Details

Length: 435
Story Build: slowly builds but is suspenseful 
Character development: solid with some lingering questions 
Age Recommendation: 8th grade (with parent knowledge), high school readers
Reasoning:, language, sexual content, abusive content, domestic abuse  

Summary and Review

Monday’s Not Coming is a modern day teen psychological thriller that is plotted out for the reader in a nonlinear fashion. The novel oscillates between three different time periods: Before the Before, the Before, and the After. While at times confusing, Jackson’s nontraditional storytelling allows the reader to remain in suspense and in the dark. At the core of the story is the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Monday, Claudia, our narrator’s best friend. After a summer away, Claudia is anxious to finish middle school and go to high school with Monday; however, Monday never shows up to school that first day. 

The novel follows Claudia’s relentless search for Monday, who, like Claudia, is growing up in Washington DC, but is less fortunate than Claudia’s family. Monday is one of four children with a mother who is questionable at best. The reader is given glimpses into what Monday’s fate might be but they are subtle and kept hidden for the majority of the book. 

The jumping around of the time periods allows Jackson to make the reader privy to the relationship between the girls and the struggles that Claudia has both in school and in her social life because of her reliance on Monday. Therefore, the disappearance of Monday does allow for some serious character growth for Claudia, which allows a deeper layer to the text (her learning disability and lack of independence are scenarios to which many can relate). 

Furthermore, it is important to note that Jackson states in her acknowledgments after the conclusion that this novel is for all the missing minority children: “Lastly, to missing children of color, we have not forgotten about you. We will continue to fight and give you a voice. You matter.”

I felt like Claudia’s persistence and determination were Jackson’s call to action for us—her readers, Americans, humanity, in general— to not forget those who need our voices in times of struggle. I think this is an important novel for that reason alone. 

Celebrations

Jackson’s characters are something to celebrate—especially Claudia, her friend Michael, and Claudia’s mother. They breathe such life into the novel and make you root for them. You want Claudia to be listened to when she is banging down Monday’s front door or inquiring about her friend’s whereabouts when speaking to school officials. Her perseverance is to be admired and used for inspiration for our own lives. We should want those who struggle to get the help they need; and actually, Claudia did need someone to do that for her, which was a beautiful piece of the novel, too. She had people who were doing what she was doing for Monday–caring enough to fight.

Hesitations

While I understood the way in which Jackson wrote her story when I got to the conclusion, I was, at times, confused by the nonlinear sequence of events. I understand why she created the story in this way, but I found myself questioning when these interactions or situations were occurring within the timeline of the story. However, I will say, the ending makes it more clear, and for young adult readers, the ending will be a surprise (which actually is a celebration!). I did leave the novel with some questions in regards to what happened and when, though…