I love this book. I wish everyone I knew would read it too.
I don't typically love character-driven books but I absolutely adored George's writing. Maddie is SUCH a relatable character, I found myself highlighting passages more than any other book.
Thank you so much for this copy to review! I will definitely be reading more of George's works in the future.

Maame was a delight to read- traversing grief, loneliness, love, and learning with depth and lightness all at once. As the main character, Maddie, develops confidence and finds her voice, so does the plot, becoming stronger as the story continues. Maddie is a singular personality, completely unique, nuanced, and relatable.

A good book, not worth all the hype and honestly I probably would have thought higher of it if I had read it randomly without the hype. It was good it just had a little bit of a beginner feel but a very promising start for a first novel.

I tried multiple times to pick up this book, although I loved the cover I did not enjoy the writing of this novel.
It has rave reviews on NetGalley, so although it wasn’t for me, I’m glad others were able to connect to the story as the synopsis did initially appeal to me.
Thank you NerGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a chance to read this ARC.

Maddie, known as Maame by her family, is a young woman of Ghanaian descent making her way in London while being the sole caregiver for her father with Parkinson's. Her dead-end job and family responsibilities make it difficult for her to date, have friends, and pursue her dream of a job in publishing. Maddie's mother returns from Ghana for an intermittent stay and suggests she move out and live her own life while her mother takes over as the family caregiver.

I greatly enjoyed this novel. Maddie's situation was extremely stressful and stifling for such a young person, and I was pulling for her to get out and experience life without so much guilt. Her dating mishaps and job woes were very relatable. The additional difficulties she experienced as a black woman in those arenas gave me pause as she astutely considered the motives and perceptions of those around her.

This story also touched on themes of familial obligation. Maddie was always the responsible one, and as such, her mother and brother continued to expect her to do the heavy lifting. She was in a difficult spot, and her contentious relationship with her mother went through a transformation as Maddie went forth and spread her wings.

Treat yourself to this honest and hopeful story of personal growth and discovery. You'll cheer Maddie on as she pursues her hopes and dreams with her own brand of cautious optimism.

Maggie lives at home, takes care of her ailing father, works at a job where she isn't respected, and struggles to find any purpose or independence in her life. Her mother lives abroad in Ghana much of the time and her brother is living his own life away from the family. Her father's health and their family finances fall entirely on Maggie to manage. When the opportunity arises for her to move out on her own, she jumps at the chance to start over as a new Maggie. This new life obviously comes with some big ups and downs that she has to work through.

I love so much about this book. This book goes deep on some heavy topics like depression, sex, death, and racism. The topics are so important and so beautifully handled by George. Maggie's struggles are real and raw. It's hard being a 20-something woman trying to find your way in the world. Throw on top of that everything else that Maggie has to deal with and I could feel her emotions pouring out of the page.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book.

This is a must-read! I loved every page of this book. Maddie is so endearing, and you can’t help but root for her as she tries a series of “firsts” (dating, finding flatmates, going clubbing, and pot brownies, to name a few). She is the perfect example of a woman who was forced to grow up too quickly, and is finally making time for herself. Her struggles were believable and at times I wanted to cry along with her. When something made her happy, it made ME happy. I watched her make mistakes and grow from them, and ultimately find a voice for her own desires.
This is also an important book regarding race, family, and culture. It’s often that Maddie finds herself as the only Black person in the room, and reading about how that felt was really educational for me. It’s so easy to pretend not to see micro-aggressions and casual racism, but this ultimately reminds you that it’s something that should always be called out. I also really enjoyed learning about Ghanaian culture, and there’s definitely a few recipes I’d like to look up.
There is a strong religious element in this book. Usually that would bother me, but not in this story. Religion is part of who Maddie is, and to leave that out would be to leave a piece of her behind. It just worked, and it wasn’t preachy or too much. It was just her. However, if religion is a big trigger, maybe steer clear.
This book will make you feel all the feelings - frustration, aching sadness, absolute joy, and even peace. I recommend it with all my heart.

I loved this book! It was a coming of age story for a young Black woman. Her life was so complicated because of her family’s situation. The feelings in this book were tangible and really pulled at my heart strings. There is an element of found family which I love in a book.

