4.5+ stars

This is an excellent, emotional book. The characters are real and well-developed, the plot is an intriguing mix of sombre and light-hearted, and the text directly addresses some major social issues without feeling too preachy. It was intense and emotional at times but then light and funny at others. I really, really enjoyed it.

The protagonist is a Black woman, and at one point, she’s dating a white man who (not so openly) is also dating a white woman. When she’s able to confront him about it and about why he took the other woman to meet his parents as well as on more public dates while she only spent time with him in private, she says she thinks she knows why, and he says something along the lines of “don’t play that card” in their situation. She responds with what immediately becomes one of my favourite lines from the novel: “It’s only a card to people who think it’s a game.”

Again, this book is excellent, and I’ll be purchasing a physical copy sometime after it releases. I’ve also already started recommending it to friends. I’m excited to see what else the writer will create in the future.

A good fiction read. It's about the complexities of family. A beautiful black girl, whose descendants are from Ghana, finding her place in London. An introvert finding boyfriends, friends and a career. A book club read for sure, which would lead to great discussion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy. I loved the raw emotion of Maddie as she experienced an entry level job, dating for the first time, living away from home for the first time. Along with these experiences as well as heavier topics like racism and being the primary caretaker for her ill father, I could feel Maddie's emotions through Jessica George's writing. 5 stars, and I would recommend to friends.

3.5 stars. This is a coming-of-age novel focusing on Maddie Wright (Maame), a 25-year-old Ghanaian Londoner who has sacrificed her own “growing up” to be the caretaker for her father (who suffers from Parkinson’s) and the bulwark of her family (which includes her mother and brother). Maddie is enormously unhappy due to the burdens her family life — and her work life — have placed on her, so she finally takes the huge step of moving away from home into a small apartment she share with two flatmates From the point onward, Maddie begins to finally grow up, and the story of her doing so is an interesting and compelling one — one in which she finally learns to stand up for herself and to take her place in the adult world. Her struggles are those which virtually any reader can relate to in some way. Although I found parts of the novel slow going, it was an overall engaging read.

Maddie is a young woman with responsibilities beyond her years. Her dad has parkinsons, and his care falls largely to her. Maddie's mother is in Ghana, and her brother James is living a carefree life. At 25, her life is not going the way she'd hoped it would, but if not for her, who would take care of everything? Maame, the name her family calls her, means woman in Twi after all- she must be the woman of her family.

When Maddie is offered a break, she takes it in hopes to reinvent herself. This book follows Maddie as she experiences a coming of age of sorts in her mid-twenties. Through real struggles of family, grief, heartbreak, love, and growth, Maddie begins to take shape, but does Maame fit her anymore? Did it ever?

I was taken by surprise by Maame! The emotion in this book as well as the changes and growth Maddie experiences gave it a depth that made it hard to put down. I really appreciated how complex this book was in the way it addressed the way Maddie perceived cultural biases from her family and her peers, warring against one another. Deep and emotional, this book offered a lot of insight.

Thanks so much to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I really wanted to love this book but unfortunately it didn’t work for me. Maddie was sweet and there were a lot of things to love about her and root for (and loved the mental health rep!), and I loved learning about Ghanaian culture and traditions. But Maddie as a character was also just, ugh, annoying, and the book was too heavy handed for me overall. I’m just not sure I like the “naive girl discovers the world” trope. Coming of age is one thing, but the naïveté is just painful for me. I found her character to be so contradictory in ways that just didn’t make sense, and the constant Googling was too cringey for me. I’m not a fan of the preachiness of “now we’re learning a basic life lesson!” I also thought it could have been cut down a lot. This all being said, I’ve seen nothing but glowing reviews so I think I’m in the minority. Again, I really wanted to love it and I hope other people do!

The story follows Madeleine Wright as she navigates life with an I’ll father and an absent mother and brother. Madeleine has always been relied upon to take care of things at home but no one realizes the sacrifices she has had to make; everything from jobs, to friends, to moving out of the parental home, to having money for her own use and even a childhood.

This is a profound case study of life. There is sadness, but also humour. Thee are life lessons to be learned. Perhaps even for the reader.

I thought this was extremely well written with well developed and interesting characters.

I will admit, I wasn’t sure I would totally like it. I was interested at the start and then I felt things kind of took on a slower pace, but that feeling didn’t last. Some of the subject matter is difficult, but by the end, I realized that in order to develop the story properly, time had to be spent on the seemingly more mundane.

