Young-adult life is hard for Maddie; she is confused about life, settling for google to give her answers because of the lack of care she received from her parents, especially her mother. Her mother calls her Maame as a term of endearment, but she resents the title by her mother. Maame means woman. She takes on full-time responsibility for her ailing father and makes ends meet for the family when he passes away. Many of her choices are embarrassing, and she's stumbling through life. Ultimately, Maame needed to figure out how to overcome grief and regret. Jessica George put forth a reasonable effort but the delivery and connection of the story lack depth. The constant google references were excessive, which made it difficult to get through.

First five-star read of the year! This book was heartbreaking and heartwarming, full of hope and a true story of growth. The story follows 20-something Maddie in London as she grapples with the guilt of moving out of her family home, where she is the primary caregiver to her father, and the excitement of striking out on her own for the first time.

The family dynamics really made this book for me. Maddie's mother and brother seem to bequeath their familial responsibilities to Maddie, and are quick to cast doubt and blame on her. Maddie's transformation as a character really shows as she navigates the gaslighting and guilt bestowed upon her.

We also get a glimpse into Maddie's life as she gets new roommates, starts dating, and navigates grief and love. This was such a well-written story with a unique style. Should definitely be on must-read lists for 2023.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

From page one, I liked Maddie. She had a strong voice even being an adult character who’s feeling lost, which are the ones I usually identify with. Plus it has family drama, some humor, mixed cultures, etc. I knew I’d like it.
Of course it isn’t perfect, but entertaining enough and exactly what I was looking for. Easy to follow along and I didn’t even realized how fast I was reading it. It helped that I cared about Maddie and was so worried especially as she went from one “man mistake” to the other. I was a bit surprised at how fast she just brushed it all that off though.
Her mother and brother were infuriating, but I did like that they didn’t change completely because people are complicated, especially family. Also I thought very realistic that therapy didn’t fix Maddie completely, but she kept going.
The end was satisfactory to me and I would definitely try another book by this author.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book to be released January 31, 2023

St. Martin’s Press.

Format: ARC read with permission from Netgalley.

Genre: Women’s Contemporary Fiction

Starred review: 5/5 stars

Summary (from Amazon): Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman.

It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting.

When her mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie leaps at the chance to get out of the family home and finally start living. A self-acknowledged late bloomer, she’s ready to experience some important “firsts”: She finds a flat share, says yes to after-work drinks, pushes for more recognition in her career, and throws herself into the bewildering world of internet dating. But it’s not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils––and rewards––of putting her heart on the line.

Smart, funny, and deeply affecting, Jessica George’s Maame deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship. Most important, it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures—and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong.

Review: Madeleine Wright still lives at home because she cares for her father who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease. She keeps her personal life private as her Ghanaian mother prefers, and does not share her struggles with others, but we are privy to her inner thoughts as she navigates being a caretaker for her father, working as an executive assistant, trying to make friends and fall in love for the first time. Maddie (Maame) is one of the most engaging main characters I have met in a long time as a reader. I love her voice – she expresses the fears and anxieties of all young women who are experiencing first careers, first loves and first losses. I feel as though I felt Maddie’s pain and celebrated her victories as one of her closest confidantes. This book is charming, funny, poignant and heartwarming. Please pick it up on January 31st. You will not be disappointed.

𝐌𝐚𝐚𝐦𝐞
𝐁𝐲 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐭. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟏.𝟑𝟏.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝒞𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒮𝑜𝑜𝓃!


Maame is a good-humored character-driven story about a young woman finding her own way - but with the help of Google.

At twenty-five, Maddie is living at home with her father who is sick with Parkinson’s while her mother is working in Ghana. Maddie works at a publishing house in London, but she is frustrated with being the only Black person in meetings.

Then a string of events occurs that change the trajectory of her life. After Maddie’s mother returns from Ghana, Maddie loses her job and Maddie decides to move out on her own. Soon she experiences a devastating loss. All of this forces Maddie to be propelled into adulthood.

Although there are heavy topics - terminal illness, loss, grief, family duty, and racism, the author is gentle and uses humor, and Maddie’s love of asking google’s opinion lightens the mood.
It was a fresh take on a coming-of-age. The audiobook is done very well, and I highly recommend it.

Thank you @stmartinspress for this gifted copy and @macmillan.audio for the complimentary audiobook.

Can I just reach through this book and give Maddie a real life hug?? Bless her heart.

Putting trigger warning that is spoiler-y at the very end of the review.

First thing's first - that cover is actual eye candy and I gravitated to it straight away.

