Maame, by Jessica George, follows a young woman whose life has been put on hold while she cares for her family. Naive and insecure at age 25, Maddie moves out of her family home, determined to embrace new opportunities and actively live her life.

The reader is first introduced to Maddie when she is living at home and caring for her ailing father. She cooks, cleans, goes to work, feeds her father, helps him to bed and starts the routine over again the next day.

In an effort to escape her constant sadness, Maddie finds a flatshare, a new job, new friends, and her first romance. But when everything crashes down, she is forced to face her depression and examine her life.

There were times when I wanted to take Maddie by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. And it was a stretch to believe that a 25 year old black woman living in London would be new to the idea of racist microagressions. But eventually (and somewhat predictably) Maddie starts to stand up for herself.

The book’s best characters are her two true friends Nia and Shu, who show love and support when Maddie finds herself adrift.

Maame’s biggest strength is how George both realistically and respectfully depicts depression and anxiety. And Maddie isn’t the only character suffering. George includes a supporting character at the beginning of the book who refuses to take time and seek treatment because it would make her appear professionally weak.

This was a well-written story and enjoyable read, despite the heavy themes. At times it felt a little too familiar. I found myself comparing elements of Maame to Queenie, Such a Fun Age, and The Other Black Girl. Maame, in contrast to those earlier titles, lacks their sarcastic bite. With its casual first person narration and straightforward prose, Maame is sure to be a general crowdpleaser.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Maame
Author Jessica George

Thank you, @stmartinspress and @netgalley, for the arc of this gorgeous debut! I finished this one earlier this month, and it is my first 5 star read of 2023! I loved Maame so much.

Maame (translates as woman in Twi) is a poignant, tender, and moving coming- of- age story told of Maddie's life in London. With her mum back and forth from Ghana to London and her brother no longer living at home, Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced Parkinson's disease. She works in publishing, is typically the only Black person in the office, experiences a myriad of prejudices and inequalities, and is unaware of how to stand up for herself both at home and in her workplace.

When her mum finally comes back from Ghana, Maddie decides to leave home and live on her own - she's never experienced real friends, dating a boyfriend- even going out socially. She has the quirkiest and funniest inner monologue and gets most all of her advice frrom google, which is just so witty and hilarious.

There's just so much to love about Maddie- her innocence, her sense of family obligation and her Ghanian culture, her kindness and love for her father, the relationship she forges with her mum and brother, her humor and wit along her winding path to self- discovery, and finally, her understanding of who she is and where she belongs.

Written with compassion and insight covering some heavier themes of grief and mental health that are completely relatable, Maame is a January must read! I couldn't stop rooting for Maddie, and now, weeks later, I can't stop thinking about her either.

5.0 out of 5 stars Maame is Daddy's Girl!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 31, 2023
Maddie is the primary caregiver for her father. Her mother lives in another country and her brother can't be counted upon to do their share or provide financial support so it all rests of Maddie's shoulders.

She dreams of a new normal where she can date and meet people her own age. Nearly at her breaking point her mother finally returns to care for her husband, thereby releasing Maddie to go out and experience life.

Socially awkward with strangers, Maddie gets her chance to live, love and make mistakes. Just as she starts to find her footing, the family patriarch dies and it destroys the already shaky foundation she's navigating. His death releases some long pent-up feelings and only when she goes through the stages of grief does she come out on the other side with more clarity of her life and what she wants. Read it.

