First off, how beautiful is this book cover? It's one of the things that drew me to requesting it (Thanks NetGalley). But besides the cover, I honestly really loved this book. It discussed so many different topics that so many women (maame) deal with.

I really loved the character of Maddie. I feel like some of the struggles she went through (moving out on her own, making friends, finding her place at work, romantic relationships etc.) are things that most young women can relate to and have experience with.

The author also discusses topics like race (racism in the workplace, fetish etc) and while I cannot relate to this myself (as a white woman) I can appreciate the conversations Maddie had with her close friends. It honestly felt like I was listening in on their conversations.

At times I felt bad for Maddie, due to her family duties and role within her family. I honestly am still not sure if I like her mother (lol).

I also really loved how Maddie often asked Google questions about topics she had no information on. I thought this was a nice touch by the author, and made the character even more relatable.

I also had this sense of impeding doom for the majority of the novel, that something bad was going to happen - and while many 'bad' things did happen to Maddie (one being the worst of all - no spoilers though) she always came out on top and continued to move forward.

Finally, I appreciated the topic of Mental Health being covered and discussed throughout the novel, especially with Maddie having the feeling of "lots of bad things happen to people all the time, why am I having such a hard time'.

To conclude, I think this is such a great 'coming of age' story in a sense for young women and girls and really appreciated the story Jessica told.

I'm looking forward to reading anything else by this Author!

Maame is a book about a Ghanian family that lives in London; except for the mother who lives in Ghana. The two children of the parents, who are grown adults now, have a familiar relationship of siblings arguing at times. The parents are indeed married, however, the relationship the mother has with her two kids is somewhat unusual. This can be gathered from the beginning of the book. But as the book continued the author built on those relationships and I grew to really dislike one character for sure. It gripped me and wanted me to continue reading to find out how this situation would play out. I must say I was a little surprised by the ending, but the author took her time at revealing the ending, so it didn't abrubtly end. I ended up loving this book, and started to see a little of myself in Maddie (the main character and narrator of the story). I was very sad for Maddie when she was no longer ever to see her father again. And just like anyone, she felt guilt, even though she did nothing wrong. She struggled with her friendships, and intimate relationships, but in the end, she learned how to better function in those relationships. I would like to think she became a tough woman, independent, and not willing to let anyone run over her anymore. This was sensational!

I will be writing a book review on my blog www.sweenolia.com. The link to the blog post is below and will go live on October 11, 2022 @ 6am central time. I will also promote it again before the release date. I will also promote it on my Instagram page @sweenolia and my twitter page @sweenolia. Thanks and great job!! Libby

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

Maame by Jessica George focuses on Maddie, a late-bloomer in London in her mid twenties who decides to finally start living. At the start of the book, she spends most of her time taking care of her father, who has Parkinson's, living at home with him while her brother rarely contributes and her mother spends most of her time in Ghana. Maddie is stuck juggling a job that treats her poorly, repeated racism in the workspace and broader world, very limited support from her family, and the emotional challenge of coping with her dad's illness. Her nickname, "Maame," means woman in Twi, and represents the way that she has had to step up and care for her family financially and physically, with little thanks.

This book does a fantastic job at portraying the realities of grief and the difficulties of breaking out of your shell. When Maddie's mother returns home, Maddie decides to move out and gain the life experiences she's been missing out on. This includes making new friends and flatmates as well as beginning to date. Her experiences with a variety of love interests portray a heart-wrenching reality that reminds her of why she didn't date in the first place.

While the dating and romantic aspects of this book show Maddie working on the manifesto she creates (a list of things to do to make her "live" more), where this book really shines is in Maddie's response to her father's death. Her father has been the only constant in her life for such a long period of time, and when she finally agrees to leave his care to her mother, he ends up dying. We later learn that Maddie's mother was out with another man at this time. This leaves Maddie's world shaken, and causes her to intensely doubt her decisions. If she hadn't moved out, would she have been there to help? If she hadn't gone out with her flatmates the night before, would she have made it to see him on his birthday the next day?

