I just finished Maame by Jessica George and was blown away with this debut novel.

Maddie has been called “Maame” since she was young. In Twi, this means woman. The nickname has made her feel a responsibility since she was a little girl and has carried that with her into adulthood.

Growing up, Maddie’s mother would spend every other year in Ghana, leaving her to feel unwanted and alone. Maddie was never able to move out on her own because she took on the familial duty to care for her ailing father. When her mother comes home, she urges Maddie to move out on her own.

What comes out of this is a journey of grief, guilt and self growth. Jessica George did an incredible job of making Maddie so relatable. From the insecurities and awkwardness to the honesty of her subconscious thoughts, I felt like Maddie could be any one of us.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was such a powerful debut novel! Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Look out for this moving Women’s Fiction novel February 6th, 2023

A beautiful and moving story centering around Maddie, also known as Maame, as she find her way through difficult circumstances and life changing events toward a fuller and more authentic life. Jessica George weaves an engrossing, nuanced and fresh tale of a woman coming to terms with her past, reimagining her future and learning to love herself and others better. It's the sign of a great book when you come to consider the protagonist a beloved friend and can't wait to catch up with them again when the next book comes out.

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martins press for the Arc copy, what a fantastic read!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced e-book for review.

Right away, I’m drawn to Maddie as she talks about how Black people are raised to keep their home life their business. You don’t talk about what’s going on and what’s happening in your family. To be sad, depressed, have anxiety or any of that is something a person who doesn’t have faith should feel. And feeling, who does that. One is to get on with life and taking care of your family and self.

Maddie is the youngest person in the Wright family, the responsible one. Her mother and brother have left the care of Maddie’s dad exclusively to her. He has Parkinson’s. Maddie loves her family but she has grown up way before her time.

It broke my heart that she Google’s everything. She doesn’t know she’s depressed. But I suppose that’s something people do these days. Especially young people.

Overall, there was a lot to like about the genuineness of Maddie’s experience with her father and upbringing. But there was several things I didn’t enjoy about the book but I suppose is the sad reality of the generations coming behind mine.

The language, f-word so randomly dropped. Expand your vocabulary and google a word that can intelligently replace and reflect your feelings.

The need to fit in, Maddie’s list of things to do when she moved out to live on her own for a bit. I hate and despise that the world we live in makes a person think and feel the pressure to conform to zero standards of morality and self respect/esteem. To try drugs or smoke, to loose your virginity because you think it’s what’s you are supposed to do by a certain age. I really wanted to step into the pages of this book and be a friend to Maddie and tell her you don’t have to do this. Figuring out who you are apart from the responsibilities you’ve carried shouldn’t be this list.

But I digress. At times it just felt that the author threw in everything you could think of, I especially hated the predatory relationship Maddie started with the older white man. Yuck. Again, someone to have helped Maddie see him for what he was.

I’m giving this 3 stars although I think it could have been 4 or 5.

Great book! Such a wonderful story!
You hear, "I could not put it down"? Actually true for me with this one.
This book will stay with me for a long time.

Maame was an incredibly moving book. It was a refreshing novel to read, as Jessica George tackled familial love in a way that connected readers to her characters without compromising the mood of her book. Maddie, living in London with her father — whom she is the main caretaker for because he has Parkinson’s — is a relatable character who feels confined by familial and cultural duties to help out her loved ones, while also struggling to stay afloat in a demanding and racist world that takes pity on no one. When her mother arrives in London, after being away in Ghana, Maddie takes that chance to leave her childhood home and try to discover who she is. Maame is almost like a late-bloomer, coming of age story, but it’s so much more than that. It is a book about first love and heartbreak, tragedy and grief, racism and familial/cultural duty; but truly above all else, it is about the journey of self-discovery amidst the turmoil of the world.

I highly recommend Maame by Jessica George. It goes on sale February 7, 2023.