Maddie has been her family's main caretaker for as long as she can remember. Her mother is away in Ghana most of the time, her father is battling Parkinson's, and her brother skirts responsibility as he spends all his money trying to become famous. Maddie is in her twenties, but has sacrificed her own life to only look after her family. After her mom comes back from Ghana, Maddie finds herself with a golden opportunity to move out and get her first apartment, go on her first date, and make LOADS of first mistakes.

I won't lie, the first half of this book is sometimes be hard to read. I just wanted to holler at Maddie and tell her to stop being a doormat while simultaneously kicking all of her other family members in gear so they can start being more helpful. It's pretty heavy handed on the sadness. The second half is where this book really shines. I rooted for Maddie so hard.

Our author Jessica George really does capture so many different important topics in this book - racism in the workplace, straddling two different cultures, grief, learning to stand up for yourself, picking yourself up after failure, and so much more. This is a solid debut novel.

*Trigger - Parent death

Maame/Maddy’s true self got lost while helping her family. When she gets a chance to go out on her own, she struggles to find her way with guilt and insecurities blocking her path. Grief, race, love and mental health are among the many important themes tackled throughout this interesting debut novel.

Maame- a word in Twi language that bears a lot of meaning. For Maddie, who is now 25, being called Maame at an early age was both an honor and a curse. For her, Maame, is a woman, capable of doing things, independent in living and responsible. She love the nickname at first but now hates it. She felt like being vested with the nickname make her grow up fast, missing her childhood completely. To me, Maame is a coming of age story for someone who is a late bloomer. Someone bearing the obligation of taking care of a sick dad who has Parkinson’s Disease while her older brother was living his life and her mother was far away. Maame was the girl who feels alone, unhappy, and is missing out on life!

I like how raw and innocent this book can get. I also like how realistic Maddie’s thoughts are! I feel for her dealing with her unhappiness in life, her uncertainty in her daily ways, her struggle working with a boss she did not like, her guilt with her father’s passing, her doubts and confusion with regards to daily conversations and most of all her hunger and longing for connection and experience!

I love the character development for Maddie, it was delicate and detailed and carefully crafted that it was impossible not to love Maddie and cheer her on! The entire book was written beautifully! Special thanks to @MacMillanAudio via @LibroFM for the complimentary audiobook, @St.Martin’sPress for the ARC and @Netgalley for the ecopy for review.

Wow I absolutely LOVED this book. 4.5 stars. It’s rare to read a book that has you rooting for a character the whole way through, but Maddie’s heartbreaking story of abandonment (and her parentification as a child), her guilt over her father’s death, her anxiety, to then seeing her growing confidence had my heart aching and then singing. I just wanted to shout “GOOD FOR YOU, Maddie”! What an incredible debut novel. I wish the author so much success when this title releases in late January.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Maame by Jessica George is a sad but hopeful coming of age story about a young girl caring for her father as he battles Parkinson’s. She is forced to grow up too soon as her mother flits back to Ghana for years at a time, often not sending her enough money. Seventeen is a hard year by many measures, add being a caretaker to your ailing father and that compounds everything.

Maame is a Ghanian nickname given to Maddie by her mother, meaning woman, which often feels like it was a foreshadow for her life. She’s had no time to live as she bore adult responsibilities and grew up way too fast. For me, Maddie sometimes felt ridiculously mature for her age, but at others, she borders between naïve and immature. I found the continuous googling to explain things a bit over the top, but the answers from google made me laugh.

This book deals with self-discovery, depression, race, learning to adult, romance, workplace dynamics and Ghanian lifestyle. I look forward to what’s next from this debut author. And, congrats to the artist who designed the cover art. This book is gorgeous!

I fell in love with these characters by the end of the third chapter. Jessica George’s writing is funny and witty and all of the things you want in a novel about the tricky time of young adulthood. She manages to cover so many topics within one book - race, family, disability/illness, friendships, the tough road to adulthood. Just a brilliant read.

Maddie is tired of being the responsible one. Nicknamed Maame (meaning "woman" in Twi) by her family since she was young, Maddie is the primary (and seemingly the only) caretaker or her father with Parkin's disease; she's holding the fort at their family's house in London while her mum spends most of her time in Ghana and her brother is out, living his own life. Maddie has put her life on hold to meet all the obligations and expectations her family has for her. After feeling stuck for so long, Maddie encounters both exciting and challenging life changes in a matter of months that push her to grow and find herself.

Maame is a beautiful coming of age story of a late bloomer. Maddie is such a likable protagonist--she's relatable, authentic, and a little bit awkward. Following Maddie's journey and seeing her overcome the challenges she faces throughout the book was an enjoyable experience. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced electronic reader copy!

First off thank you St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the early e-copy of this book that I really enjoyed. This is a story of a young women Maddie trying to find her independence while also dealing with family drama. George portrays a very real look at grief and the guilt that comes with it when thinking of the “what ifs”. After recently dealing with grief myself this book hit me in the gut while also offering moments of humor.