Themes of racism, grief, finding your way, family and culture.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

When you’ve been given undue responsibility your entire life, being called ‘Maame’ goes from a term of endearment to a yolk around your neck awfully quick. Maddie’s quest to find herself amidst depression, a dysfunctional family and the death of her father proves to be a bit difficult. Through the many challenges she faces, learning not to people please in order to obtain love, standing up for herself and acknowledging racial awareness or lack thereof, Maddie may just come out of it alright. George’s writing is smooth and witty. Maddie and the supporting cast of characters, Shu being my favorite, have their own personalities which resonate with the story and lend to Maddie’s journey beautifully. Honestly I thought this one was slow to start but about a quarter of the way in it picked up and took off, and I’m so glad I continued. Some heavy topics are dredged up in Maame, but done in an entertaining and intelligent way, and you find yourself rooting for Maddie the whole way. A great first novel for 2023, I highly recommend!

Thank you to @netgalley and @Stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @macmilliam.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

This was a perfect book to end my 2022 reading. George’s writing was beautiful and covered a lot of different topics in this debut novel. Living two different cultures, grief, loss, racism and learning to be strong for yourself.

Maddie was the main care taker for her father, who had Parkinson’s disease. Her mom returns from Ghana and Maddie moves out to start a life of her own. This is when her father dies suddenly sending Maddie in to a tailspin of grief, conflict with roommates, a new job, and love.

I can relate to the sadness and anxiety that cripples Maddie as I experienced the sudden loss of my father as well. I loved reading how she worked through the grief, the relationships she built and how she came out so much stronger.

5 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #stmartinspress #macmillianaudio #ltbreaderteam #maame #jessicageorge #smpinfluencers

Maddie’s nickname is Maame. It means woman in Twi and that’s what she has always been to her family even though she is the youngest. She is the caregiver to her father, the peacekeeper for her mother. After caring for her father for years she moves out on her own when her mother returns from Ghana. One month later her father has died - and who is she now that he is gone?

This is my first 5 star read of the year. I laughed. I may have cried through the entire last third of the book in a good way. This is a heart breaking but beautiful coming of age story of a girl who has had to become a woman entirely to soon. You will hate some of her decisions but you’ll be cheering for her the whole way as she navigates through love, loss, and personal and career growth. I can’t say enough good things about this one!

Maame is Jessica George's first novel and I can already tell you that I will be reading anything that she publishes. I simply LOVED this book.

Maddie's story is one that I will cherish for a long time. I am Dominican and found so many cultural similarities to the expectations that were put on Maddie because of her Ghanian background.

I highly recommend this book!

Maame is a very well written perfectly developed book. It’s crazy how you can connect so strongly with a character in a book. I was a 100% invested in Maddie. I think anyone that read this book and enjoyed it had a connection with her.
At age 25 Maddie was still living at home and the primary caretaker of her father whom had Parkinson’s. Her mother always left and spent most of her time in Ghana. Her brother was just across town but always had excuses and never helped. Maddie throughout the story was torn between her life and her family.
She’s working on self development, handling grief and struggling to find love and acceptance.
It’s such a beautiful story.
My review just doesn’t do enough for this book it is superb! Everyone needs to experience the story.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing me with an arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The story of a young woman who cares for her ailing father while her mother and brother are away most of the time. She also is working as an admin and trying to advance her writing. After her mother finally returns home, the young woman moves out and tries to make a life for herself.

Thank you so much to Jessica George, St Martin's & NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

I had been nervous to read this as I wasn't sure if it was something that I would enjoy as I mostly stick with romance. I am so glad I was wrong. This book was the most perfect book to start off 2023.

"You can't be sad for no reason; it's not a human's natural state. In life, you're meant to be happy or content, only experiencing moments of sadness, so if sadness is your natural state, what does that say about you?"

Maddie is 25 year old who is stuck in a job she hates (luckily she won't have to worry about that much longer), no love life and spends all her free time taking care of her father. Her brother travels for work and doesn't help out and her mother flies to Ghana every other year to work at her grandfather's hostel. As her mother is due to return, Maddie starts a new role at a publishing company and moves out of her parent's home. Maddie navigates her new normal as life constantly throws curveballs.

"You're twenty-five. You're meant to be getting as much dick as possible."

When you hear coming of age, your mind often goes to tweens and teengers but in this case it is for someone in their mid-20s. You truly do see the growth of Maddie from start to finish. She truly was one that took care of everyone except for herself and you felt that. Even her mother tells her, "When you're older, you'll wish you did more." The dynamic between Maddie and her mother felt so real. I could feel Maddie's frustration with her mother and how she would just agree with everything her mother says because it was easier that way. The journey that they go on was beautiful to read and not perfect.

"One of my problems is that I'm expecting perfection from ordinary people."

