A Month of Mondays

Anthony, Joëlle. A Month of Mondays. 2017. 336p. ISBN 978-1-77260-026-1. Available at FIC ANT on the library shelves.

At 13, Suze Tamaki’s life is nothing special. A middle school student relegated to regular English classes with the burnouts and the lazies, Suze lives with her father and her seventeen-year-old hockey-loving sister Tracie in a dingy and small apartment in a nondescript building. Suze’s mother, Caroline, left them and moved to Vancouver when Suze was three, and she has had no contact with her since, aside from a monthly child support check that doesn’t even cover the basic expenses.

Imagine her surprise, then, when she is contacted by Caroline, who has just moved back to Victoria for her work and who wishes to establish a relationship with her daughters, after more than ten years away. Tracie is deadly set against even meeting with her mother for reasons of her own, and is mad at Suze for even contemplating this possibility. Her father is also lukewarm to the idea, while her aunt Jean, who has acted more as Suze’s mother than Caroline ever did, is not happy that Caroline has returned in her nieces’ lives. Only uncle Bill takes Caroline’s side and agrees that Suze should give her a chance.

As if this is not already life changing, Suze gets transferred to Mr. Baker’s Honors English class so she can work with her friend Amanda on a presentation to the school board regarding the elimination of the school custodians’ positions and their replacement by cheaper subcontractors. Already known to be a troublemaker at school, Suze’s new project runs afoul of Principal Farbinger and leads to more scrutiny. Somehow, Suze’s normal life has become more like a month of consecutive Mondays.

Suze has never cared before, neither for school nor for her mother, but now she finds herself intrigued by the possibilities. With best friends Leah, Jessica and Amanda at her side, Suze is ready to take the plunge and see if she can trust her mother not to abandon her again while reaching excellence in her English class.