Maddie lashes out at her flatmate, a reaction which feels incredibly realistic for what she's going through. The flatmates could have benefited from being a bit more fleshed out, but, the resolution with the flatmate she lashes out with is done beautifully and genuinely. Maddie also learns that the person she's been seeing has been dating a white woman as well, who he has been introducing to his family, giving gifts to, and bringing out on dates in public. Maddie is also facing hardships at work, where her ideas are used, but she isn't being credited.

This book would have been even stronger if the grieving section was a bit more prolonged. This was, by far, the most powerful and gripping part of the book, making me wish the reader had been let in on even more of that journey. So much of this book was setting up the backdrop, with Maddie moving out, going to her old job, getting a new job, etc. This part could have been a bit shorter to make room for the emotional growth that happens in the final piece. Additionally, Maddie realizes that her two closest friends have been incredible all along, and she doesn't need to befriend her new flatmates. This could have been strengthened as well by incorporating these two friends just a little bit more into the start of the plot.

Her family was another strength. The dynamic felt so realistic, with the love that she has for her family members despite the many times they fail to be there for her when she needs them. This book demonstrated a complicated and nuanced family relationship, where there were no villains.

Overall, this book was beautifully written and spoke to an experience that felt powerful and genuine.

Maame is an absolutely amazing debut novel from Jessica George. This is the type of book where the story and the emotions stay with you long after you turn the last page and you just want to tell everyone you know to read it so that you can have more people to talk to about the book. The story is written in a raw and emotion laced way that makes you feel like you are really inside of Maddie's head sensing all of the conflicting feelings fighting for air. Maddie is the glue that keeps her family together even if it means putting her entire life on hold and making sacrifices for people who would not do the same in return. When she is given the chance to finally step out on her own she is forced to ask her self who she is and who she wants to be, without her family. A series of life lessons hit her all at once with tremendous force and threaten to destroy the hope she had for becoming someone new, but its in this darkness that her true self begins to shine through. Maddie is a beautifully complex character that I am sad to leave behind but I'm also happy because of how much she has changed and grown.

The cover art sucked me in right away.

Maddie is solely responsible for her father who suffers from Parkinson’s when her mother is in Ghana, which is most of the time. When her mom comes home, Maddie steps out on her own to find herself and start her life but then tragedy strikes.

This was a great coming of age story but it was unique due to its diversity and exploration of grief. I loved the main character and how she grew. She was so naive and innocent in the beginning due to her upbringing. I loved how she started to explore the world and herself, but stayed true to herself and her personality.

I absolutely loved this story. If you are looking for a truly heartfelt coming of age story, then look no further!

Maddie, or Maame as nicknamed by her Ghanaian mother, is in her mid twenties and still living at home. She gets by day to day with a mundane job while also looking after her ailing father

Feeling ready to venture out and become a new Maddie, she finally moves out when her mother returns from Ghana to help with her father. Maddie quickly experiences a lot of firsts while on her own and appears to sacrifice herself for what she feels is good for others

Tragedy strikes unexpectedly and now it feels as if her whole life is unraveling. Maddie is forced to reflect on her life and whether she was expected to be her family’s everything, as stated in the meaning of her nickname Maame. Grief stricken and alone, Maddie works to find her way through living with a tragedy and the importance of who ask to come along with you

I truly loved Maddie’s character. This well developed story touches on racism, family dynamics, grief, and mental health. This book made me laugh and cry. I enjoyed learning more about Ghanaian culture. I will remember this story for a very long time

I liked the last quarter of the book. I just had a hard time getting into it. I didn’t really like the main character until near the end. I almost gave up on it, but I’m glad I finished it. Thank you NetGalley for the a to read this prerelease copy for an honest review.

What a great book. Maame manages to seamlessly blend the heaviness of family expectations and grief with hte desire of lightness of youth in a masterful way. It's a story a reader can lose themselves in and is fabulously written.

I loved this book. This was a well written, very well developed story of Maddie, a young woman living in London and dealing with struggles with family, job, illness, dating and culture among other things. Some of the things she was going thru broke my heart...but still she persevered. What a strong character. I cared so deeply for Maddie and cheered for her the whole story. I definitely recommend this book. Well done.