This is a beautiful, powerful but heavy story. It's about family expectation and how that can shape who we become. It's about grief and loss but also about growing up and finding your own way. Maddie is a powerful character because she is stable, quiet and comfortable. She is the one in the family that is the foundation. She's taking care of her father, continuing to put her life on hold as she lives at home and commutes to work. She is fixing meals and spoon feeding her father. Even though she has back pain, she is lifting him in to bed at night.

It isn't until thing start to unravel - the job, the family, her father - that Maddie begins the see the cracks in her life. She's not happy, why isn't she happy? Why can't she just continue to smile through it all? It's only through the love of friends, the work through guilt and the forgiveness and accpetance of family that Maddie finally starts to dig through it all to see who she is. It's raw and real and so moving to read. And every time she said "okay?" to her dad, I couldn't help but smile. This one was so good!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Maame is me and i am here!! My God did this novel gag and read tf outta me!! I think almost every first/second gen child of immigrants can relate the hell of out Maddie and her complex relationships with her parents and siblings. I am just blown away by the writing and these fleshed out characters! Maame’s not perfect and never claims to be but she has suffered under the immerse pressure of being the present child! Of being the present daughter! Of carrying her family’s burdens and problems and ignoring her wants and her desires and her need! A people pleaser! A classic case of high functioning depression! Maame is raw and honest and i loved when Maddie decided to move out and live her life! Her awkwardness, anxiety, dealing with micro-aggressions in interracial relationships, her professional life and that of her flatmates. I am very bias hence the 5 stars. Im rooting for all my Ghanaian sisters especially those who can write their ass off. Miss George has written a relatable novel that inspires hope, flesh out grief and leaves you feeling seen! Maame, to me, is an unforgettable novel, that also humanizes parents and their sacrifices without taking away too much from the points that need to be driven! Overall an amazing and enjoyable novel that I highly recommend!!! Cannot wait to see what else Ms.George has in store!! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC for an honest review!!

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. Great book! It is so well written! I loved the character -Maddie. This book checks every box for me as a reader. I will be recommending this book. Thanks again for letting have a chance to read it.

Maddie, a young naive black woman, works and cares for her dad with Parkinson’s so.she has very little time for herself. She starts building a life for herself by speaking up at work, finding girlfriends to go out with, and having a sexual relationship with Ben. She uses ‘Google’ to ask questions about relationships,etc.

This book does not have enough plot and is very slow. There is too much focus on planning a funeral and on negative social experiences.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication: February 7, 2023

This book reminds me of Elenor Oliphant so I think fans of that book should definitely give this one a try! We follow Maddie as she tries to navigate life while trying to care for her sick Dad but abandoned by her mother.

The synopsis of this book sounded like something that I would enjoy but I'm starting to think that these types of books aren't for me as a reader. I loved the idea of learning more about Maddie's life and seeing how she can process each thing that is thrown her way.

However, as a reader I struggled with all the internal monologue and how choppy/jumpy the writing seemed. I think the author was trying to make it seem like we were inside Maddie's thoughts but it left me feeling disjointed.

Perfect for fans of: Eleanor Oliphiant is Completely Fine, Queenie, internal thoughts, women's fiction

This book was oh so beautifully written, with so much heart and soul! You walk through the growth of the family an the grief , self doubt, and then the grits of starting over! It was absolutely everything and more! I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with a book as much as I have this one!
Sweet Maddie had to grow up way before her time. After years of caring for her I’ll father, her mother finally sees fit to come back home an let her daughter live her life, as she should have been all along! This is a book of sacrifice, to show just what you will do for the ones u love, but there are always consequences to doing so! I can’t emphasize the heartwarming and heartbreaking beauty this book is! Read it. You will be forever changed ‘

Maame, by Jessica George is a coming of age novel about 25 year-old Maddie, who has spent much of her life being an adult, without actually living the life of an adult. She is smart and talented but finds herself trapped in jobs where her supervisors have different ideas about her career trajectory.

