Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. I wasn't able to engage with the story so I'm setting it aside for now.

I really loved this book. There are likable characters and unlikable characters. The characters are very well done. I also loved the writing style.

A really fun and light hearted read! Something we all can relate to is finding yourself while balancing your family’s expectations.

Stunning book. Beautifully written, nuanced, and heart wrenching. I'm excited to see more of this author's work, because there are stories like these that need to be told.

Maame is one of those rare reads that is both hilarious as well as incredibly poignant and heart warming. Maddie has been the caregiver for her father and held her family together while her mother lives in Ghana and her brother stays with friends. At 25 her life is dedicated to working, paying the bills, and meeting the needs of her father and others. She is given the opportunity to move out when her mother returns and finds her own apartment, the first of many firsts in her life. From living with roommates to dating to clubbing a new world opens up to Maddie. Through many ups and downs, her love for family remains the strongest force in her love. I laughed, I cried, and I loved this book. 5 stars.

Truly heart-wrenching and beautiful...the story captured me by the heart from the very beginning. This is one of those books that will have a lasting impact on me.

What a book! This is one I'll be thinking about for a while. Maddie's life in London is complicated. She is the primary caretaker for her father, who has Parkinson's, as her mother and brother are rarely around to help...though the former still proves to be overbearing. As life begins to shift for Maddie and her Ghanaian family, she must decide when and how to put herself and her dreams first, but a sudden tragedy may derail the bright plans she has for the future.

Maame was a stunningly accurate depiction of grief, anxiety, and depression. I related to Maddie's character so much, and despite our cultural differences, felt that her inner monologue was very akin to how those grappling with trauma and mental health issues think. The way author Jessica George displays Maddie's anxiety and depression symptoms, and how they manifest, was beautifully handled. I felt so endeared to Maddie as a character and found some of the most heartfelt moments arise as she navigates the dating world as a woman in her 20's. This is a coming of age story for anyone who has felt exhausted or under-appreciated but at it's core, it is a story of resilience, strength, and taking back autonomy in one's life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the book that I wished had existed 8 years ago when my father died. Jessica George’s Maame is an unforgettable protagonist who has to navigate her complicated feelings around grieving and her family while also dealing with the messiness that is our 20s—dead-end jobs, frenemy roommates, and relationships that turn squicky.

***Thanks to St. Martin's press and Netgalley for this e-arc***

Wow, this debut knocked me out. Maame is the story of a young woman in London finding her way after suffering a major loss. We follow Maddie on her journey moving out of home and trying to make it on her own. It's often hard and frustrating to watch her make mistakes but only because we've all been there and made the same ones. She is an incredibly relatable character. The writing is excellent and engaging and I found all of the characters to be believable. As someone who also deals with difficult family dynamics and eldest daughter syndrome, I was really touched by the conversations and the healing done within the story.

I'm late to review this book and am glad to see that I am not alone in rating this story 5 incredible stars!

4.5 stars. What a great story and beautiful main character! Probably one of my favorite main characters this year. This is a coming-of-age novel told through the eyes of Maddie. In her 20’s and has not left her sick dad’s side, this is a story of grief and accepting changes. It’s sad, raw, funny, and beautiful all at once. Maddie is a character you can’t help but love.

This book took me a bit to get into. I'm old enough to be the main character's mom and I think that had a lot to do with my reluctance to get into the story. I'm glad I continued though. Maame is a coming of age story about Maddie, who has been left by her mom and brother to deal with her dad, who suffers from Parkinson's. Maddie is only in her early twenties, but she's been a caretaker for her dad since she was a teenager. With all this adult responsibility she has never really had a time to find out who she is outside of her house. Her mom moves back and Maddie moves out with flatmates, Cam and Jo.

Maddie finding out who she wants to be was a relatable tale. Figuring out how to become your own person and not take care of everyone around you is difficult when you've always been put in the role as a caretaker. I enjoyed Maddie's journey to a new job, new life, and new relationships. The writing style was engaging and rooting for Maddie to become her own person. Her trials and triumphs felt real and she was a flawed, but wonderful character.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of Maame by Jessica George from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinions. Oh my heart - this book is lovely! I seriously ignored everything once I started to read this book and had to pull myself away to go to bed. It's absolutely fantastic. Jessica George has a writing style that you will fall in love with. I'm adding her to my list of must read authors and can't wait for the next one to be published. Do yourself a favor and read this now!

Torn between two worlds, Ma’ame is the story of a young girl who has to grow up too fast as she becomes the primary caretaker for her father suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Her mother is in absentia most of the time and she has little interactions with her daughter. This is a story of a young girl trying to come of age when her childhood has been stripped from her.
Recommended for readers of coming off age stories especially as it pertains to those adapting to different cultures.