Maddie is a young black woman from Ghana living in London. For 8 years, she has been the primary caretaker and homemaker for her dad who suffers from Parkinson’s disease. Her mother mostly loves in Ghana and her brother is essentially absent. Maddie sends her mother money, works for a difficult and moody boss and often finds herself the only black person in work meetings. Maddie is quiet and the foundation of the family. Her mom has called her Maame, which means woman in Twi, since a young age. When Maddie’s mother moves back home from Ghana, Maddie takes the opportunity to find herself. She finds a flat to share with two roommates, changes jobs and dabbles in online dating. Maddie is torn between two cultures, her familial duty and the complexities of a dysfunctional and unconventional family. Can Maddie find her own path and perhaps joy and love along the way?

Review:
This debut novel is a powerful family story about self-growth, navigating grief, and growing up to soon from a mother’s abandonment. Maddie’s coming of age journey is compelling, inspirational and relatable. It dives into dysfunctional family relations, being a minority in the workplace, grief and exploring sexuality. Maddie is ready to shine and to find herself professionally, socially and to establish proper boundaries with her family. Maddie takes the reader along the joys and hardships of growing up and finding your way into adulthood. It is both and uplifting and heavy novel.

Thank you to Net Galley, Jessica George and St. Martin's Press for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a compelling and powerful read. It was relatable and though provoking. I love the Google searches. It was very well written. It covered a lot of heavy topics all while being so raw and honest. I will say it was a little predicable at times but I still found it very interesting. I loved the therapy/ metal health re.I would recommend this book if you enjoy: coming of age books, emotional yet funny reads, complicated family dynamics, unique storylines. This story is about so much more than grief, its about finding yourself, friendships/relationships and learning how to move on.

I honestly just could not get into this one. I’m sorry :-(. I tried a few different times. I try to challenge myself to expand my horizons and interests but this one just never caught on for me .

’Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman.’

This would be an impressive novel from a seasoned author, but knowing this is a debut novel is astounding.

This story pulled me in from the first pages. The way that it is shared feels as though a friend you thought you knew begins to reveal themselves for the first time, releasing all those heartbreaking moments, the ones they felt they had to keep inside.

‘Maame’ is the nickname her mother has called her since she was a child, a word in Twi language meaning many things, but the most common meaning is woman, which applies since her mother leaves her in charge of most of the adult duties of caring for the house and her father, and is taught to keep their family issues private.

Her real name is Madeline, or Maddie. She grew up resenting her nickname because she feels as though she never had a chance to live her life as the young girl that she was, but has always been expected to behave as a woman. Taking on the housework, and now caring for her father who has Parkinson’s Disease, as this story begins. Her mother is back in Ghana, which is where she spends the majority of her time, managing the hostel that she inherited from her father. As for her brother, well… he shows up now and then, but isn’t exactly reliable. There is a man who comes in to help, but Maddie is a young woman living a life that has been burdened with so many responsibilities, and yet never even been on a date or had a real relationship.

When her mother returns, she takes advantage of her return, and moves out of her family home and into a flat shares with other young women around her age.

As this story begins to share other aspects of her life - her job, her friends as well as the new friends she makes, it shows how the years have left her without any real belief in herself, and her lack of experience in the world outside the family walls. She’s vulnerable, and at times others take advantage of that vulnerability. Lessons she is determined not to repeat.

This is sweetly humorous at times, poignant at times, and explores so many facets of life. Death, friendship, racism, familial love as well as romantic love, and the pitfalls that can come with dating are part of this story, but at its heart it is a story of family, finding yourself, and love in all its many forms. There’s an element of quirkiness in Maddie as this begins that was a tiny bit reminiscent of Eleanor Oliphant, to me. Maddie’s someone who doesn’t seem to quite fit in anywhere, at first, but seems to find confidence as she navigates her new world, the one outside of her family, and sees that she is not the only one who is happy to be different, to be herself, and embrace that.

To quote Glinda, ”You had the power all along, my dear"


Pub Date: 31 Jan 2023

Many thanks for the ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press!