Maame by Jessica George

Maame is a novel about a young woman named Madeline (Maddie). She is the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants who are now settled in London. As the story begins, Maddie’s mother is in Ghana running hostels, Maddie is the one who is entrusted to take care of her father. Her father has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and doesn’t communicate much to her. Maddie works during the day at a dead-end job that she eventually gets unfairly fired from. Her mother returns from Ghana for a year, finally allowing Maddie to get a flatshare with some girls her own age. At the age of 25, she can finally begin living a life of independence. As the story progresses through Maddie’s point of view, we go on the journey with her as she navigates this new freedom. She finds herself a new job in publishing, she begins to date and meets up with friends.
Maddie feels that she needs to please others, often putting her own needs aside. Unfortunately, she had devastating news while enjoying her new freedom, one that gives her so much guilt that she becomes depressed.
This story is heartbreaking at times, as well as hopeful. Maddie is finally strong enough to stand up to her mother and complain about all that she has done to keep the family going. She resents that her mother calls her “Maame” which means woman in Twi. It made her try to live up to that name and put her own life and desires away.
It is easy to like the main character, Maddie. She is thoughtful, generous but also naïve and inexperienced. You can feel her pain as she struggles with her grief and depression.
This is a debut novel by Jessica George. She certainly has me cheering for this book and I look forward to reading what she writes next.
Many thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of Maame in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Maame is a heartwarming, nuanced examination of a young woman coming of age. Maddie is a character who elicits so many emotions--she is frustrating, deeply lovable, relatable, etc. This was a slow start for me and I struggled with Maddie's naiveté at the novels beginning. However, the development of Maddie and the exploration of family dynamics is so well done over the story's arc. The ending was very satisfying and this is a great addition to the shelves of anyone who loves a character driven novel.

What I loved:
✨Coming-of-Age: Maddie’s journey is messy and heartbreaking, yet her self-awareness and growth offer hope while learning to understand, forgive, and love people who hurt you.
✨Underlying themes: familial obligations, racism, mental health, and grief. Maddie’s mental health journey, while realistically dark and heartbreaking, shows that people want to help. Sometimes those people come from unexpected places in your life. Opening yourself to others is sometimes the most challenging part.
✨Narration: Heather Agyepong for the win! She embodies all of Maddie, from her sheltered introverted personality to her longing to find the “new” Maddie (I found these moments hilarious) to the dark times driven by grief and loneliness. Heather’s range amazed me!

Highly recommend both the book and the audiobook! You cannot go wrong with either.

Happy pub day to Maame by Jessica George, a sweet and serene slice of life story beautifully narrated by Heather Agyepong.

This is a coming of age story for a late blooming, extremely tender and sympathetic MC named Maddie and also Maame, the definition of which plays heavily into her simultaneously expedited adulthood and latent social development.

You will definitely root for and be proud of her as she steps into her own life fully. Prepare to laugh out loud, punch a pillow, and cheer.

Thank you to St. Martin's for the ARC and MacMillan Audio on NetGalley for the early listening copy.

#maamebook #jessicageorgeauthor #comingofage #sliceoflife #fiction #diverse #stories #January #tbr #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #bookofthemonth

I am saying it now...this is going to be a 2023 favorite for me.

Maddie's story was so heart wrenching and emotional, and yet so, so beautiful. From her relationship with her family, being her father's sole caretaker, a dead end job that she hates, to starting to find herself in her mid-twenties, learning to advocate for herself, wading through the fog of grief and depression, and fighting her way out of it.

I felt like Maddie and I were friends, and she was talking to me about her days. I rooted for her, cried with her, and celebrated her.

Maame is a wonderfully written and impactful novel. When it begins, Maddie is in a rut and comes across as rather naive, or at least inexperienced in many of the things most twenty-somethings go through. On the one hand, she’s responsible and caring, spending most of her free-time aiding her father, who has Parkinson’s. On the other, Maddie is observant and curious, and she often Googles how to do things: how to befriend your roommates, how to tell if a guy is interested in you, how to be happy. She’s instantly relatable, perhaps especially for Millennials and Gen Z.

But for all its whimsy, Maame also shows a young woman who is burdened by too much. Maddie is depressed, burnt out, possibly in the midst of a quarter-life crisis. Her mother and brother put too much pressure on her to care for her dad; they’re not much help themselves. Maddie’s job isn’t any better, with an unreasonable boss and an undercurrent of racism that she can’t ignore. Finally it all comes to a head, and Maddie is on the hunt for a new job, a new living situation, and a chance to finally step out of her family’s shadow.

At this point, I enjoyed seeing some of Maddie’s early wins. New roommates, possibly friends; a potential boyfriend; a better job. Things are looking up, even if her mom still nags her too much. But then the big tragedy strikes, and Maame moves in a new direction.

