Thank you NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of Maame by Jessica George in return for my honest review.

I liked Maame, but I felt as though I didn’t quite fit into this book’s demographic. I was very touched by Maddie and her struggles to start living her life. She is a devoted daughter, living and taking care of her father who is suffering with Parkinson’s Disease, but she is really left all alone. Her mother spends most of her time in Ghana helping to run her family’s hostel, staying a year at a time. Her mother is tough and demanding, but she does love her daughter, she just doesn’t express her love well. Her brother, James, has abandoned all responsibility for his father, the family, and most importantly, his sister who needed him and his help. Even though he claims to have no money or time, he manages to take very good care of himself. Maddie was left with all of the financial burden, for her and her dad, and for her mother’s demands for money, and it’s very much the reason she works a job that she hates. Maddie starts to experience life when her mother returns and encourages her to do so, but not without her mother’s judgement. I found Maddie and her journey very relatable, but despite her being so sheltered, the Googling her innermost feelings and questions and her interactions with men made her too childlike, too naive, and less believable. That being said, I did enjoy her growth. I think I might have enjoyed this story even more if I was in my twenties. 3.5 stars.

This was an interesting book for both the cultural and family relationship aspects. I somehow found myself disliking Maddie to a certain degree yet still wanting to know what was going to happen to her next. There were times that I was laughing out loud and other times I wanted to cry. The story was complex and kept me intrigued right until the very last page.

Cultural differences vary from country to country and family to family. Maame is of Ghanaian descent but has spent most of her life in London. As the only daughter in her family, she is expected to care for her Father. As his illness worsens, Maame's life outside her home has even more restrictions. So when her mother returns to their home, Maame can make her escape. She moves into her own flat and makes many new friends. However, the life she thought she wanted does not give her the sense of freedom or the feeling of being an adult on her own. Instead, she finds that the traditions she once rebelled against are now part of who she is. A touching story of family and being satisfied with the life you have.

Maame by Jessica George is a really moving and honest debut novel. It follows Maddie, a young woman caring for her dad, who has Parkinson’s, while also trying to figure out her own life. It’s a relatable story about family, identity, and growing up. Maddie’s voice is what makes this book so special. She’s funny, real, and easy to connect with. As she deals with tough family stuff and her own struggles, you can’t help but root for her. The book touches on important topics like mental health and cultural expectations, but it’s never too heavy. Overall, Maame is a heartfelt, funny, and emotional read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

An emotional read about Maddie, or as her family calls her , Maame. She is the primary caregiver for her father, who has Parkinson’s. Meanwhile her mother spends most of her time out of country in Ghana, and her brother doesn’t seem to be available to help with the care of his father.

Maame tries hard to live up to her name her mother gave her at a young age , as Ma’am means “woman”, but in taking all this responsibility on, she is left feeling quite empty, unfulfilled and struggling.

This book presented the harsh reality that a caregiver for a chronically ill family member faces. Emotionally and physically. I felt so sad for Maame , and it left me angry to see her family members putting so much on her shoulders. They seem to have forgotten it takes a village ! I loved Maame. I wish I could have wrapped her in a hug, and lifted the weight of the world off her shoulders. I have to say , although there were moments her naivety made me laugh so hard, I loved the moments she was empowered and stood up for herself.

MAAME by Jessica George is the tale of a young lady who takes on adult responsibilities but is somewhat immature to matters concerning her personal development. Tasked with being a caregiver for her ailing father while her mother spends time away from the home, Maame bares the burden of taking care of everyone. When she is finally able to break free of those responsibilities, her naivety and guilt becomes the burden she takes on.

Watching Maame navigate between friendships, finding love and her awkward familial relationship was interested yet sometimes frustration. I wanted her to truly win but somehow, I didn’t get that.

A beautifully written coming-of-age novel about grief, culture, and identity. Maddie’s journey is tender, funny, and incredibly relatable. A must-read for fans of emotional, character-driven fiction.

This was such a great read! What Maddie had to go through on both the professional level and personal level were harrowing and relatable to me in ways that made me uncomfortable at times. This was a book I had to sit and let stew in a good way. It was a really good read. Especially if you happen to be a caretaker, or someone trying to get their life started, or someone who has already started and feels a little lost, or someone who has it all together. Highly recommend this book to pull you in just for a bit.

Maame is one of those books that will make you turn the lens on your own life, to evaluate if you are living to please others or for yourself. The story in this book will stick with me for a long time. Reading Maddie’s story, you see the responsibility that is placed on first born immigrant girls and how hard it makes navigating life. Maddie is in her mid twenties yet she is naive and has very little life experience. It was great seeing her branch out and living her own life and reading about her growth as a character.

This was a wonderful story and an extraordinarily good read. I got pulled in & could not put it down. I highly recommend. Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press (one of my all time favorite publishers) and the author Jessica George for the free ARC I was fortunate enough to receive.

DNF - I saw so many readers love this book & I wanted to as well but, I don't think we were a good match. I found much of this very tiring & trite & therefore did not endeavour to finish the whole book.

Catching up on an older arc. Wow. What a beautiful coming of age story. Ms. George’s writing is so captivating. She handles racism, grief and loss in a way that is heartbreaking and healing. The story has love and wit. I was immediately suck into Maddie’s life. I will be recommending this book to my book club.
Thank you #NetGalley, #StMartin’sPress, #JessicaGeorge and #Maame for the ebook for my honest review.

This was sweet, but ultimately not that memorable.

It explored themes of self discovery, mental health, and grief but in a lighthearted way. Not bad, but also didn’t strike me as a favorite.

I can see how the mid-20s existential crisis explored in this book can be super relatable and why this one became so popular a few years back. Yet, I didn’t find Maddie to be extraordinary as a character, and the secondary & tertiary characters were unmemorable to the point that I forgot all of their names.

A light read, and the audiobook was nice to listen to as well!

Thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the digital review copy!

Life got in the way and I could not finish the book. Thanks to the publishers for the chance to read the book.

Interesting coming of age story. Very much a character study of a young woman in England that is struggling with her modern views, and the responsibility thrust on her by her Ghanian mother. I could not stand her mother.

Tried this one again after DNFing it!
Really enjoyed this one! I should have read it so much sooner! But I don’t regret it. This maybe a new obsession! I love the characters, plot, etc.

enjoyed this story of Maddie, a British citizen born of Ghanian parents and who is torn between the old traditions of her family and modern life. She is the primary caretaker of her father who has Parkinson's as her mother is off in Ghana for a year at a time. This is a coming-of-age type of story, dealing with independence, grief, and forays into the dating world.

This is a coming-of-age story of a British-Ghanaian woman who finds herself at an intersection in her life and must take control of what is most important to her in the wake of the death of her father. It was a powerful story that had a lot of heart, The characters are very well developed and I loved cheering Maddie on and seeing her learn how to stand up for herself.

Maame is a beautifully written story about a young woman trying to forge her own path in a way that makes her and her family happy. Her relationship with her parents, her brother, and her self are real and honest. This book was so heartfelt, it truly affected me in a wonderful way.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
I do not think that I am in the right head space to continue reading this after the sex scene with Maddie and Ben.

CW: Possibly sexual assault??