This was a beautiful novel about Maddie, a young woman living in London. Her father has late stage Parkinson's disease, and she is one of his primary caretakers until her mother returns from a trip to Ghana. Mama is heartbreaking but also charming, and I found myself rooting for Maddie as she faced hardships and new experiences as a young adult.

I don’t read a lot of literary fiction. I find I feel they drag and nothing happens. Maame made me want to keep reading. I didn’t want to put it down. The story of Maddie and her losses, depression, and her journey through the depths of darkness were raw and unique. As someone who also lost a parent in my 20s, I found myself really understanding Maddie and her feelings and frustrations. There was so much about grief and it’s different nuances that spoke to my still fragile heart. Grief never goes away, you just learn to live with it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.75⭐️

Maddie (Maame) is certainly not loving her life in London. At work, she’s the only black person in her office, and has a boss who isn’t very nice to her. At home, she’s the primary caregiver for her very sick father, while her mother has mostly abandoned their family for a shinier life in Ghana. When her mother decides to return home, Maddie thinks she’s been given an opportunity to finally experience the life she’s been dreaming about. But when tragedy strikes, her life is turned upside down once more, and she must figure out a way to get herself through it.

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

This is a highly anticipated debut novel that I am almost positive will be scooped up by one of the major book clubs. It is filled with complex characters, thought provoking subjects, and therefore loaded with discussion topics.

I love coming of age stories and while I was intrigued by the premise of this book, it tackled one too many topics and moved just a little too slow for me. Given the buzz around this one and based on the description, I was expecting an engaging and hopeful story, and this just didn’t hit that cord for me.

With that said, I have read lots of glowing reviews of ‘Maame’, so when this book is picked for your next book club, I would definitely recommend giving it a read and seeing what you think for yourself 😉

All the stars! What can I say about this that hasn't been said already? This is a beautifully written novel and is definitely a book that will stay with me for awhile. I don't want to give anything away so just trust me when I say you need to pick this book up once it publishes and read it. Can't wait to see what this author writes next, I will definitely be reading it!

Maame by Jessica George tells the story of Maddie, a mid-20s office worker who has always taken care of others at the expense of herself. She comes from an unconventional family—a mother who was often absent, a father who was often reticent, and a brother who left as soon as he could. Now Maddie is left in the care of her ailing father while her mother spends most of her time in Ghana and her brother works an unpredictable job. Then her mother returns, freeing Maddie to move out and start to live her own life.

Maddie is sheltered and awkward, inexperienced and isolated. And as she determines to try new things, she makes a lot of mistakes. The important thing is that she learns from these mistakes and continues moving forward. When tragedy strikes, Maddie is left to re-evaluate her role in her family and in her own life.

I felt the main theme of this book is the search for identity. I especially appreciated Maddie’s realization that the identity she has been living in may not be what she would have chosen. Maddie has to come to terms with her life as a Black woman, an aspiring professional, a sexual being, a friend, and a daughter. As frustrating and hopeless as her life feels at times, the reader is ultimately left with a sense of hope for Maddie’s future.

Maame is a book that touched me in several ways and helped me see the empowerment that comes from reclaiming the self. I highly recommend this one!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this to read. Set in London, Maame is a coming of age novel that follows a young woman learning to navigate the delicate balance of family loyalty and independence. We watch the main character grapple with love, loss, and identity learning to make her own choices and having to live with the consequences.

- 3.5 Stars -
For a debut novel with this level of difficult topics in it, I can honestly say that I think Jessica George handled them beautifully. There was a parental death, discussions on mental health and racism, there were descriptions of active panic attacks, and there were very real conversations with those that Maddie (our protagonist) needed to have with those she loved. All of these areas were written with tact and with an insurmountable amount of heart behind them. I was rather impressed by this specific area of the book.

I found Maddie’s life experience to be a little interesting because while yes, there may have been some things she did not experience up to the point of the start of the novel in her fictional life, there were definitely some things that she seemed a little too unrealistically inexperienced in. She had a job, friends, is responsible for her family, and is a mature young adult - she has life experiences. Her constant need and wonder of “what should I do?” “how does this work?” “can you do _____?” was interesting as she never seemed to go to her friends with these questions, but would rather turn to our favorite search engine Google. While some of the things she looked up gave me a chuckle, other things had me wondering why she didn’t just ask a living, breathing, human being…

Overall, this book was a well-done debut and had all the right things in it to be considered a coming-of-age story. If that’s what you’re looking for, then this is the book for you!

⚠️TW: death of parent, death, panic attacks/disorders, mental illness, racism, infidelity, abandonment

Thank you @macmillan.audio , @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review! All of the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.