The story does deal with a parent struggling with debilitating illness, and this part really resonated with me. The writing was so strong.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Jessica George, and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I've been seeing so much buzz about Maame, and I'm thrilled to say that it lived up to all of its hype! This was a beautifully heartbreaking story that enamored me from the very beginning. Part coming-of-age, part study on grief, I resonated so much with Maddie throughout. My life looks very different from hers in many ways, but George perfectly captured many big feelings of being 25. Maddie was loveable, sincere, and relatably flawed while being a narrator I rooted for until the end. George's writing style is absolutely stunning as well, and I am shocked that this is a debut novel for her. I already anticipate reading whatever she comes out with next. My only and biggest complaint overall is that the book felt a little disjointed at times due to its short nature (hence me rounding down to 4 stars instead of up to 5 from my true rating of 4.5). I was confused at first why I had seen so many people say it was an emotional read because the book is so strictly a more "fun" coming-of-age read focused on a young woman moving out for the first time and trying new things for the first half. Then it takes a sharp turn into grief, depression, and finding who you are through difficult familial situations and trauma. I feel like the book could have benefitted from a bit more blending of these two topics, and I would have liked to see more overall examination of Maddie's relationships with both her Mom and James as well. The ending was wrapped up a little too nicely for my liking (and I think Maddie came about to self-realization a lot quicker than I would expect to happen in real life), but for the book, it did work overall and probably works more for the audience as a whole than it did me. This was a great read as a whole that will be sticking with me for a while.

Full disclosure- I did not finish all the way before my copy expired but immediately purchased my own copy to finish!

UPDATE: 3.5 stars. Maddie felt like the little sister I never had throughout this book. I just wanted to give her a hug and have a good talk the whole time. I also thought all the characters were really well thought out and fleshed out, even down to the first terrible boss who’s only in the first chapters of the book. My issue with this was the pacing. What felt like should have taken months was crammed into a few weeks. Half the action seemed to be going too fast (online dating, finding a therapist) while the other half too slow (funeral planning).

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins for an opportunity to read this e-ARC!

REVIEW: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
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READ IF YOU-
⚡️Enjoy self-discovery stories
⚡️Love characters that “hop-off” the pages
⚡️Enjoy thought-provoking subjects
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This book is easily now one of my favorite reads. It is an engaging and powerful novel that will take you on a whirlwind of emotions with the most lovable character leading the way.
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Maddie or “Maame” is a London born daughter to Ghanaian immigrants who is the primary caretaker of her father who has Parkinson’s. When her mum returns from Ghana, Maddie is ready to take on new adventures never experienced before.
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A sweet, sad, humorous, heartfelt book that will leave you with the question, are you truly where you belong?
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If you’ve read it, what did you think?! 🌟
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A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing the ARC!
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Loved this book and the main character Maddie. A great story of moving away from home and starting to find yourself. Relationships between parents and adult children are complicated and the author did a wonderful job pulling those apart.

Maddie is an absolute gem. She is basically a saint and to meet her is to love her. I enjoy d joining her in her journey, and learning about life along with her. However, I am very mad at her mother and brother- they seriously suck. As does Jo and a few others. I guess not everyone is perfect and Maddie’s acceptance of this, and my apparent refusal, is one of many reasons I adored this book.
Thank you NetGalley for this wonderful read.

Thanks to @stmartinspress + @macmillanusa for the publicity review copy - Maame is already out {and a #ReadWithJenna pick if that's your jam}

I loved every single page of Maddie's story in Maame. From her relationship with her family to her struggles at work to dating and friendship as well Maddie's Ghanaian culture and her grapplings with racism.

I did not want this one to end and cannot wait to read what Jessica George writes next.

Maame, aka Madeleine “Maddie” Wright, age twenty-five, lives in her parents’ home in London, works at an administrative assistant job she hates, and spends the rest of her time caring for her father who suffers from late-stage Parkinson’s Disease. In Twi, “Maame” means many things, including mother, woman, and “bring up a child with love and care.” In Maddie’s case, she has had to grow up too fast and is an old soul, a grown woman even as a child who was forced to take care of herself. Her mother returned to Ghana when she was twelve to run her grandfather’s hostel after he passed away, staying for a year at a time while making excuses that her brother could not be trusted with the hostel. Knowing Maddie was always smart with money, calls to her in London often had to do with her mother asking for money. In London with her dad, who was non-demonstrative, and her mother, who was incredibly controlling even from afar, Maddie’s life consisted of being the only black face in the room at work, and running home to care for her dad, leaving her no time for friends or a social life. Her older brother James is no help to her; though he lives in London, he consistently makes excuses to avoid coming home. Her mother arrives back in London, and pushes Maddie to move out. When she is unexpectedly let go from work through no fault of her own, she takes the opportunity to search for and find an editorial assistant position at a small publishing house. Finally, Maddie can explore who she is, with new friends, meals at restaurants, drinking alcohol and experiencing marijuana for the first time, and navigating the online dating scene.

