Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

26 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. Read through the night. Couldn’t put it down. Have taken out all the author’s other books from the library. Horrible story that needed to be told with the bravest child at the center of it all. This is a book  that can change you, if that’s something you’re willing to allow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

kyrstin_p1989's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Well, that was not at all what I expected! This is not my favorite book by Jackson, mostly because of the back and forth time structure that was somewhat difficult to follow. I think the plot was shocking, revolting, and honest and the characters were gritty and real. This story would be a good read for hesitant teen readers because of its’ short chapters and engaging content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

w3nda1's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Vomit, and Sexual harassment

flower_mail's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest and Dementia

Minor: Biphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racial slurs

francisko's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual harassment

januaryghosts's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, and Racism

Minor: Vomit

ayuming_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I didn’t take the reviews seriously enough when they called this book heartbreaking. 
It felt like my soul was being crunched up like gravel as the ending drew closer.

This was such a frustrating read. And it’s done on purpose to make you feel frustrated and helpless because it’s just so enraging that no one seems to care that this child has just vanished. 

The way the story is told by changing between past and present was a nice touch, made more so once the big reveal happened.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Sexism

mepresley's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I really enjoyed this novel and found it to be a page-turner. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened. Jackson does a fantastic job building suspense, even when the reader knows more than our narrator, Claudia. She also does really well with capturing the voice and mindset of a young teenager. Claudia lacks confidence and is self-absorbed, though she’s also a very sympathetic character.

We see this youthful naïveté principally through Claudia’s blindness to the glaring signs that Monday is being abused, and through Claudia being stuck in the denial and anger stages of grief about Monday’s disappearance, focusing more for most of the narrative on Monday leaving her and the effects that has on Claudia than on concern for Monday’s well-being. It’s extremely human of her.

Jackson deftly weaves the narrative, jumping back and forth in time, and paints a vivid picture of the soul sister —Claudia’s words—friendship between Claudia and Monday.

I knew that

Monday was dead from the start, though I admit that Jackson got me to question it when Tuesday was talking about playing with Monday, even though Monday spent so much time in the closet, and when the social worker reported back to the school that he had seen Monday. At that point, my main theory was that Monday had gotten pregnant and her mom was hiding it by keeping Monday essentially as a hostage in the house. I was surprised at the We Were Liars-style twist: Claudia’s extreme mental health issues and amnesia even in the face of having been told the truth repeatedly—that she has been doing this same song and dance (appropriate metaphor—idiom?—given that Claudia and Monday love dance) for two years.

The ending was a lovely tribute to Monday, and reminded me quite a bit of the touching final dance with Sam and Jules in one of my favorite YA novels ever, A Time for Dancing.

Ultimately, I was frustrated that

we didn’t get to see more of Monday’s journal.

I was a little confused as to when

the bodies were recovered from the freezer and the funeral was held. Did that happen two years ago even though it seemed to be essentially in the present day?

 

Oh, I also love that we see Claudia’s immense growth

as a writer, from before we even know about her dyslexia; she’s composing this entire story as a kind of therapy exercise, and she does a beautiful job.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, and Sexual harassment

3littlewordz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Broke. My. Heart. This is one of those books where you have a pretty strong idea of what is going to happen in the first few chapters and you spend the rest of the book bracing for the moment it happens? This was me reading Monday's Not Coming.

This story devastatingly demonstrates what happens when a community is disconnected and everyone "minds their own business". Claudia fought and fought and FOUGHT for everyone to believe that her best friend was missing, and the adults were so caught up in either ignoring what was right in front of their faces or thinking someone else would handle it. Two children were murdered and no one found them for months and months! Claudia's mental breakdown after the discovery of the bodies was jarring (as those experiences usually are) and I was a bit disoriented trying to figure out where we were in the timeline.

 

I usually appreciate dual timelines, but the two in this book were incredibly close, so at times it was difficult differentiating between before and after the discovery. 

Strong themes of child abuse, poverty, gentrification, and failing social services are pervasive throughout this story. PLEASE review the content warnings! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Miscarriage, Violence, and Abandonment

emilyepew's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is unbelievably heartbreaking. It is such a raw portrayal of the things that affect poor communities every single day. I still think about the resolution of this book regularly and I feel so deeply for the kids in this book. Stunningly well written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying and Sexual harassment