It’s hard to talk about the second half of Maame without revealing major spoilers. Indeed, one of my favorite aspects of it is something I should save for a book club discussion rather than a spoiler-free review. Keeping it vague, here are some of the themes that stood out as I read it:

1. The intense pressure Maddie dealt with and that many women, in particular, often experience. Maddie’s other name is Maame, which means “woman” in Twi. But as Maddie explores later on in this novel, this name comes with expectations and burdens, and she’s been holding the family together since she was far too young. Never mind that she’s the youngest one in the family. How did she become the primary caregiver to her father? Why have finances always been up to her since she finished school? How did her mother and brother not see that she was struggling and offer to help out in some way? The pressure from her home life merges with stress surrounding her job, career path, and finances, but it also contributes to her feelings of isolation and depression.

2. The subtle racism Maddie experiences at work and in dating. As a Black woman born to Ghanaian immigrant parents, Maddie often wonders if the treatment she receives is normal… or a product of racism. It’s troubling and exhausting, and she often wonders how best to stick up for herself.

3. Mental health struggles, especially Maddie’s feelings of depression, guilt, and grief. Throughout Maame, Maddie is trying to find happiness, but things will get worse before they get better. The way these themes are explored is nuanced, raw, and perfectly described. Whether you or someone you know has faced such mental health battles, it feels real and relatable. Her Ghanaian culture, like so many cultures, isn’t always understanding about mental health or conducive to improving mental health. I appreciate Maddie’s discussions with her mother and (later) therapist about it.

4. Friendship, family relationships, and dating. Maddie is navigating relationships, both new and old, and is learning to take greater control in her role within these relationships. How can she communicate her needs better? How can she let go of the people that aren’t good for her, improve her relationship with those that need work, and prioritize the ones that already provide her with the love she needs? It’s a learning process, and I loved seeing Maddie grow in all kinds of relationships.

Maame is such a heartfelt novel. It made me cry and feel the pain Maddie felt, but it also made me feel optimistic about her future. It sheds a light on the experiences of a woman who is Black and Ghanaian, living in London, and working through racism and cultural differences. Ultimately, it’s a book about coming into your own and being comfortable in your own skin.

Maame is a stunning debut that is moving, tender, raw, and hopeful. It’s deeply impactful and I loved every bit of it. This is a book I’ll recommend to everyone, and I look forward to reading more from Jessica George.

3.5 ⭐️‘s Maddie is a 25 year old naive young women thrown into the world without a clue on how it works. Being the caretaker of her father (who has Parkinson’s) along with her job and keeping her family afloat, she finally has the chance to move out and find herself. Using Google as her guide, she gets herself into some sticky situations. Just as she’s starting to finally find herself, tragedy strikes and she’s more lost than ever. Will it finally take a tragedy for her to find out who she really wants to be? I’m sure to be in the minority on this one, but I didn’t love it! There were parts I enjoyed, but others I didn’t. George tried to balance the emotions, but at times it was just too far on the depressing scale. That being said, the ending was perfect and it ended up being a good read. Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

MAAME by Jessica George is the story of a conscientious, loving young woman caught between the life she longs to lead with her abundant creativity recognized at work, with friendships and romance, and experiences wilder and more free-spirited than the rigid, traditional supportive daughter's life she is expected to lead by her overbearing, presumptive family. Her mother's return from Ghana for a year to tend her ill, estranged husband frees Maddie to move out of the family house and flounder and triumph her way in a drastically different and rewarding life of her own. The voice of Maddie and her ongoing consideration for others and ache to follow her own ideas and carry through her initiatives while she can powered me through this engaging, all-entrancing story. I enjoyed the story and the time with this remarkable, memorable hero. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Thank you to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy of Maame, by Jessica George! This fabulous debut comes out today, and needs to be on everyone’s list.

Maame tells the story of Maddie, a young woman who is going through a lot of changes in London. This is definitely a coming of age story, because of what this young woman goes through.

I loved this book! It is so beautifully written, and you really get a view of what goes on in Maddie’s mind as she experiences life and it’s changes. Maddie’s growth, as well, is remarkable and would make for wonderful book club discussion. There are so many side characters as well who are well developed and thought out.

I am already looking forward to Jessica George’s next book! Don’t miss this one, especially if your book club needs a February or March pick.

