Many thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my review copy! Pub date: Jan 31!

Told in first POV, this amazing debut book reads like a memoir, and is beautifully written. It is more of a character driven novel, and is filled with poignant, relevant and insightful tidbits of information, that will make you want to keep reading!

I listened to this book and I loved it! Maddie tells her story about growing up with a nickname that has shaped her own life, in more ways than she can imagine. This book has many layers to it, and underlying themes, that make it a “not to be missed” book, at least in my opinion.

This book touches on tough topics- such as racism in the workplace, growing up in different(racialized) cultures, mental health issues, the struggle to find happiness and love while also figuring out who you are. The pressures of your own family, and caring for (and dealing with) a sick family member- and feelings of guilt that come with this and trying to express your own freedom.

Maddie was my favourite character, as I think she was written that way. I loved seeing her character growth throughout the novel. While she has to deal with a lot, there are some lighter moments, that seem to balance it all out. I just wanted to see her succeed and be happy!

I highly recommend this book- I think many people find benefit from reading this one!

25 year-old Maddie, daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, hasn’t really lived life yet, because she’s been busy being the responsible one in her family, and being the primary caretaker of her ailing father.
Maame follows Maddie’s journey to discover herself and find her way in the world. There were parts of Maddie’s journey that I found enthralling, and parts that dragged for me. Overall, however, Maddie is a fresh voice and this book is definitely worth a read.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for my complimentary review copy.

This is my favourite book of 2023. I have only read two other books since the new year but I know this one has set the bar high for the coming year.

This is Maddie's story. She was born in England to Ghanaian parents. She has been raised by their very strict standards. In essence, she has led a very sheltered life. Her parents lead a very unconventional life….the mother takes off to Ghana for a year at a time to attend to family business. Maddie stays home to care for her ailing father. When the mother returns to spend the year in England, Maddie spreads her wings and leaves home. She is determined that her life must catch up to that of others in their mid 20s.

The story is told in Maddie's voice. In many parts, it's as if she is talking directly to the reader. I couldn't help but fall in love with her. She is very self-deprecating and unsure of herself outside the umbrella of her home. But, she is a very sweet young lady and is excited to meet the world. She sets out a list of things she wants to accomplish. She is one of the most endearing characters I have met.

Throughout the book, Maddie copes with many situations. Devastating grief, very unconventional family structure, overbearing mother, always being the only black person in the room, losing a job. The reader rides the emotional roller coaster with Maddie. I actually laughed out loud a few times and shed a few tears with her and commiserated with her. One of Maddie’s coping mechanisms is to Google every issue that crosses her path. She takes the reader along on that journey. This book is truly a study of Maddie's complex character.

Maddie's mother is a piece of work! She is someone who needs to be throttled!!!

MAAME: the responsible one, the woman, the mother. Often before her time.
This is the name Maddie's mother calls her throughout the book. I think the reader is able to draw their own conclusion why the mother calls Maddie by this name by the time the book ends.

I liked the ending. But I still want more from Maddie. I loved watching her strength and her character evolve.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

Maddie. Maame. What a beautiful and complicated and flawed and raw protagonist. I am so grateful that I have read this book. A tale about grief and a journey of self discovery that felt so real and honest. I am actually having a bit of difficulty verbalizing how I feel about this book but I think what Jessica George did so beautifully is made Maddie a full person who felt real in the world. Maddie’s grief was palpable and felt like one of the most accurate ways to talk about the journey so many of us go through but yet all go through differently. While discovering herself, it wasn’t a clear and perfect path and that’s the reality of life. The complicated family dynamics, the realities of racism that are experienced by people of color every day and the road to working on one’s own mental health struggles really made me root for Maddie.

There is a line from this book that really stuck with me: “a person’s troubles are not measured by the size of those troubles, but by how much they weigh on the individual that is carrying them.”

Go buy this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed going to London to follow Maddie's experience as a first generation immigrant, with her family's strong ties to their native Ghana. It was a bit slower paced, but really related to some aspects of the book personally, so enjoyed going along for the ride.

Maame is a beautiful coming of age story - equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Maame (Maddie) raised herself, took care of her ailing father, while her mother ran a business in their native country of Ghana and put her college and dating life on hold to be there for her family.  But, when her mother returned from Ghana, Maame moved out and her father passed away.  The story navigates Maame's grief and emotional development as she figures out who she wants to be in life as she now has the freedom to be on her own.

