Claudia Coleman and Monday Charles are two 13-year old girls living in Southeastern Washington D.C.; a tough area where eviction is rampantly taking place and the youths of the area are doing their best to find opportunity for betterment. The two girls couldn’t come from more different households; Claudia comes from a loving, stable and supportive home where her parents genuinely care about her education and her involvement in dance and their church. Monday comes from an abusive and dysfunctional family, living with her sociopathic mother, two sisters and brother in a rundown, grungy townhouse. Because of this, Monday has become a prominent figure in the Coleman household and a lifeline for Claudia, to the point where the two girls only have each other as friends at school. Each summer, Claudia travels down south to visit her grandma in Georgia. While she’s away, the girls usually write each other letters – but the summer before 8th grade is different. Claudia hasn’t heard from her best friend at all. When she doesn’t show up for school, Claudia knows something just isn’t right and begins digging, asking questions, and tirelessly looking for her best friend. Because no one else is.
I thought this book was chilling, not only because of the ending, when what happened to Monday is revealed, but because these kinds of instances actually occur. Thousands of girls, specifically African American, Latina, Native American, and other girls of color, go missing every year. And what’s the general consensus? “Oh, they run away because they come from tough households.” But that is not always the case, and making assumptions that it is is ignorant and cowardly. Claudia was so brave and undeterred in her pursuit of the truth. Though her actions wouldn’t have been able to change the outcome, the lack of urgency by Social Services, the police, the school, and her own family to pursue Claudia’s suspicions was infuriating and distressing. I wish I could write more about my thoughts on this book, but I don’t want to give anything pivotal away. This is one I would highly, highly recommend and will definitely be looking for to put in my classroom library. 5 stars, hands down.
If this sounds like an interesting read, you can find a copy at:
I am so intrigued by the premise of this book. Just added it to my order. Thanks for the tip.
It’s definitely a good one for students in the middle grades 🙂 Happy reading!