Jessica George’s Maame is rumored to be a Book of the Month selection for February, and I’m so thrilled because I want a physical copy for my shelves! This one is already a contender for top 2023 reads. A coming-of-age story set in contemporary London, the titular character balances career and personal highs and lows. I loved Maame’s voice and her journey in the book. George has a wonderful talent for hitting different emotional beats and developing dynamic relationships with real conflicts and stakes. She also crafts a female protagonist who feels both familiar and unique due to her own quest for independence and balancing familial responsibilities. I loved reading this book and hope others will as well.

Maddie is a 25-year-old Londoner of Ghanaian descent. The novel opens with Maddie caring for her father, whose health has declined from Parkinson’s disease. Maddie’s brother and mother and not helping Maddie care for her father. At the beginning of the novel, Maddie has never lived on her own as an adult and hasn’t dated at all.

Maddie’s story is a coming-of-age story, as she attempts to step away from her obligations to her family and live a more typical life of a twenty-something. I appreciated her unique perspective as a daughter of immigrants and her point of view as the only person of color in the room at her places of employment and among her flatmates. Maddie shares her experiences dating and working in office spaces as a Black woman.

I also liked how Maddie googles so many of her questions as she attempts life as an independent adult. She is very naïve about dating and sex in the beginning of the novel. Maddie also experiences immense grief and a mental health crisis in the novel, and she was not raised openly discussing mental health, so she doesn’t reach out for help.

Maddie’s story is very character-driven. She is finding herself and learning to accept her flawed parents in this novel. While I was engaged in her story at times, it felt too long. The story could have been edited down. Personally, some of the detailed internal dialogue, conversations, lists, narration, and therapy sessions made the book drag on.

TW: Loss, grief, depression

At 25 years old, Maddie the daughter of two Ghanaian immigrants, has yet to really set out and live her life. Her father suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s, and with her mother mostly in Ghana and her older brother mainly keeping to himself, Maddie is the primary caretaker of her father in their small London home. With her mother set to return from Ghana for a year, an opportunity arises for Maddie to finally set out and see what the world has to offer. Recently and unfairly let go from her nightmare PA job, she finds a new job at a small publishing company and finds a flat that she shared with two roommates. As a late-bloomer, Maddie sets out experience a whole list of firsts. But when tragedy strikes, Maddie is hit with an overwhelming number of emotions: anger, fear, guilt, depression. This story is of Maddie’s journey through love and loss and the struggles of truly finding oneself.

•

My first 5 star read of 2023!! This book tackled SO many important themes in the span of Maddie’s journey to find herself. She is split between two homes and two lives as tries to find the perfect balance and discover what she truly wants in life. My heart broke for Maddie as she faces heartbreak, loss, racism, and the reality of a world that can be beautiful but also harsh and cruel. All her life Maddie has taken the responsibility of others but not really being able to live for herself. The title itself holds so much power: “Maame” which is Twi for woman, a nickname that Maddie’s mother gave her that eventually came to define her life. I was so angry with Maddie’s mother and brother and how they pushed so much responsibility on Maddie and never acknowledging her struggles. This book was beautifully written and while reading it I felt so many emotions as Maddie experiences grief and the effect and toll it takes on her. The author approaches the topic of Mental Health in such a raw and powerful way. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. this title is available now for purchase!

This book will leave you with all the feels!! Maddie the main character is faced with some really tough choices at a young age. She never really gets to go through childhood/teen years. She spends a lot of her time caring for her sick dad with Parkinson’s. Her mother splits her time between London and Ghana. She is very hard and critical of Maddie. She calls her Maame which has several meanings in Twi but mostly means woman- the responsible one. The connection between her daughter and mom is hard one to listen too. She is very critical of Maddie and it is heartbreaking. Her brother does not have time for anyone else. Maddie spends all her time caring for others and less on herself. After 8 years of helping her father her mother returns and Maddie now can go out on her own. She creates a life goals list to start to begin her life. She moves into a new apartment with some flat mates and starts a new job at a publishing company. There’s friendships, dating, relationships, jobs, roommates, and many more life’s ups and downs Maddie explores her new life’s goals. Such an emotional coming of age story. It’s beautifully written and will stick with me for a long time. Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