“Maame” is a debut novel by Jessica George. The parts of this book between Maddie and her father I found incredibly sweet - from the magic word “okay” to Maddie’s interaction with her father’s carer and Ms. George’s caring description of Parkinson’s Disease. The sections dealing with grief I also found thoughtful, but that’s possibly because of my own current “dealing.” I also liked how Ms. George showed Maddie’s work life maturity - it can be difficult to speak up and I applauded Maddie for doing so. In some places in this book I found myself remembering what it was like to be 25 and feeling like I didn’t fit in with my peers (though luckily when I was 25 we didn’t have social media!) and all the awkwardness that entails. I also liked some of the questions Maddie posed to Google - and how maddening at times looking things up on Google can be. Where the book felt a bit flat for me was the love life sections. Maddie can be awkward, but part of awkward doesn’t mean lying a lot (and she did that not only to potential dates, but also to friends, which bugged me). I realize this is a “coming of age” book, a topic I really don’t like, but if the coming of age/love life scenes had had the same thoughtfulness (and depth?) as the family sections I would’ve found it overall a lot more stronger and enjoyable. I also found it odd in one part where Maddie seems to refer to a reader; breaking the fourth wall confused me a bit. Overall, this book was a 3.25 star rating for me, but I nearly always bump debut novels up - so a four star rating. I do think that I would read another book written by Ms. George and I hope she considers it. I did like reading the Twi and learning a bit about Ghana.

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. I loved this book! The characters are colorful and flawed and the story deals with racism and mental health and job discrimination and family-related issues in a most interesting way. I totally recommend this book to readers who enjoy quirky stories and situations.

This is a really tough book to review. It’s gritty, honest, and important. There are so many important topics covered, and Jessica George does a brilliant job weaving them together into the story of Maddie, AKA Maame.

This is also the type of book that would benefit from a really thorough editor. It felt a bit like I was reading an early draft, not because there were grammar or spelling errors, but there’s a couple things that just don’t work for me. Mainly, the constant googling Maddie does. I skimmed all the sections and don’t think they add anything to the story.

Still, I’d recommend this book. It’s more a coming of age or New Adult novel, but it’s one that stands out for sure. I loved Maddie, in the end I really felt like I started to understand her family, and I adored her friends Shu and Nia.

3.5/5 stars

Maame by Jessica George is an emotional, raw, and compelling coming of age story. I won’t summarize, because I feel like the book description is spot on.

It was easy to feel for Maddie as she navigates extreme family responsibilities while trying to become her own woman. Sometimes sad and frustrating, other times joyful and hopeful, this book was a journey. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves an early twenties, female, coming of age story focused on the struggles between family responsibilities and independence. Maddie’s story will stick with me for a long while.

Special thanks to St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC via NetGalley.

This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had me turned pages without even realizing. It was so good!

This was really good, a quick read, easy to fall into and be consumed by , like talking with a good friend, very well written and enjoyable

It is a story about “coming to age” but not like most because this is a very sheltered 25 year old - and while she has been sheltered she was also made to grow up quickly talking care of her father who had Parkinson’s while her mother was off working in Africa leaving her for months / years to carry the family and the responsibility of caring for her ailing father. (Honestly made me so mad! I wanted to cuss her momma out!)

It brought up discussion on parenting and the reasons people have kids and how for many they have kids to have someone to take care of them when they are older or to hep with house / home responsibilities or have more kids because now they have kids old enough to watch the new kids etc. All of which frustrates me you bring someone into this life on your plan and for your needs - that is a person / an individual but I digress ….

There is so much in this story it is hard to narrow it down to talk in a review - it is a story about loss , change and growth , a story about dating and intimacy, friendship and making friends , work/life balance, finding happiness, finding your self, losing your virginity, family dynamics and so much more !

It is truly a great read - I would highly recommend you give it a go - it is likely a very different life and perspective from your own yet also relatable in many ways

Maame was one of my favorite reads of the year. It is a complex coming-of-age story with an older protagonist. Maddie is 25, living at home, treated poorly at work, and is the primary caregiver in her family, including her father, who suffers from Parkinson's disease. Maame explores complex family dynamics, depression, grief, dating, work, and racism as Maddie gains independence and discovers who she is and how she wants to live. This book is wholehearted and heartwarming. I was laughing and crying with Maddie as she Googled her way through some of life's most challenging questions.

It is a book I would recommend for any woman in their 20s who feel they are not who they want to be or to readers who love to read about complex family dynamics, grief, toxic family members, and complicated relationships.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the Advanced Review Copy provided for review.