A review by motypeandroid
Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Finished this book yesterday or the day before I can't really remember. When I read it, I was really invested in the story and what happened to Monday, and I felt like it was interesting to see Claudia grow to realize that just because she shared her entire life didn't mean that Monday felt comfortable doing the same. Sometimes while reading I felt a level of discomfort I couldn't really place, but at the end of the day, I kept reading until it was done because I really did want to see where it was going. Overall, I thought it was good (not groundbreaking, but good) and left it at that. 
What I wasn't expecting is that today I would be scrolling on tiktok and happen to get a video about the Mitchelle Blair case, and before the video was even over I went to look up if the book was based on it. I didn't find anything definitive but many people who were already familiar with the case beforehand (I realized many were, but I wasn't, as I really steered clear of true crime the majority of my life since it would just upset me) and that it impacted how they felt about the story, especially bc they could tell where it was going. 
I don't like the idea of using a real story like this to make a fictional story, even if it is to start up conversations. It would be one thing if it were similar, especially when the point of the book is to highlight how much stuff like this happens and goes overlooked for long periods of time, but to take so much from a specific incident to the point of mirroring that real-life trial...that doesn't sit right with me. I'm going to research the case and make my final decision on the book after, but that...I really don't like that at all.
edit: did some research on the case and yeah...miss jackson was kind of tasteless with the amount of things she lifted from that case like. this is not "loosely inspired" it is directly depicting it. i'm actually really mad now like girl what the hell.

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