aame by Jessica George is a coming-of-age novel with a female protagonist who grapples with her station in life. Maddie is a young 20-something living in London, but her life is far from glamorous. Her father has late-stage Parkinson's and she lives at home with him to be his main caretaker. Her brother is off living his best life, while her mother is gone for a year at a time to Ghana, living her own life. Maddie holds an assistant role at a publishing firm where she feels like the token Black person with a dispensable job. While her needs are pushed to the bottom of her list, she cares for everyone to the point of utter exhaustion. When her father passes away, Maddie grapples with crippling guilt and grief, while trying to establish her life outside of her family.

One thing that made Maame unique is that Maddie's story is told almost from her perspective, including her internal dialogue, text messages with friends, and random life questions she searches on Google. It made it fun to read because you feel like you are inside Maddie's head and you are feeling all the emotions along with her.

Aspects of mental health, specifically depression and grief, are highlighted in Maame in such a supportive way. I love that authors are incorporating aspects of mental health into their characters because it makes them relatable and three dimensional. Maddie's struggles with grief are all too familiar with many of us, as well as some of the major life events she experiences when it comes to friendship, family dynamics, dating and navigating sexual experiences.

⚠️ Content warning: racism/microaggressions, death of parent, grief, depression, coerced sexual encounter

This story follows Maddie and her life in London as she navigates through different occupations, love, loss, and life. Maddie is such a relatable and awkward character and I enjoyed every minute of her journey. She has a lovely coming of age story that reminds me a lot of Bridget Jone's Diary. This is easily my favorite book I've read so far this year!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I can easily see this being one of my favourite reads this year! I went into MAAME with 0 expectations, and was rewarded with an intimate, important look at grief & identity through the lens of a young Nigerian-British woman.

This is a character driven novel, with some light plot points that help steer the MC, Maddie's, development. Maddie is a twenty-something woman living in Britain, working in publishing, dealing with her absent mother (who splits her time between Britain & Nigeria), her ailing father, and her beloved brother. When her mother returns unexpectedly, Maddie grabs a hold of a life of freedom - moving out, finding a new job, new friends & new relationships. When grief strikes, Maddie's world shifts in an entirely new direction.

Admittedly, it took me a little while to get into this one, but I absolutely adored Maddie - her inner dialogue, introspection, observances of the world around her, friendships, relationships, and feelings all felt SO REAL. I send HUGE kudos to Jessica George, whose written a wonderful read that gives an unflinching glimpse into grief, which left me in tears and deeply reflective.

I loved this one & highly recommend it!

Wow! What a debut novel. This is easily my favorite book so far this year.

Maddie "Maame" Wright is a 25-year-old woman living in London who is the daughter of Ghanian immigrants. Accommodating, unassuming, and self-deprecating, she lives up to the traditional African name her mother calls her: "Maame." Meaning "the mother" or "the responsible one," this name has become Maddie's whole identity. She's so responsible and so used to taking on the duties of others that she's been living at home taking care of her father who has Parkinson's and paying for much of her family's bills--all while her mother lives in Ghana every other year and her brother lives his life, not helping at all.

The story follows Maddie's coming-of-age as she deals with family and work struggles, her first real foray into dating and sex, surviving the guilt of tragedy, and the ups and downs of finding her true self and voice--outside of the personality pressed upon her by her nickname. Author George switches easily between deep, emotionally resonant scenes and humor as Maddie relies on "Google" to give her help with everything from "What is it like to date a bisexual?" to "How do you know if you're depressed?" There are a few key scenes, too, that deal with Maddie finally recognizing and speaking out against the racial microaggressions she experiences--I really loved her friends' frank discussion about why some white men really date Black women.

Although I'm a middle-aged white woman, I loved this book. It's relatable, beautiful, funny, and heartwarming. You will cheer (I literally did numerous fist-bumps) as Maddie sheds her nickname, speaks up for herself, and starts to live life on her terms. READ THIS BOOK!

Much thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the gifted copy in exchange for a review. This one is out TODAY (and might a @bookofthemonth choice, from the clue I'm seeing one my app!). It would be a great choice. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!