Monday's Not Coming

Compare and contrast the personalities of Claudia and Monday. What are each girl’s strengths and weaknesses? How does Claudia struggle to define who she is in Monday’s absence?

Claudia has many interactions with adults in her search to find Monday. How does the perspective of a young girl shed light on adult behavior in the novel?

How is Washington, D.C., a character in the novel? How does the setting, including the history of Ed Borough, influence the plot?

Analyze how both Claudia and Monday came of age. What effect does abuse, and the presence or lack of adult supervision, have on the ways they mature? 

Claudia’s family moved north from the south. How do Ma’s roots affect her parenting?

Claudia and Monday invented a secret language in order to communicate with each other. Analyze its linguistic characteristics. How does it symbolize the bubble in which Claudia lived with Monday?

How does Claudia’s relationship to religion change as the novel progresses?

What breadcrumbs did Monday display, which should have motivated adults to take action after her disappearance? Why did adults ignore these breadcrumbs, preferring to look the other way?