusion, as well as the love she has for her friend. There are multiple timelines: “The Before,” “The After,” “One Year Before the Before,” and “Two Years Before the Before.” By describing the past, Jackson paints a picture of Claudia’s friendship with Monday and highlights Claudia’s innocence before being exposed to this new reality.

Claudia is supported by her parents, who clumsily attempt to help her while keeping her sheltered from the harsh realities of life. They often become hindrances in Claudia’s investigation. She starts keeping secrets from her parents, another element of her loss of innocence and trust in the adults around her. Although Monday is not present in the current timeline, she is present throughout Claudia’s memories and is her motivation throughout. Claudia’s loneliness is exacerbated by her classmates, most of whom bully her, proving her need for Monday’s friendship. However, she does make a friend in Michael, a high schooler from her church, which eventually leads to her first romantic relationship. All of the characters, including Monday’s siblings and mother, play roles in Claudia’s investigation and in her coming of age.

The mystery of Monday propels the narrative, but the different timelines often become confusing. Claudia is an endearing narrator, although the reader often figures out clues and realizes answers before she does, which can be frustrating. There is a twist at the end, which simultaneously answers many questions and creates more unanswered questions. The ending invites a rereading, allowing us to look back at what might have been overlooked.

Monday’s Not Coming also deals with many dark themes, including child abuse and murder. Claudia is not only growing up as she faces the prospect of high school, but she is also becoming increasingly aware of the world around her, outside her idyllic childhood. She realizes the contrasts between her life and Monday’s, and her growing horror parallels the reader’s. Claudia and Monday’s story brings awareness to the reality of the many missing girls of color, and the importance of telling their stories, and not allowing people to slip through the cracks. While there is a strong sense of community in the story, it also serves as an indictment of how the community fails its members by trying to stay blissfully ignorant. Part coming-of-age, part mystery, Monday’s Not Coming will keep readers engaged as more twists and questions are revealed. As the reader begins to care about Monday, they too are invested in Claudia’s exciting, yet tragic eighth-grade year.

Sexual Content

• Monday describes making out with Jacob Miller, a boy she has a crush on. The kiss was the kind “when the guy puts his tongue in your mouth.”
• Jacob later claims that Monday “sucked [his] dick.”
• Claudia and Monday talk about sex. Claudia asks Monday, “did you . . . you know, do it?” Other characters talk about Monday and her sister, April, sleeping with people, but it is never graphically described.
• A boy says to April, Monday’s older sister, “You don’t even go to this school. You’re just here to get some dick.”
• Many of the classmates who bully Claudia and Monday do so through homophobia and speculating that the two girls are in a relationship. Monday and Claudia were sitting in a bathroom stall with Monday’s head in Claudia’s lap; someone takes a picture and spreads it through the school. Their classmates make references to sexual parts of their hypothetical relationship. “‘Cause in that PICTURE, look like Monday was the one licking your box”. “She did your homework and you ate her coochie.”
• Claudia and Michael become close friends and eventually get into a relationship. They kiss when Claudia is drunk, and she gets on her knees, but Michael stops her before anything else happens. They hug and kiss throughout their relationship.
• There are references to pregnancy, and Claudia’s mother has had multiple miscarriages. None of the main characters are pregnant.

 Violence

• Claudia and Monday get into a fight with Jacob Miller, a boy with whom Monday is briefly involved but who eventually betrays her. The fight included punching, scratching, and shoving. “He shoved Monday into a locker, pinning her. [Monday] screamed, tackling his back like a monkey, hitting his head with my balled-up fists…I dug my freshly painted nails deep in his neck and scratched.” Claudia later accuses Jacob: “It was Jacob . . . he was biting her!”
• A group of girls bullies Claudia; she tries to punch one of them but misses. Shayla, one of the bullies, shoves Claudia, and “Shayla propped me up like a doll, shoving my head toward the nasty toilet bowl.”
• There are references to child abuse, both vague and explicit, along with references to neglect. “Monday, August, and her sisters were taken out of the house for neglect.” Claudia says, “See, I’d seen a couple [bruises] on Monday, here and there. But I’d never given them much thought.” Claudia worries about Monday’s well-being, and questions her multiple times about bruises and bitemarks on her body. “Finally, with a sigh, [Monday] pulled back the collar of her shirt, exposing her chewed-up shoulder.”
• There are graphic descriptions of dead bodies, including the bodies of dead children. One child, “had been in that freezer for a year and a half.”
• There are also descriptions of children being murdered. In a recording from Monday’s mom, she describes killing Monday’s little brother August: “I choked him, putting my hands around his throat. He fought until his eyes started rolling back, and then he was dead.” April also describes putting Monday’s body in the freezer: “Stupid freezer was already half full with August. Wouldn’t close right since Monday was so tall.”

Drugs and Alcohol

• Claudia gets drunk at a party. After she drinks a “nasty brown drink” that is given to her. She’s not sure what it is at first.

Language

• Profanity is used regularly. Profanity includes: ass, damn, dyke, fuck, hoe/ho, motherfucker, and shit.
• Other derogatory language is used, especially homophobic language and language that insults Claudia’s intelligence. For example, a classmate says, “You dummy, everyone’s been finished. Why you so slow?”

Supernatural

• Claudia imagines Monday’s ghost, but it’s not real.

Spiritual Content

• Claudia goes to church with her family. She also prays for her grades to get lost in the mail.

by Abigail Clark