I did appreciate the love, loss, family, and culture aspects to Jessica's debut novel, but I did feel like it was a little slow.  Stories based on character development usually do tend to feel that way as there is usually not a big twist or shocking turn, but rather we coast through a journey of one's life.  Overall, I liked it.

Slow start and I really couldn't decide if I was enjoying it, and then it became entirely absorbing. I can't decide if it was the writing that took a while to find it's rhythm, or if it was purposeful as the main character had to sink into herself and find her voice more. Immigrant story in England covering some heavy topics with grief, guilt, first sexual experiences, and dysfunctional family dynamics. I was definitely rooting for Maddie and appreciated her arc. Impressive debut.

This book was decent, not as great as I was hoping for. Someone had compared it to Ghosts by Dolly Alderton, and it certainly has that vibe, but without the punch and fun of Ghosts. I found the main character to be a little too naive and unlikable. Culturally, however, there's a lot to learn from this book.

this was absolutely beautiful. stunning writing, loved watching maddie grow. i had a great time reading this, a really moving reading experience.

Maddie who is the main character is a 25-year-old living in London, working, and trying to have a normal life despite her troubled family life. Her life is not that of an average 20 something, Maddie’s life is depressing - she cares for a father with advanced Parkinson’s, her mother is in Ghana for a year at a time, but still is overbearing, and her boss is cruel and she really has no one she can lean on or talk to.

When her mother finally returns to London, Maddie decides to begin living her life. She finds a new job that allows work-life balance and a flat with some great roommates that encourage her to find herself. She experiences new friendships, her first love, and her first heartbreak, and learns that people aren’t always what they appear to be, which is a valuable lesson at any age.

But as she begins to live her new life so much of her old life and the experiences she's been through begin to take a toll on her mental health. We see this as she struggles to become whole, and define what being a maame (woman) truly is.

And its heart this book is about self-discovery, finding your voice, and cherishing relationships.

I found Maddie (also known at Maame) to be sweet, funny and admirable. Maddie wants to do the right thing but wants to be one of the crowd...something that has alluded her for years. Her mother rotates life overseas and home with Maddie and her ill father. There is a tragedy and Maddie was find where she truly belongs. A very good example of a young person and the ups and downs of becoming a true adult.

Maddie, 25, is the youngest child born to Ghanaian parents who emigrated the family to London, a family that's always been unconventional at best. Maddie is called Maame within her family, a name meaning "the responsible one". Despite her youth, Maddie is the one that is looked to to take care of things, to make things better. It is a heavy burden for a young person and she feels the weight of it on her soul.

After years of caring for her father who is debilitated by advanced Parkinson's Disease, Maddie's mother decides to come back from Ghana and stay for a year. Maddie finally gets the chance to be young, free, live the life she chooses, to date, to discover who she is and what she wants of life; it is exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

This is a gentle but powerful, poignant, and astute read. It's a book about being part of two cultures; racism; accepting our families for what they have and have not, can and cannot, give us; how our past chapters work to prepare us for our future ones; and the power of friendship. Above all, it's about recognizing who we are, and who we are meant to be.

I think you'll fall in love with Maddie and cheer for her throughout the book just as I did! An excellent read!

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book via NetGalley. The book is scheduled for publishing on 2/7/23. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are given freely.

Maame read more like contemporary fiction than literary fiction. I had expected a complex character juggling family, career, and romantic relationships, so I was surprised to find that the 25-year-old protagonist with back pain read quite juvenile. While the protagonist was faced with several heavy, “adult” challenges that were ambitious in breadth, her responses felt wanting in depth. The light tone and simplistic/impulsive attitude felt inadequate and aimless. Though I understood that she was lacking in life experience, I had hoped for more beneath the surface.

My alternate expectation was a playful, upbeat, adventurous story following the protagonist as she ticked a bunch of “firsts” off her list — something like a contemporary romance. I wasn’t expecting anything too wild and was prepared to take pleasure in the mundane joys of life, but I quickly tired of the protagonist’s naivety.

I think I was let down by misaligned expectations, and given the glowing early reviews, it’s on me. Perhaps this book would be more compelling for mature YA.

Maame might end up being one of my favorites of 2023! It’s hilarious, sad, heartwarming. It’s almost like a coming-of-age, except Maddie’s 25.

