Maame is a story about a young woman with Ghanaian parents navigating the pitfalls of young adulthood in London. My first impression of Maame was that it was a typical novel about a twenty-something protagonist who is unhappy with their job, family, and life. However, having a mother who lives in Ghana and a father with advanced Parkinson’s disease is not at all typical. Maddie still lives at home, where she is the primary caregiver for her father, with only a small amount of respite given by an employed aide. Her brother lives in town but is no help and her mother lives in Ghana, with only short visits to London but frequent overbearing texts. Maddie’s job is stressful and unfulfilling and she is the only Black person in the office. Maame delves deeper into emotions and relationships than I had expected, making it a much better novel. Maddie’s sensibilities are deep and authentic, particularly her grief. Her friends and acquaintances are well developed. George imbues her characters with genuine personalities and feelings. The inclusion of Ghanaian culture was energizing and enlightening. I found this read to be much more rewarding than I had anticipated. It should be noted that there are graphic sexual scenes and discussion, so this is perhaps not something to share with a young reader until one has read it themselves. I highly recommend Maame. Thank you to Jessica George, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I received an ARC of Maame from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Maddie is a 25 year old with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She takes care of her father who is suffering from Parkinson’s, runs the household, and holds down a supremely unsatisfying job as a personal assistant in London. Her mother is away for years at a time in their home country of Ghana and her older brother is busy with a life of his own.

When her mother returns to London, Maddie takes the opportunity to move out and try to become a new, grown up version of herself. She makes some missteps and learns some lessons the hard way, but does make a life for herself, when everything gets upended by her father’s death. She navigates feelings of guilt, depression, and aimlessness while beginning a new job, trying online dating, and dealing with roommate drama.

This book touches on racism and immigrant experiences with such a likable and relatable protagonist. I gobbled it up and would recommend this read to anyone who appreciates character-driven storylines.

What a debut! Parts 7 days in June, part Transcendent Kingdom and part tv show Insecure, I loved this coming of age novel. The main character Maddie is at the center of this book and we meet her as she is caring for her ailing father. She soon decided to leave home and try new things like dating and pot:) Maddie stumbled along the way, has to grieve along the way but ultimately becomes closer to the woman she’s meant to be. The book was touching, funny, astute to current climate/events and I loved it.

Maame is the coming-of-age story of Maddie, a young woman living in London, devoted to her family, but she’s held back from achieving her potential. It’s a slow-moving but heartfelt novel. It thoughtfully covers many themes like race, gender, grief, love and mental health. Bravo to debut author Jessica George.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy!

OMG! Why did it have to end??? What a wonderful read!

I was deeply affected by this well written coming of age story that had me experiencing all the joy, sadness, hurt, anger, frustration, and grief right alongside Maame.

Maame was her father’s caretaker while her irresponsible Mom and brother selfishly went on to live their lives. For them it was just fine with Maame being the primary caretaker to look after her father with Parkinson’s. One good thing that came out of this sad, unfair situation was that Maame was able to show her father how much she loved him by being there when he needed her most.

This novel makes you feel for Maame through all her experiences in trying to find her place in the world, often feeling unloved and unwanted. I hurt when she hurt and was sad when she was treated unfairly. She is a lovable character and you’ll watch her grow both personally and professionally and will root for her all the way!

What a wonderful read! Jessica George, I’m waiting for your next novel!!

My thanks to #NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc of this incredible debut novel. This opinion is my own.

3.5
Overall, I enjoyed this. It was interesting to read about Maddie's journey to discovering who she is outside of her life taking care of her family. I felt for her as she navigated new social situations and learned to stand up for herself. I thought the writing was fine, but I didn't particularly like the way Google was used so frequently - it was a little distracting and got old quickly for me.

Received a free copy from Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book. The main character was relatable and I felt both sadness and happiness throughout their journey. I am happy to see the representation of stories from minority communities .

A beautiful read that kept me thinking! I was so glad to get to read this early! I look forward to recommending it to my friends and family!

Maddie "Maame" Wright has lived up to her Ghanaian nickname her entire life, Maame, responsible woman but as the years go by, Maddie is feeling more like 55 instead of 25; the responsibilty of that name slowly wearing her down, physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. When her mom returns from Ghana, the decision is made for her to leave the nest, and live her life carefree without the responsibilty of her ailing father, the pressure of her nagging mother, just like her responsibilty shirking brother. Will Maddie survive these London streets pick up Jessica George's excellent debut novel Maame and find out.

