Monday's Not Coming

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2018

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Character Analysis

Claudia Coleman

Claudia is the main character from whose perspective the story is told. She is 14 when Monday Charles, her best friend, dies, and she is 16 when the novel ends. Because of shyness and a learning disability (dyslexia), Claudia has only one friend: Monday. Claudia loves to dance; she and Monday spent hours choreographing routines together. She is also very attached to colors, a characteristic of her learning disability, and sees everything in their shades. (Her father buys her intricate coloring books because coloring helps her anxiety.)

When Monday disappears, Claudia is the only one who grasps the gravity of the situation. She desperately tries to get adults to help her find Monday with minimal success. Not even her parents comprehend that Monday is in mortal danger. All the while, Claudia must figure out who she is without her friend. She becomes close to a boy from church, Michael, with whom she develops a romantic relationship.

After Monday’s body is found, Claudia has periods of dissociation, where she thinks Monday may still be alive. Because of this, her family pulls her out of public school, and she works with a private tutor. Her parents encourage her to continue dancing, and dancing helps Claudia find who she is without Monday. Her upcoming dance recital scaffolds the plot in the “After” sections, showing how Claudia moves forward even as she flashes back to the friend she doesn’t realize is gone.

Monday Charles

Monday is Claudia’s best friend who has disappeared, to the indifference of all except Claudia. A foil to Claudia in many ways, Monday is an excellent reader and writer. She is outgoing and brave, where Claudia is shy and a homebody. Monday loves to dance, although she can’t afford the classes that Claudia takes, and she has a magnetic quality. Claudia recognizes Monday as red because of her vivacity and boldness.

Monday also lives in an abusive household. She often comes to school battered, dissociated, hungry, and dirty. Her sister, April, performs sex work for clothes and food. Monday cares for her younger siblings, Tuesday and August, until August disappears.

Because of the gentrification of their neighborhood and the distrust of government sown by the process, Monday fears separation from her family and doesn’t reach out to authorities for help. She also doesn’t tell Claudia about the abuse she and her siblings suffer at the hands of their mother.

Many characters remark how similar Monday and Claudia look. They consider each other soul mates.

Ma (Janet Coleman)

Claudia’s mother is a southerner who is still uncomfortable living in the city. As someone who takes motherhood very seriously, Ma is a constant, often overprotective presence in Claudia’s life. She always wanted more children, but multiple miscarriages made that impossible. After months of minimizing Claudia’s concerns, she eventually goes to Mrs. Charles’s house and initiates the final investigation that leads to the discovery of Monday’s and August’s bodies.

Daddy

Claudia’s father drives a truck for a car dealership, delivering cars to dealerships across the country. He plays the congas in a go-go band and is a source of healthy support for Claudia.

Mrs. Charles

Mrs. Charles is the mother of Monday, April, August, and Tuesday. Although she seemed more stable, if strict, earlier in her children’s lives, she becomes increasingly erratic and abusive, possibly addicted to both alcohol and crack. Her paranoia about the government is heightened by the looming gentrification of their neighborhood. She eventually murders two of her children without remorse.

Michael

Michael is a boy from Claudia’s church and Claudia’s love interest. He used to be overweight but is now a very attractive young man. He is very community oriented; everyone likes Michael and respects him. Michael takes Claudia under his wing after Monday is found. He never pressures her and does everything he can to support and encourage Claudia, even as he knows that Claudia is confused about Monday’s death.

April Charles

April is Monday's older sister. Because of their mother’s neglect and abuse, April performs sex work, so she can pay for food and clothing for her siblings. She has a bad reputation at school, where people question her character without understanding her perilous situation. Although Claudia defends April, she also envies April’s closeness with Monday; April and Monday share knowledge to which Claudia isn’t privy.

April assists her mother by putting both Monday’s and August’s bodies in the freezer; she fears she may have been the one who actually caused Monday’s death. She is deeply traumatized by these events but seeks therapy and is on the road to healing by the novel’s end.