Maame is one of the best books I've read all year. I am so glad I was approved to review it, and will absolutely post about it on my Bookstagram/review for Goodreads... review for Amazon... and wherever else I happen to be eligible.

This book, a coming of age/troubled twenties story about the 25-year-old British daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, was absolutely wonderful. As the eldest daughter of an refugee... there was a lot I could relate to in this book. But whether you had similar experiences in your family or not, there was something in this book for everyone, from beginning to date to making friends to figuring out a new workplace to moving in with new roommates. I genuinely think there's something in it for everyone.

The author absolutely nails the main character, Maddie. Her voice sounds authentic, witty, and aware of everything going on around her, even when people seem to think that she doesn't see it because she's on the quieter side. Maddie's having new experiences throughout the book, and reflecting on them as she goes. Maddie's emotional range is written beautifully - from guilt to joy to anger to just being so overwhelmed, everything felt really well done.

This book has a lot of events happen, but I wouldn't say it's plot-driven - it's definitely a story about Maddie growing up. Still, I thought the events were handled well, and the side characters were allowed to have depth that you don't always see.

This is a great book. Highly recommend.

When I think of women'sfiction, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels. This is a perfect book to snuggle up with on any day.

If you read only ONE book this year, READ THIS BOOK!

Oh my goodness...this book is so good. I loved it. I loved that the character had so many tragic things happen and she still pushed on. I absolutely loved how she would google things that she was uncertain of.
My heart went out to the character to all of her burdens from taking care of family, taking care of herself, her friends, her work....yet everything always seemed to backfire.

I think this book is going to win a TON of awards and it should. The writing is beautiful, the emotions are raw and unburdened, and I think that just about every single person on this planet should read the book!

I love a good coming of age story and this debut novel started off strong.

Maame, also known as Maggie, spends most of her time caring for her father with Parkinson's, while her mother is in Ghana and her brother lives his own life. But, being in her mid-twenties, Maggie wants more for herself. She moves out in an attempt to create her own path, but struggles with the guilt of her newfound independence overshadowing her family commitment.

You don't read about the Ghanian culture very often, so I enjoyed this aspect of the book. For me, however, things started to derail when one too many characters came into the picture. It just took away from the story and made this just an ok read for me. Props for the cover.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I felt this was an absolutely wonderful book. We really got to learn about the main character of Maame/Maddie, as she went on a quest to know herself. I felt the family and career aspects of the book were both on target and I found this book hard to put down as I just had to know what happened next. Modern and current topics were dealt with with just enough emphasis without shoving anything down my throat. The chapters were just the right length and I found the writing style pleasing. I also felt that as a book based in England it was very readable for an American; sometimes British books are too heavy handed for me,, Having just experienced a similar situation in my life also gave it a lot of relevance, I would highly recommend this novel!

This is a perky, contemporary read about Madeline, known to her famile as Maame. She is British with Ghanaian ethnicity and is working to put her heritage together with her experience of being raised in Britain. The main struggle in the book is finding out who she is, as she has often put aside her own needs or desires to be the glue holding her family together.

There is a lot to like about the book. The voice that the main character tells the story in feels fresh and flows well. The subject, about race and identity is important and a good way to get a view into what that life could be like. However, I also felt that the book had several flaws. The majority of the book is Madeline struggling to figure out who she is, and making increasingly poor choices. I some point, I wanted to be like "girl, you need help, what are you doing". It seemed like most of the book was her just being naive and getting in deeper and deeper, then without any real development/character arc she suddenly pulls herself up and starts to get back on track. It didn't have the gradual build and change of a book like Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I found the mother extremely annoying, and both her and the brother a little over the top. I would also personally have loved if it went deeper into Ghanaian culture or experience; although perhaps that is out of the scope of what the book is about

Although I did enjoy the book overall, it really slowed down and didn't leave me with the feeling that I'd been on a deep emotional journey. Still, the writing was interesting and I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it

Author Jessica George has set the bar high with this first foray into the world of literary fiction-meets-women's lit. Maame is surprisingly mature for a debut, which is owing to the strength of its central character's voice. Maddie is contemporary in her existential angst and listlessness, yet she possesses a real depth, stemming from having to become an adult at far too young an age. I think the juxtaposition between her having taken on so many responsibilities, but also being so far behind in other ways, is what makes the character most compelling. She's seen so much, but also has so much to learn in terms of exploring her body and sexuality, and navigating the world of living on your own. My only fault with the novel was that it does feel quite bleak for most of its duration, so it wasn't a book I was excited to keep coming back to each chapter-- it was good, but not enjoyable, if that makes sense? It also annoyed me that when there's a tiny windfall of money, the only 'socially acceptable' thing to do with it is to give it to charity... If it had been millions, I would've completely understood the altruistic approach, but it felt like at such a small amount, it wouldn't have made a dent in a charity, whereas it could've been something that helped ease the burden on Maddie's day to day life.

I think this will be a real hit for fans of such books as: You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty, Sorrow and Bliss, These Impossible Things, and Nightcrawling. The central character isn't as sexually liberated as some of the women in the aforementioned books, nor does she have as much edge-- she's far more depressed, a la Sorrow and Bliss or something you might see in an Ottessa Mossfegh novel.

Maame is such a deep and powerful book. Maddie’s self-discovery is so heartbreaking and beautiful. I really enjoyed all of the characters, and thought they were all relate able. The author handles many complex issues wonderfully.
Highly recommended for readers who like coming-of-age stories.
Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Maame is the progression of a young sheltered woman who is about to embark on an awakening. The awakening of herself. It’s a slow read with impactful moments that aren’t filled with theatrics. Just day to day interactions with those around her and the simplicity of it is what actually is the beauty of this book. I was half way through when I thought hmmm… will this pick up but quickly realized “it” (the magic of books) was happening all along. I absolutely loved the character of Maddie. Quirky and innocent and brave. She reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant and Molly from Prose’s The Maid. I thoroughly enjoyed reading how she developed into a true maame. This would make a great bookclub book. So much to unpack!