Maddie is a brilliant character, and she is so easy to cheer for as she experiences many aspects of life for the very first time. I found her to be believable and endearing, and her inner struggles with life before and after her father’s death are utterly relatable. She becomes the unsung hero of her own story, and by the end we feel as though Maddie finally has the gumption, vocabulary, and quiet confidence to ask for and get what she needs. I also found it clever when author Jessica George broke the fourth wall with Maddie talking directly to her readers in the beginning. It was very easy for me to relate to and I genuinely loved Maddie by the conclusion. She progressed such a long way to understanding her family, and found it in herself to accept that they were no superheroes, but ordinary people. Most importantly, she accepted help, and also began to accept Maddie, and her ability to change or espouse what she needed to be a better version of herself. The books is full of a myriad of emotions—it’s got dry humor, sadness, bitterness, joy, love, and hope. It’s a coming-of-age novel, a tale which illustrates the quote from George Eliot: “it’s never too late to be what you might have been.” It’s not my usual genre, but “Maame” captured my heart from the beginning, and I found myself tearing up, nodding, and inwardly cheering for Maddie. I cannot recommend it enough, and if you are at all interested in anything I’ve described, please read this work. It will stay with you for a very long time.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Jessica George, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

4.5 ⭐️. Thank you Sr. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of Maame by Jessica George. It was such a pleasant experience reading Maame. Also I am in my mid-40s and Maddie is in her mid-20s, I saw so much of my 25 year old self in her trials and tribulations. I loved Maddie’s character and her ability to just keep going, despite the many difficulties and disappointments that she endures in such a short period. I felt for her with the crushing responsibility that she bore taking care of her dad, with her helplessness with dealing with her mom and her brother James. I was so proud of her when she finally stood up to her mom and James, even though it took so much out of her. I loved her relationships with her friends Nia and Shu, and how they unequivocally supported and loved her. Although there were aspects of Maame that reminded me of Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams, I very much preferred and appreciated Maddie’s arc and growth. I so wish that we had an equal amount of time with her after her process of healing, as we had during her self discovery and hurt. I wish that the epilogue was much longer; it seemed a bit rushed. Regardless, I loved this story and can’t wait to read Jessica George’s next novel.

A young woman finally moves out on her own after caring for her father who has Parkinson's disease and is devastated when he dies a short time later. Grief, family obligations, first romantic relationship, and a new job overwhelm her as struggles to take control of her life.

It was hard to read about someone being used by so many people, but such a realistic picture that so many woman experience. In the end, this was an inspiring and satisfying story.

This coming-of-age novel shows with heart, humor, and poignance what it's like to be torn between two worlds. Nicknamed Maame by her mother, Maddie was born in London, but her "blood and DNA is in Ghanaian soil."
"Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman."
Since she was a child, she has been the responsible one in her family, who depends on her to care for her father, who is ailing from advanced-stage Parkinson's, while her mother runs a family business in Ghana and her brother runs around England and beyond, overspending money he doesn't have. Maddie's boss gives her nightmares, and she doesn't have much of a life beyond her dreaded job and care-giving at home. When her mother announces she's returning to London from Ghana, it seems like Maddie will have the chance to start living her own young life. Circumstances put her on a rockier than anticipated path to figuring out where and with whom she belongs. This is a well-done debut by author Jessica George, whose work I will follow in the future. In the meantime, I will look forward to the series adaptation due to be developed by George, Universal International Studios, and Jenna Bush Hager’s Thousand Voices.

[Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

Maame is a fantastic debut novel from Jessica George. It sucked me in right away, but it wasn't an easy read by any stretch. Definitely some heavy topics at play here. Maddie is forced to grow up and take care of herself and her ailing father from a very young age. The flip side of this growing up is arrested development. She's 25, still lives at home, has never been in a relationship, and is simply a bit lost when it comes to what she wants for herself out of life.

I'm glad to have read it and seen the world thru Maddie's eyes. Read with care as it deals with grief and depression.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC, in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very raw and emotional coming of change story for me. I think it falls around the same genre of Such a fun Age, but Maame brings so much more gene to a final trauma and trying to navigate your own culture in your light. It also brings in mental health and how important it is to find your own path regardless of the stigmas. 5 star read for me!