I could definitely relate to some of Jessica's story with being a caretaker for her father. I see what my mother goes through taking care of my grandmother who also has Parkinson's and it definitely has taken a toll on her. I had to check in on my grandmother while she was in respite care while my parents were on vacation and it was a lot and all I had to do was visit. I was my mom's eyes and ears and had to make sure she ate, medicine was taken care of and wash was done. It made me appreciate all that she does for her. I wanted to share this book with her but then things got a little spicy and wasn't sure if that would make it awkward.

There is such a voice that comes off the pages and felt like at times I was reading pages from a diary.

What a stunning debut Jessica!

4.75

Thank you to NetGalley and the SMP Influencers Program for sending me a copy of this novel ahead of publication in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I felt really emotionally entwined with Maame by the end of the novel, the trajectory of the main character was so damn relatable and personable. I have not experienced a family dynamic quite like Maddie's, but it still felt so real to me.

That being said, all of the characters really jumped off the page and came to life. I was impressed by their believability and how rooted they felt in the story. No one seemed out of place or like an afterthought, each character had clear purpose and added something for the reader.

One *small* negative about this book for me was that it doesn't have a plot that really drives hard or keeps you flipping the page. It's easy to set this book down and read it at a slower pace. I'm typically someone who likes to finish novels quickly, but I found myself only reading this one in small sections at a time.

To bring it back to the positive, while the plot is a bit slower, it develops well and was completely believable. There wasn't a moment where I didn't understand what was happening or feel lost by the author's writing. The way the forms of dialogue and internet searches are written require some getting used to at first, but they add a nice lightness and change of pace to the story.

Overall, I'm very impressed that this is Jessica George's first novel. The depth, emotion, and relatability of the story is something I think will appeal to a lot of female readers, no matter their age. I look forward to reading more by George in the future.

The story of Maame is an introspective look at how one’s cultural expectations, family obligations, and personal desires are often at odds.

Maddie or Maame, as she is referred to by her family, is a young woman, who has grown up in London. While she calls London home, her roots will always be planted in Ghana. There is no better example of her culture being apart of her everyday life, than her name, Maame.

The name Maame, that Maddie was given at birth, is a Ghanaian term of endearment. It is assigned to the eldest female child in a family. While it is literally translated to mean woman, for Maddie, it is her charge to take on adult responsibilities that keep her family afloat.

From the very first page, the reader witnesses Maddie struggle to juggle work, maintain a household, and care for her ailing father. The only way Maddie is able to make ends meet, is to put her life on hold. She is twenty-five and never had a relationship, moved out of her parent’s house, or truly been happy.

Sadly, it is only through her father’s death that Maddie is able to truly start living. She moves out, signs up on dating websites, and goes for the job of her dreams. After decades of putting others first, it is beautiful to watch Maddie learn what it means to create healthy boundaries, speak up for herself, and finally put her needs before others.

Jessica George’s Maame is a story that will live with me for the rest of my life. Simply stated, it is a poignant and powerful read.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Advanced Book Review! Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
I think this book is best summed up through a conversation between the main character, Maddie, and her flatmate Jo, when Jo asks, “Still finding out who you are?” and Maddie responds, “I Think I’m just starting to learn, actually.”
Maame is a book about family dynamics, friendship, relationships, and race. Maddie is figuring out how to balance her Ghanaian family values with her identity as a Londoner – where she has lived all of her life. I think this is essentially a coming-of-age story, except it’s about a 25-year-old. Throughout the story we see Maddie make choices, grow and develop, and reflect on her relationships with the people in her life, as well as herself and the nickname of Maame (meaning woman) that her mother has used Maddie’s whole life.
It also touches on mental health and depression – which isn’t overly surprising given that Maddie’s life certainly seems fairly depressing at the beginning of the book. What stuck with me, however, was the way that Maddie’s employer helped her through it, including not only allowing time for her to go to therapy, but finding a therapist for her from the same background in the hopes that Maddie would be more comfortable.
Overall, I really enjoyed this debut novel from Jessica George.

The book cover and description of Maame caught my attention but I struggled to plow through it. It one wasn’t for me.
Thank you to St Martin’s Press and Netgallery for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Raised in London, Maddie's parents are Ghanian. As her mother spends every other year in Ghana, Maddie is the main caretaker of her father. Parallel to these responsibilities, she has a job at which she is very efficient but highly underutilized. Her mother and brother barely contribute to the responsibilities of taking care of her father. As a result, her life is not what one would expect of a young 20ish person. Her family calls her Maaame, which really captures her role in the family, but not who Maddie really is or wants to be. Watching her deal with life is an interesting plot line and will make it hard to put this book down. Well done Ms. George!

An absolutely stunning novel! Already on my best of 2022 lists and one I will recommend to all my reader friends.
Funny, smart and touching...family duty, racism, becoming a woman, love, the trials of working and making your way through life. A fabulous read that you'll keep thinking about and want to talk about. I loved every page.