Pencil Perfect LLC

Monday’s Not Coming, a 2019 Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award for New Talent, penned by Tiffany D. Jackson is haunting, especially the ending. I don’t usually do Thrillers; I happen upon them accidentally. But once I’m in, I’m in for the duration.

The story so enthralled me that I couldn’t put it down even though everything in me said, “This is not what you want.” Anytime you read a book about teens and preteens struggling with life, society, family, and/or abuse, it’s hard, right? because you instinctively want to save them. You know something unmentionable is coming, but even your best guesses won’t prepare you for what’s waiting for you at the end of this page-turner.

The 13-year-old, first-person perspective, is Claudia James, who lives in DC with her “got it together” parents. Readers will instantly fall in love with her resilience but quiet resolve. Sometimes, the reader will want to laugh with her, cry with her, and celebrate with her will to discover the truth about her friend, Monday Charles. Monday, the best friend every girl needs—a little bit suburban and a whole lot of hood. She knows just enough about the streets to protect your innocence but not enough about it to save herself from Monsters that don’t just lurk in the dark and underneath beds. Claudia and Monday are best friends, sisters who stand together against bullies, rumors, and indifference.

This is my first Tiffany Jackson book, but not my last. Her characters are multifaceted and true to life. She writes in a poetic, street voice that pulls you along and helps you understand the intricacies of 13-year-old girls. When I think about Jackson’s style of writing, her play with flashbacks and foreshadowing intertwined with the twists and turns of suspense symbolizes a traumatized brain pushed to the brink of insanity.

I give it five pies out of five.