I absolutely adored Maame, it was playful, poignant, and perceptive, while at the same time witnessing Maddie live her life could be pleasurable, painful and perplexing. In my opinion, those are the characteristics of top notch storytelling. Yet, George's writing shined most when tackling Maddie's mental health, particularly in therapy, which still a taboo topic in many of the Black diasporic communities. Hence if you are looking for a book that skillfully balances the up and downs of everyday life of Black women, while giving readers quite a few laughs Maame is the perfect book for you. 4.5 stars

Maame by Jessica George is a lovely coming-of-age late story. It’s about family, grief, self-growth, guilt, regrets, and starting over. Faced with living in two very different worlds, that of her Ghanaian relative’s expectations of her and her own passions. Maddie has a lot on her plate from taking care of her father with Parkinson’s to her mother back in Ghana living a separate life and being the only black person in her office. Something must change for Maddie; she feels as if she can't go on like this anymore, wondering what happiness feels like.

What a book! I loved it so much! After going through something similar with my father having a stroke. I really related to parts of this book. It constantly pulled on my heart strings. Maddie (also called Maame) is such a beautiful character. She is relatable, even though her experience is far from what I have lived. The book is filled with many amazing insights into dating, family, and emotional balance.

This book might make you cry, it will remind you of what love really feels like and it will sweetly coddle you if you know what grief is. I am patiently waiting to see what Jessica George writes next.

This is an incredible debut novel by Jessica George. Such a detailed story, the writing is easy to follow, the characters are relatable and intriguing. Maddie is a 25 yr old London woman with a whole lot going on in her life - her mother is living in Ghana, her brother is non-existant, and she's left home caring for her father with Parkinson's. She's got a horrible job and is eventually fired. She's got terrible luck with men. Things finally turn around when her mother returns, she moves into a flat with roommates and starts dating.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This one was hit and miss for me.

I liked Maddie's growth throughout the story, and I liked the discussions around "Maame" and what it means to Maddie and her family. I thought the author did a great job bringing her characters to life. I really liked Shu and the depiction of Maddie's mom. There were a lot of really great lines in the novel about family, love, life, and happiness, and I was pleased with Maddie's growth throughout the story.

What I didn't like, though, was how juvenile Maddie seems. The sex scenes were awkward (except for the last one). I get that she's supposed to be sheltered, but she has friends who have sex. Why doesn't she know anything and why did she have to Google every step of her life? A lot of this read like YA to me. I was also getting tired of getting dragged along in her guilt. I was desperately hoping she stands up for herself at some point. Doormat characters drive me up the wall. She does, but not until the end, and there's a lot of angst in between.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Maddie is ready to finally break free from her sheltered life--with her mother often absent from their London home while caring for the family business in Ghana, she's left to care for her ailing father by herself. Her job is unfulfilling and she wishes there were more diversity there.

When her mother returns, she finally gets the chance to move on with her life. But soon, tragedy will strike.

The cover of Maame is so visually striking, I think it will draw so many people to it. And Maddie is quite the sympathetic character, especially in caring for her father. I also loved her naivety--in a world of books where most characters are anything but, she was a breath of fresh air.

At times, I found reading her narrative was a little depressing, however (though I do understand her mood), so I think I would need to be in the right frame of mind to really connect to it.

Overall, a satisfying read.

Thanks very much to St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read an early copy of this book through NetGalley as part of it's influencer program.

A charming, captivating read!

Maddie is a 25 year old living at home, helping care for her father with Parkinsons'. Her mother lives part time, okay most of the time in Ghana, and her brother seems to be more concerned with his own life. Even though her mother pays for someone to help care for her father, Maddie feels a sense of duty to stay at home.

Soon she gets news that her mother is coming home for a year, and she finally considers moving out on her own. The story follows Maddie as she learns who she really is and who she wants to be, how she wants to move through the world.

Jessica George does a great job of making Maddie feel relatable. I love seeing the world through Maddie's eyes, and being reminded of what it's like to feel young and lost and looking to find my way.

Maddie’s mom has always called her Maame. In Twi, it is a term of endearment that means woman.
As a young girl, Maddie loved being called Maame especially by her mother. But as she started to grow up and realize the actual work and responsibilities that a lot of times fell onto SOME women, she wasn’t so sure about the name anymore.
Sometimes we are thrust into situations where we have no choice but to do what needs to be done because we know that if we don’t, no one else will. The amount of stress that comes from knowing that you don’t have a choice can be extremely overwhelming, especially when you know there are people out there that COULD and SHOULD be helping you but they are not. Regardless of their reasons and how justified they think they are, no one deserves to be constantly piled on.
At 25 years old, Maddie is a virgin that still lives at home with her terminally ill father. Her mother splits her time between their home in the UK and Ghana where she runs her father’s hostel. Maddie has an older brother, but he moved out and rarely comes home to visit or help. As you can imagine, Maddie is stressed, unhappy, and at her wits end.

