I listened to this as an audiobook narrated by Imani Parks.
The voice of the person reading for an audiobook is so important to the experience and this was so well done. 5⭐ for that part.
The story...wow, just so much more than I thought it was going to be. I went into this not knowing that much about it, just that it was about a young girl with a missing best friend and no one wanting to listen to her and help her find her friend. And it was..but damn it was so much more.
CW for major mentions of abuse and neglect of children.
Claudia has a best friend names Monday. They have been best friends almost forever. Claudia and Monday usually exchange letters over the summer, when Claudia goes to stay with her grandma and Monday stays in DC. But this time no letters came. And then school starts. And Monday doesn't show up. And the next day still no Monday. And not the day after that or the day after that. And Claudia knows something is wrong. But she can't get anyone to believe her. Without Monday nothing feels right and nothing works. She has no other friends and is struggling in school, so how is she supposed to go on? And why won't anyone help? Where is Monday? And as she tries to get answers her life also kind of has to move on.
The story is told in a back and forth in time style. There is the before, the after, and the before the before. In this fashion the story begins to unfold.
Their friendship and struggles are laid out in the before the before.
Trying to get someone to listen and trying to find out what happened to Monday is the before.
And after Monday is found is the part of the story we get in the after. And this is the part that I didn't see coming. The entire story is one long gut punch and heart shredding tale. But the after is just so much more. And I can't tell you more or give any specifics, it really needs to be experienced.
This was my first book by Tiffany but I plan on adhering her to my must read no matter what list of authors. The story is so raw and beautiful and ugly and real and devastating. There is love and loss and hope and pain. I will be thinking about and feeling this one for a really long time.
5⭐ for the story too.
(Finished April 27, 2021)
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