Maame is the story of how Maddie escapes the expectations of her family, friends, and employers. Although she is 25 years old, Maddie has never experienced life, which means this coming of age novel begins a complicated and sometimes unhappy period of growth for a woman, who is naive and often depressed. This novel is both heart-warming and sad. The descriptions of characters are complex and nicely detailed. The setting is London, and Maddie, who is Ghanan, navigated both her families rich heritage but also life in London, where most of the population is white.

I do recommend this book. I found it nearly impossible to put down Maame. Maddie captured the imagination of readers, who will learn about the ways in which traditions and heritage find a balance in London life.

I want to thank the author and publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you also to NetGalley for introducing me to another writer, whose prose is beautiful to read.

A first novel for the author and really good.
The central character -Madeleine-Maddie-Maame (twi in her native Ghanian language) is the central character in the book.
Through her, George covers so many topics-illness and the toll on the caregiver, marriage dynamics, racism, pathologic family relationships, depression, true friendship, work discrimination, and Maame’s sexual growth and maturation. There is something in this book that everyone can relate to. In short, a book I was hesitant to read and didn’t think I would enjoyed-wow, was I surprised.

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher. This is my honest review.

Honestly I don’t know how I feel about this book. It had potential, I felt I had a bit in common with the main character (especially taking on being the sole caregiver for a parent). I assumed it would mostly be about how Maddie navigated her personal life through out her father’s sickness. But less than half way through I was bored & started disliking the MC. She lied about unnecessary things which in doing so just made her life more difficult. The obsessive googling was ridiculous and annoying. I had to force myself to finish the book because I felt obligated to since it was gifted to me.

The dating scenes were too fantastical. No they didn’t have happy ever after endings but it’s hard for me to believe Maddie was capable of being so cheeky on dates and every guy she met was instantly falling for her when she had a hard time making friends or simply communicating with others in her daily life.

But the book does bring up very relevant & important topics (depression, people pleasing, microagression, racism, abandonment, adult peer pressure, imposter syndrome, ect). I know life is messy but maybe there were too many topics taken on by the author.

This is more of a 2.5 if it was possible to give half stars.

This was a beautiful book that I enjoyed more and more as a read further. It handles mourning and mental health so delicately and in such a raw way, and by the end I cared so deeply about protagonist Maddie. If you’re looking for a novel with emotion, depth, and growth — this is it.

Maddie is a 25 year old child of two Ghanaian immigrant living in England. She has assumed responsibility of her ailing father, who is sick with Parkinson’s. The book begins as a slice of life, until - spoiler? - Maddie mother returns for a visit from Ghana and her father dies — and as the challenges she faces simmer together, we learn alongside Maddie that her increasing symptoms can be attributable to depression.

I appreciated the reality of the book - the way the author discussed loneliness, and Maddie’s raw feelings. The start was slow for me (where is this going? Maddie felt one dimensional) but it turned into a beautiful story about honesty, communication, and frankly growing up. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy in this book in exchange for my honest review.

"Maame" is a tour de force of a debut novel from Jessica George. It touches upon so many themes, but in a wry, poignant, and stark way. George's book reminds me a lot of 'Queenie' by Candice Carty-Williams in it's unabashed view of life as a 20-something young black woman in London.

The story revolves around Maddie, a young black woman of Ghanaian ancestry living in the UK. She is the primary caregiver for her father, who suffers from Parkinson's, and her mother and brother are constantly MIA. She's stuck in a dead-end job and her romantic prospects are not looking much better.

In this debut novel, George packs so many themes into a quick, digestible read. (I devoured this in one sitting!) She touches upon dysfunctional family drama, cultural and racial minefields in work and society, online dating (ugh!), sexuality, grief, and depression. I thought the sections about caring for her father and her mother's abandonment were especially well-written. Unfortunately, not a full 5 stars for me because I do think there were a few too many themes to be fully given their due and the romantic entanglements sometimes took the book into rom-com territory which clashed a bit with some of the other sobering themes.

But, definitely an enjoyable, worthwhile read. And excited to see what else this author has to come! A solid 3.75 stars (rounded to 4) on my end!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

There are some books that are so relatable that you cannot put it down because you are just rooting for the character. This was the book that for me.

