Monday's Not Coming: A review
 

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson is a novel about the power of friendship. The novel focuses on Claudia and Monday who are best friends. One year, Monday goes missing but Claudia seems to be the only person who notices and she spends her time trying to figure out where her friend went and she tries to get the adults in her life to do something more to find Monday.

This novel was beautifully heartbreaking. The love that Claudia had for Monday was inspiring and it was just as heartbreaking seeing Claudia struggle with Monday being gone and knowing that the adults in her life didn't seem to care to figure out where she went. I felt that the writing in this novel brought the characters to life. While I listened to the book it felt like I was sitting with the characters and experiencing their emotions. I found myself frustrated with the adults in this book because none of them seemed to be listening to Claudia when she said that Monday wouldn't just disappear.

The one thing that might detract from this novel is the format. The chapters were told during various points in time and were labeled 'Before', 'Before the Before' and 'After'. I feel that there are probably people who would read this and end up getting confused by this format but I feel that the more you read the more sense it makes for the author to have chosen to label the chapters in this manner.

This novel deals with a lot of tough topics such as violence and bullying and some discussion about sex. It has some strong language but I didn't feel that it detracted from the novel. If you are someone that struggles with books that feature violence this might not be the best book for you.

There were so many things about this novel that I loved but I think what I liked the most was how Monday and Claudia stuck by each other despite a lot of bullying they faced. The bullies in their life were so cruel and targeted them, partially, because of how close they were. However, they tried really hard to stick together. The other thing I really enjoyed about this novel was how much Claudia loved Monday. She was told numerous times to let go of the fact that her friend was missing but she chose not to.

This novel ended up hitting me hard and I know it's one that will stick with me for a long time. This novel also made me want to continue reading more by this author. I am hoping she will publish something new this year or early next year. She has another novel but I didn't like it as much as I liked Monday's Not Coming.

I ended up giving this novel a 5 star rating and I don't rate a ton of books 5 stars. I recommend this novel to anyone who likes books that deal with tough topics or if you are someone who enjoys books about the power of friendship.