Maame was a very enjoyable read. As an only daughter with a brother, I definitely understood what Maddie was feeling. Sometimes there’s this expectation that families place on the girls and women that aren’t placed on the boys and men. Not only are we expected to carry on these responsibilities that are strictly based on gender, we are expected to carry them regardless of the other things we have or don’t have going on in our lives.
Maddie is overwhelmed. She’s 25 and is still trying to figure out her life. There is so much she doesn’t know about herself and she honestly doesn’t have the time to find out. In this story, George takes us on a journey of self discovery with Maddie. It starts off with a lot of funny and awkward moments, but then it gets VERY heavy and very real. There are moments where you will laugh and moments where you will cry. There are even moments that will make you want to scream.
Beautifully written with great character development! I cannot wait to read more by Jessica George.

I really enjoyed this book because it so REAL. Growing up in an immigrant family, and being the first born Canadian, I could relate to a lot of the story.

The story is about Madeleine (Maddie) who leads a very quiet and sheltered life, due to her circumstances & Ghanian upbringing. Her dad has been sick for years and she's been his primary carer, with her brother James not really being around much and her mother spending alternating years in Ghana. She's 25 and her mother is coming back for the next year, so she decides it's a good time to move out and start living life. She experiences many firsts and finally starts to find herself on her own terms.

I personally loved how raw this story is. It can very isolating living in a 1st world culture with parents set on their mother land's traditions. This story really brings Maddie's reality to life. I would encourage everyone to read it if only to see other's realities through a different lens.

#indigoemployee

I just reviewed Maame by Jessica George. #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published February 7, 2023.

I liked Maddie from the start. Her commitment to her sick dad is admirable, especially given that her mother and brother are pretty useless. She is struggling to find out where she fits in the career world. She is also a self-proclaimed late bloomer who is experimenting with Internet dating. All three aspects of her life kind of collide and make her people-pleasing tendencies.

I don’t know if this is a true spoiler but it was pure coincidence that in the book her dad passes away from Parkinson’s on the anniversary of my dad’s passing 15 years ago. So that struck me a bit harder than it would most people. She regrets not being there for him in the final hours but luckily I don’t have that guilt on my shoulders.

But what I really appreciated is how Maddie grew up and developed a voice so she could stand up for herself with her family, her job, and with the men she is meeting. She finds true friends in Nia and Shu.

Maame kept me on a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish. From Maddie’s grief to her excitement of dating, I felt it all.

Maddie was forced to care for her sick dad from an early age. She was 25 before she had the chance to go out and find herself. And that, she did. I cheered for Maddie along the way and I finished the book with a smile on my face.

Maame is a heartfelt novel about a young woman taking her first steps end of the world on her own. The daughter of Ghanaian immigrants to the UK Maame leaves home for the first time to live on her own. She deals with career struggles and racial inequality, while also taking her first real steps into the dating world. Things do not go easily though, through the course of the novel she will deal with first heartbreaks and the biggest heartbreak of her life, the loss of her beloved father to Parkinson’s disease. Maame’s life goes through a lot of changes in a very brief span of time, and will never quite be the same again As she discovers what many of us discover in adulthood, that sometimes you can’t go home again you can only move forward.

This book was a real winner for me! Thanks to Net Galley and St Martin's Press for the chance to review it.
This is the story of Maddie, who lives in the UK , born to immigrants from Ghana. Her family is unconventional at best and Maddie is definitely the good girl, holding the family together.
This is a wonderful coming of age novel - Maddie is coping with family, work and relationship (friendship and romantic) issues. Challenges come fast and furious on all these fronts. Through it all I was struck by Maddie's grace. Powerful issues are dealt with here. Most impressive to me was Maddie's struggle with situational depression. There are also racial, immigrant and generational tensions. Chronic illness is also sensitively dealt with. I felt the gamut of strong emotions reading this book- tears, laughter and hopefulness.
The writing is fresh and brilliant.
The characters are alive. A mark of a good book is making the reader believe the characters are real and if they are sure they are not then wishing that they were real. I do hope this is a memoir of sorts.
I think the title (Maddie's family nickname ) is quite clever.
Overall this is one of the best books I have read this year and I believe it will be a big success. Expected publication date is 2/7/2023.