I grew up similar to Maddie by being a late bloomer who constantly questions their thoughts, feelings and actions and how it effects others. But this story is more than just a coming of age story with a likable main character. The author does a great job of examining race, culture, familial relationships, guilt, and mental health.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to seeing what this author does next!

It was a solid 4.5 stars throughout but the ending was so… happily ever after. It felt like everything wrapped up too neatly in an unrealistic way. But I did really enjoy reading it.

Maame is Jessica George debut novel about a young London Ghanaian named Madeline Wright or Maddie as her friends call her or Maame as her family calls her.

“Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman.” Jessica George

As a young adult of twenty-five Maddie has not had the same lifestyle as other young adults her age. While many of her friends are off to the city to live, out partying with friends, finding romance, traveling, and just exploring life, Maddie has had the responsibility for the past eight years of caring for her father with Parkinson all the while working for a boss with mood swings in a theater company. Maddie receives no help from her brother that promises to visit but never shows up; a mother that can find time t0 call and ask Maddie to send money from her hard-earned savings account but is too busy in Ghana helping her brother and his family business to return to London to help with her husband’s care.

When word arrives that her mother plans an extended return to London, Maddie jumps at the chance to move out of the family home into renting a room with two other flat mates. In addition, Maddie is forced out of her dead-end theater job to finding a new job in a small publishing company. As Maddie starts to explore all the things a twenty-five year can do without all the responsibility, she makes up a The New Maddie challenge list …

-Drink alcohol when offered
-Always say yes to social events
-Wear new clothes
-Cook new food
-Have different experiences (Travel? Brunch?)
-Try weed or cigarettes at least once (but don't get addicted!)
-Wear makeup
-Go on dates
-Lose your virginity.

Maame follows Maddie as she explores numerous successes and difficulties .. proving herself at the new job, learning to speak up for herself, working at new friendship, keeping up with old friends, dealing with a dysfunctional family, discovering romance, dealing with love, loss, and grief, discovering sex, and understanding her own self-worth.

Maame was a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed reading about Ghanaian culture and while this was a coming-of-age novel I found the beginning slow and very hard to get into. Truthfully, I had a hard time connecting with Maddie, I found her to be juvenile in in actions – googling even the most mundane questions. I just wanted her to stand up for herself instead of being the doormat she was making herself be .. which she finally does at the very end. I found part of the story rush and other parts just dragged on.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Release date for Maame is February 7, 2023.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley and publisher, St. Martin’s Press. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Publishing: February 7, 2023
Series: Stand Alone
Pages: 320

This debut novel by Jessica George was soooo wonderful.

Maddie Wright, nicknamed Maame (means woman in Twi) since childhood gets the chance to move away from home to discover what life feels like and who and what she wants to do with it. She is a door-mattish type of person who takes on a passive observation of her own life as you get into the story. At first, I said…another naïve person who gets walked all over but as you get deeper into the story…I related to Maddie and her circumstances.

She is thrown into adulthood early when most of her friends have either left the city, gone off to college, enjoying the party life, becoming roomies and even having the occasion romance or two. Maddie’s transformation into a grown-up life came when she learned that her father had Parkinson’s disease and she is left by her mother and brother as his sole caretaker. With a non-existent brother who never visits, and a money moocher mother who’s been in Ghana for over a year, and unlikeable boss at her theater job…she feels alone and trapped. The story takes a happy turn when she finally is afforded the opportunity to break away from her prison and live a life that she believes most 25-year-old young women should live.

I loved this book so much and could relate to Maddie’s family dynamics, relationships with her family members, exploring the sexual side of her, wanting romance and hopefully feeling what happiness is all about. Such a heartwarming, well-written story for a debut novel. This story makes you think, cry, empathize, angry, smile and laugh. At certain parts of the story, I found myself teary-eyed and loving Maddie and her plight the more. So not what I expected but glad I had the opportunity to read this beautiful 5-STAR debut…did I say debut 😊. Highly recommend this one.