It took awhile for me to get into this book, but once I did, I had to finish. I really grew to love Maddie and to try to understand her. I hate when girls are taken advantage of by their families and left to take care of everyone else. Which is what happened to Maddie and now she is trying to find her place in the world. It doesn't help her mother is absent but somehow still overbearing. Her brother is no help. And after losing her father, she is trying to be a better daughter to him. Once Maddie starts opening up about her feelings and her loss, her family starts opening up as well and she sees a whole new side of them which helps the reader dislike them a little less as well. Maddie does have good friends in Nia and Shu to help her through boy problems, family problems, work issues, and her grief. The way grief is portrayed is so real. Maddie's grief comes and goes in waves and any progress she thinks she makes sometimes slips away and she has to keep going. After reading The Rachel Incident and Adelaide, this was a beautiful edition to the genre. The writing is so sincere, I could not distinguish between Maddie and her writer, Jessica George. I can't wait to read more from George!

Absolute must read with a narrator on the audio version that brings thr story to vibrant life.

I loved depth and vulnerability to Maddie’s journey, and felt every heartbreak and triumph woven with rich reflections of her Ghanaian upbringing.

An incredible coming of age story I just could not get enough of. Chalk full of emotion and hope, this definitely was not an easy read, but it was so worth the emotional turmoil I went through reading it. It left me raw, but in a good way.

I loved the characters, they just felt so real. I thought they were developed to begin with and they just became even more real as the story went on. As a character driven reader, I absolutely loved this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Excuse me while I wipe the tears so I can see what I'm writing ... whew

For some, this may not hit that close to home or be relatable, but for others it will. How many of us feel isolated and alone even when we supposedly have people who love us and care about us? Or feel like we have to do it all and make sure everyone else is happy first? I bet there are quite a few who feel this way. For a long time I was one of them ...

Man my heart...Maddie (Maame) is such a great character. Her innocence, strength, determination and quietness are showcased so well and the fact that she is introverted and doesn't like to speak up had my soul hurting. I FELT all of that. I cried a lot during this one.

There is a lot that I could relate to with Maddie and her thoughts. Even the parts that I haven't had to deal with yet left a mark. All around good read, while at the same time sad. Definitely recommend for those that want a solid and serious read that tugs at the heartstrings.

I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

🌺Maame - the coming-of-age story of late-blooming Maddie, caught between her Ghana roots and her London life. It's impossible not to cheer for her as she stumbles a lot yet finds her way in romance, career, family and friendship.. Especially impressive since this is a debut. Liked it a lot!

Maame has several meanings in Twi but when applied to Maddie it means woman and oh boy, does she have to grow up quickly. She becomes the primary carer for her father who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease while her mother spends most of her time working in Ghana. Even from a distance her mother rules the roost and is an expert in the art of manipulation and less tour and more force. When her mother returns home for a while Maddie takes the opportunity to move out and start living the more normal life of someone in their 20s. When tragedy strikes it forces Maddie to reassess a multitude of issues.

What a beautiful read this is, Maddie captivates me from the start and I become fully immersed and engaged in her life as she faces all her ups and downs. It’s sad at times and at others it’s poignant, sweet, tender and very moving especially the relationship between Maddie and her father which is written with such empathy and love. You want to yell at her mother and brother whose selfish use of Maddie makes you so angry. Maddie is such an endearing character, she’s bright, somewhat of an innocent and a bit naive but she’s very caring while keeps her emotions in check until she doesn’t. Then I’m cheering her on from the sidelines loving her telling certain characters exactly how it is! She makes me laugh too, I love her Google questions and who doesn’t have conversations with themselves? I love both the old and the new Maddie.

This is a book that takes you on a journey, that of an an an awakening and a voyage of self discovery. It sounds includes some difficult topics but does so really well and with sensitivity. I love the ending, in fact, scrap that, I love the whole book. It’s feels fresh, different and is a wonderfully written debut novel. Highly recommended.

I was drawn to this book by the description of Maddie as the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. I was hoping the book would shed light on what that looked like and the challenges and considerations of helping loved ones with degenerative diseases. The book wasn't exactly that, but it was also a lot more than just that.

It started slow but I'm glad I stuck with it because it's a beautiful sort of coming-of-age story that pulls you in and makes you feel. The emotions were real and felt - I didn't need to fabricate feelings, they were drawn out of me by the story and the author. Moments of cringe, aches of sadness, tears of joy, and calm assurances were all part of the rollercoaster of this book. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm glad this book wasn't just what I hoped it to be because if it had been, it couldn't have been as deep and complex as it actually was.

Triggers: loss of virginity, drinking, drug use, manipulation, broken family, death