Things I especially loved:
• Maddie’s relationship with her father. It was complex but hopeful. Maddie bore the brunt of taking care of her ill father but she never treated it like a burden.
• Maddie’s inner voice. She is so funny!
• Maddie’s relationship with her nickname, Maame. As she grew and changed throughout the story, there were times she both loved and hated the nickname her mother gave her.
• Maddie’s mother. She frustrated me to no end, but I appreciated her by the end of the book.
• Ghanaian traditions and language (Twi) sprinkled throughout the book.
• Maddie’s tendency to google everything. I love that the author added in so many google responses in the book. Many of them made me laugh out loud.

Maddie is such a complex character and naive in many ways, so it was a fun and interesting journey reading about her self discovery. There were many times I wished I could reach into the pages and give her a big hug.

Maddie/Maame is a beautifully complex character who speaks honestly, at least inside her head. She's the sort of messy, unfinished, and imperfect main character that needs to feature in more stories more often. I found her journey through grief to be deeply compelling and reflective of a more honest reality of what we experience in grief, instead of the processed stages that are so often presented. All in all, beautiful. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

This book was so beautifully honest.

Maddie is a twenty five year old in a rut. She is the sole caretaker for her father, who suffers from Parkinson's, because her mother is back in Ghana and her older brother always has an excuse at the ready.

After being unfairly let go from her disappointing job, she has the opportunity to move out of her home with her father and start anew --- an opportunity she takes, despite her feelings of grief and guilt over leaving her father. She starts dating, starts saying yes to social invitations, starts drinking, and starts trying to find her own happiness.

Of course, this is a journey filled with ups and downs -- disappointing dates, conflicts with flatmates, family turmoil. But there is also newfound strength in standing up for herself and going after the things in life she deserves.

I loved how real Maddie felt as a character -- from her deep emotions to her curious Google searches as she begins to navigate the world on her own.

A well done novel about growing up, family and finding oneself.

Maddie also known as Maame to her family, is a 25 year old women living in London and caring for her father who suffers from Parkinsons disease. Her mother spends most of her time in Ghana, returning to london about once a year. Her brother James lives nearby but is rarely in contact. Maddie decides it it time to live her own life and finds a flat with roommates and a new job. Dating is also new to her as she finds her first real boyfriend.

Maddie has always been the responsible one and learning to live only for herself does not come naturally. After her fathers death, Maddie and her family must come together to find out what went wrong all those years and how to move forward. Maddie is a well drawn character who develops at a good pace.

I thought this was a very fresh coming of age story centered around a well-developed character. However, I found the writing inconsistent and a little flat. Sometimes it read very YA but other times were lovely, particularly about grief and her family. The first person to diary entry voice perspectives were a bit out of place and jarring. I think this author will be one to watch as she finds her voice.

This was such a delightful read! When this stellar debut novel opens, Maddie (whose family calls "Maame," which has several meanings in Twi, including "woman") is a young woman living in London with a dreadful job and serving as the primary caretaker for her father, who is suffering from advanced stage Parkinson's. She and her father have a special connection, and I loved their tenderness and affection for one another. Despite being the youngest in her immediate family, she has shouldered much of the burden while her older brother James and her mother have avoided much of the responsibility, After her mother returns from her latest trip to Ghana to take a more hands-on approach in caring for her husband, Maddie leaps at the opportunity to strike out on her own and finally start living.

The story is heartwarming, touching, and full of up's and down's as Maddie navigates life outside of the home she grew up in and has an opportunity to check off some important "firsts," such as changing jobs, dating, expanding her circle of friends, and renting an apartment with roommates. Maddie talks directly to the reader as she explores adulthood and I could not help but root for this kind, intelligent, funny, and sweet young woman to succeed. This story has layers and depth, and tackles difficult topics in a deliberate and thoughtful way. I adored spending time in Maddie's London and very much look forward to seeing what comes next from this author.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the chance to read this stellar debut early!

A solid debut, Maame by Jessica George is a coming-of-age story about Maddie, a woman in her mid-20s navigating her career, relationships with family and friends, and dating for the first time. Maddie's also the primary caregiver for her father who has Parkinson's.

I thought this book shone when it described some of the poor treatment Maddie received at work (where she's often the only Black person in the room) and her experience with grief. I didn't always love the pacing and was frequently frustrated by all she had to endure.

I''d recommend the novel especially to fans of Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams and Yinka, Where is Your Huzband by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn.