I love this book so much; It's hard to believe it's a debut writer! Maddie, a young Ghanian woman living in London, takes care of her father with Parkinson's Disease while working at an entry level job and navigating her difficult family. She's a 25 year old with the weight of the world on her shoulders, an old soul. Things keep piling on, she suddenly loses her job, her Dad's health deteriorates, and her absent mother arrives from Ghana. Maddie, working through her grief and depression has a lot of grit. She is an amazingly fresh voice. As Maddie figures things out, Maame will have you crying on one page and laughing out loud on the next. What a great debut!

A beautiful story from cover to cover! This novel made me feel all the emotions. Fantastic read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

What a fresh new character in Maddie (aka Maame). Maddie’s mother is off in Ghana working at her hostel, whil she is left to care for her father who is suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.
This novel touches deep in the heart, focusing on family disappointments and trying to find your own way while being a primary caregiver. Maddie finally branches out and is met with disappointments, racial discrimination and finally lands an editorial job where she finds her niche.
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC and the opportunity to enjoy this fabulous book.

This book opened my eyes a lot about culture. Maddie’s family is from Ghana and family is huge. She is 25 and has spent her adult life taking care of her sick dad, while her mom is in their homeland. Her mom moves back and Maddie finally gets to move out and life on her own for once. This book was interesting to see how a 25 year old adapts to the world when they have never had the chance to stay out late and be themselves. You can’t have relationships if you don’t leave the house. It was eye opening and how even if you love someone, you still need to have your own life and experiences. Parents can’t control their kids forever.

"Maame" is the debut novel of Jessica George - and quite frankly, I still can't believe it.

George's first work focuses on 25 year-old Maddie Wright, a black girl living in London with a lot on her shoulders. Maddie's father has been living with Parkinson's for many years, and having to care for him means she still lives at home. Her oldest brother, George, is almost never home. Maddie's mother lives in Ghana, helping her brother run a hostel, and frequently calls Maddie to berate her. Maddie works a less-than-desirable job as a personal assistant in a theater company, where is she unexpectedly and unfairly fired from - and to top it all off, Maddie's mother suddenly announces that she's flying to London to stay with her husband, so Maddie is forced to move out.

The story is told from Maddie's perspective, and I immediately developed empathy for her character. Because of her childhood (or lack thereof) and upbringing, there's a lot in life that she has been able to experience and enjoy. At just 25 years of age, she also bears the crux of the financial responsibility for her family, and it's clear she's been forced to grow up faster than she should given the lack of support from her other family members. Throughout the rest of the novel, Maddie navigates countless difficulties: finding a new career and speaking up for herself; working through new and old friendships; rampant racism and sexism in both personal and professional environments; grief and loss; confronting her fears and family members; and exploring sex and her understanding of it. Despite the lengthy and heavy topics, none of it feels forced or inappropriate - George introduces them carefully and with care, and it's just a reflection of what many people today struggle with.

My one (very minor) quip with the novel might be the writing style; I understand the prose was intentionally pared down to match Maddie's character and voice, but there were many instances I felt I imparted my own emotion and experiences throughout the pages. Nonetheless, George's novel is a triumphant one that features a complex and all-too-realistic main protagonist who ultimately succeeds in finding her own identity and path in life - and one that I will recommend to anyone to read.

I really thought this was going to be a DNF book, which I know, isn’t exactly the most glowing way to start a review. But lord - once I was able to get into this book, I couldn’t stop. I got so into reading it one sitting that I ignored the fact that I got my first bug bite of the summer (and the five that followed!!) because I wanted to get through the book.

Now admittedly, I’m more of a romance reader, who dips her toe into contemporary fiction every so often. I think that early on, I also just told myself that I would read it only when I was commuting, which wasn’t exactly fair to the book either.

The actual book: I think part of the reason I struggled, especially looking at the whole picture, is knowing that I could see so much of myself in Maddie and I didn’t like that - I didn’t want to admit that so much of her story is where I’m at as I write this review. But once I let myself just accept that somehow, someway, this book made its way to me at the right time, it was so much easier to enjoy the book and use it to process things I hadn’t said out loud (and tbh, giving me ideas of things to bring up to MY therapist).

This book has a beautiful way of talking about struggling with what I’ve lovingly deemed living grief in my own life - the idea that a loved one will be gone physically from your life, sooner rather than later. And the frustrating struggle of having to balance wanting to live your life and not wanting to miss a moment of theirs, because you don’t know what you’ll have left with them. Towards the end of the book, I cried tears of all kinds: joy, connection, sadness - it was just so easy to find all of these moments that make you feel every emotion.

I guess my one note is that Maddie seems unbearably frustrating at first - which given my comparison to myself, makes me wonder about me. BUT anyway, like I said, Maddie is someone who truly grows throughout the book and my frustration faded away as I saw Maddie becoming New Maddie, beyond her list.

Oh this story. I really felt for everything Maddie went through. She experienced so many highs and lows during this novel and I found her voice well-written. I think this would play really well as a mini-series or limited series. It had that BBC Miniseries vibe to it. I resonated with her putting her own life on the back-burner while being a caregiver for her father. Its such a difficult thing to do, especially for someone at the age of life exploration. A great read!

I loved this charming coming of age story. The character of Maddie was vividly brought to life. I found myself really pulling for her and wishing for good things. Jessica George deftly handles grief, loss, and racism in a way that breaks and heals the reader's heart.

A very engaging read. Jessica George has crafted a solid story with a thoughtful protagonist. She tackles multiple social issues while keeping focus on Maame/Maddie's freedom, independence, and personal growth. I appreciated getting a glimpse into the nuances of being raised in a Christian, Ghanian family and loved Maddie's verve in exploring her old and new life. A good read.

Maddie is 25-years-old and still living at home. She’s the primary care taker of her ailing father. Her brother lives locally but leaves all the work to her. Her mother spends much of her the time in Ghana running a family business. Maddie is lonely and overwhelmed. She hates her day job, too. She has few friends and a nonexistent social life. Then some things change. All of sudden she crashes head first into an age appropriate life and she is left reeling.

This book is SO good. Maddie is a lovely character. She’s sweet, funny, and genuine. You will root for her. The family dynamics are interesting with Maddie’s parents being immigrants from Ghana. Maddie and her brother were born and raised in London. Maddie has to reconcile her western upbringing with the traditional role she’s expected to play within her family. Maddie has some cathartic moments and it’s nice to see good things happen to a good person.

Maame excelled as a character driven coming of age novel. While the premise and plot were similar to other books - the execution, family and love relationships with the cultural and racial nuances and struggles felt fresh and were well executed. Recommend reading for those who liked We Are Not Like Them and The Other Black Girl.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I jumped into this book with high expectations. I was intrigued by the summary and had seen raving reviews by others who had been provided with proofs to review. That being said, I just could not get into the book and thus, had continued to force myself to read it. The writing style felt all over the place. The insertion of text conversations and emails were meant to provide an insight into Maddie's mind, in regards to the life of a twenty-something Black woman trying to get by in the corporate world of London, while she took care of her ill father and trying to have a social life, but it felt messy. While the general gist of the book did come across, it did not fully live up to my expectations and unfortunately, I am disappointed to say the least.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Jessica George's debut novel follows the life of Wright - a young woman living in London taking care of her father who has Parkinson's. When her mother returns from Ghana, Maddie can finally get out of the house and try many "firsts".

This story deals with growing up, grief, family, guilt, and being a woman. It was a beautiful, poignant read. I look forward to reading future novels of Jessica's.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Maame.

This was a deep and loving look at growing into yourself when you’ve straddled two worlds for so long. Grief and renewal are central themes and are handled beautifully.

At times I found it hard to track everything going on, but I think that’s the reality of complex life and situations. The writing was sharp.

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. 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. But it's not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and of putting her heart on the line.

I struggled to like this book. There are so many amazing reviews for this one and I’m sad I didn’t like this more. There are so many great issues this book touches on but I think because there was SO much going on, I couldn’t get invested. It’s a great debut that should get a lot of attention so please don’t let my review push you off it.

Thank you to Net Gallery and St. Martins Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A charming and captivating first novel! I loved, loved this book, found it inspiring, thought-provoking and timely. It’s a coming of age story for a young woman as she suffers the loss of her father and ventures into the world. Deals with racial discrimination in a thoughtful and caring way that was actually quite inspiring to me. The book is funny, poignant and makes us consider our relationships with our friends, our moms and as moms. I think most women would enjoy it. I was personally touched as my husband has Parkinson’s so it was a book written for me and to help me in the coming years..

Such a beautiful story- broken up with some comic relief every now and then- but it doesn’t pull away from the main essence of family within this story. I can definitely tell this will be a hit of the year, and a popular one among book clubs. I for one cannot wait to get my hand on a physical copy when it’s released!


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to. Receive an arc in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars! This book tackled heavy topics with sensitivity and sometimes even humor. It’s a beautifully written debut novel and I was rooting for the main character, Maddie, from beginning to end. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an electronic ARC of this novel.

Maddie Wright is a 25 year old Londoner who has a low paying and unfulfilling job and spends the rest of her time taking care of her ailing father. Her mother spends the majority of time working in Ghana, and her older brother just makes excuses as to why he can't help.

When her mother comes back to London for an extended visit, Maddie takes the opportunity to strike out on her own and tries to discover who she really is now that she is free to be a young adult. She moves out, finds a promising new job and starts to date and make new friends. But soon, tragedy strikes, and she's left to pick up the pieces of her life and decide who she is going forward.

Maame, by Jessica George, is a well written, emotional journey about finding yourself and dealing with the roles other people put you in. It deals with grief, family, expectations, online dating, gender, the immigrant experience and many other thought provoking issues. I thought this was a very entertaining book and will be thinking about this one for a while.

Maame by Jessica George is an endearing, emotional story about family, finding one’s self, and coming to terms with life and all that it has to offer.

The books I’ve received Netgalley lately have been disappointing, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel!

Maame tells us the story of Maddie, who has spent a lifetime convincing herself that the restrictions and isolation in her life are all due to voluntary choices and personal preferences. When her mother returns from Ghana, Maddie is asked to move out. She realizes this means she can finally start living her own life. She resolves to be a different person. She will drink alcohol, date, and not say no if offered a cigarette (although she does say she doesn’t want to become a smoker).

Growing up, Maddie was told not to speak of family issues. To Maddie, this meant not sharing anything with her friends, as wasn’t everything ultimately a family issue? This also meant Maddie didn’t have many friends or people to talk to. This impacts her ability to interact with her roommates and co-workers, and she soon learns that she needs the support of others.

Living on her own terms, Maddie soon learns that freedom is a double-edged sword and not everything she thought she knew about herself is true.

This novel touches on many topics, ranging from familial love and duty, sexual abuse, elderly care, death, and the comforts of friendship.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own.