I absolutely loved this book! I highly enjoyed how Maddie’s character was so relatable and how she confronts coming of age that provides current life scenarios intertwined with the right amount of humor!!!! It’s phenomenally written to the point where it struck a nerve and had me tear eyed from time to time. If I could re-read this for the first time I would, can’t wait for it to be released so I can get a copy.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I flew through this book. It’s a coming-of-age story about a young woman who’s coming of age at 25 because she’s spent her early adult years caring for her ailing father. How Maddie views herself is shaped by her responsibilities within her family and by her Ghanaian parents’ cultural background. Having grown up in London, Maddie straddles cultures. She now has an opportunity to figure out who she wants to be outside of her family home.

Maame tackles depression and grief as Maddie deals with loss.

Her romantic life is frustrating to read about because she’s so naïve in that arena, but it’s also understandable why she would be so innocent as that part of her life had been on hold since high school.

Maame is an engaging novel.

This started strong for me, faltered in the middle, and ended well. It had a lot of potential. I think it tried to address several important topics, but there wasn’t enough time to devote to them all.

This was a great debut. I loved Maddie. This book was about so many things but mostly it was about her grief. Maddie is Ghanian and her parents follow traditions and one of the expectations is that she not talk about her problems with strangers. Or anyone for that matter. Unless it's her mom. The problem is her mom checks out of her life. Her parents are still married but her father is sick with Parkinson's and her mom spends a year at a time in Ghana and even tho Maddie has a brother named James who is older and could easily help out he doesn't. So Maddie, or Maame, as her mother calls her which means woman, is left to be responsible for everything.

Her mother is returning and when she does Maddie is encouraged to finally move out of the house at age 25 and experience life. And she does. Fortunately she has a couple great friends but she's pretty naive about things. She moves into a flat with 2 girls and things don't mesh very well. I just feel for Maddie when something happens midway through that puts her over the edge. She's always just barely hanging on, she's sad and depressed and wrestles with it. Her mother was not very motherly and then when she shows up she expects Maddie to treat her like she's the best mother in the world. her mother is definitely not my favorite person in this novel. Maddie deals with dating and finding a job and speaking up for herself and getting a little self esteem and coming to terms with her grief.

The only disappointment with this story is everything just came together swiftly at the end boom boom boom and it felt rushed and took me out of the story. And there were parts that went on a little longer than they needed to but it's a debut so I have so much confidence that this writer will be creating wonderful stories in the future, or at least I hope.

i received an ARC of this book, and jumped straight into it without even looking at the description. i did not know what to expect. i was not left disappointed. This book is a 4.5 rating in my opinion. Amazing. left me speechless, very grateful to have been given the opportunity to read this early. Re-Read worthy. As a mixed person of colour this book creates a level of comfort and relatability to the character. The struggles of being the only person who isn’t white in a group, in a job, and in a school can cause many affect on how the person feels. Coming to terms what is considered racist and what isn’t as well as Maddie’s understanding that she isn’t less than anyone else just because of who she is makes this book ten times better.


Maddie is a 25 year-old black woman living in London taking care of her father who suffers of Parkinson’s. Her mother and father have a complicated relationship which leads to her mother living in Ghana a good majority of the time, returning back to London without explanation, Maddie takes the opportunity to branch out and explore life. A great tragedy occurs which causes Maddie to realise how life won’t stop moving for a single person.


CONTENT WARNING:
poc racism/fetishisation
mental health issues
death

Maddie is 25 years old and has been taking care of her ill father. Her mother has returned from Ghana and she is moving out. She realizes that her she is behind her peers in life experience and is eager to get started. Maddie has been to university but has a dead end job. She does google quite a bit to try to judge what is normal. Is this what young women do? Since I am not in my 20s it was very interesting to see what the dating world is like. Maddie is a highly relatable character who you will cheering on throughout the book.

I really enjoyed Maddie's journey in this book and I highly recommend it and look forward to more books by this author.

Thank you to #netgalley, #JessicaGeorge, and #Macmillan for an early copy of this book.

I could not stop reading Maame. A beautifully moving novel about a young Black woman in her mid twenties, Maddie is trying to find herself (aren't we all at that age?). The book begins with her stepping away from the role she has held for so long: taking care of her father, who suffers from Parkinson's. She moves out of their home and into a flat with roommates, and she also begins job hunting when she is fired from her job. When tragedy strikes, she navigates grief while still being very lost with who she is, and watching her explore the grieving process and the living process simultaneously is both beautiful and so hard. Author Jessica George has created a gorgeous novel exploring that age old question: who am I, alone and with others? Who do I want to be? I LOVED this one.

Maame is coming to terms with a harsh past, and an unknown future at the same time she is struggling with her father’s failing health, and cultural clashes between her Nigerian family and her life in London. She manages with humor, making some mistakes, along with sincere introspection. At times it came close, but was never depressing for the reader; Maame learned to ask for help, and came to gain some maturity through her experiences. The family dynamics between cultures depicted some universal truths, too! This 70 year old grandma enjoyed this lively read.

This debut novel is so beautifully written, it is hard to believe it's her first! I loved the storyline, loved the characters and loved how the author wove it all together. Jessica George has a very bright future ahead of her.

Thank you to net galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

If you're looking for a diverse, BIPOC, coming-of-age story, I highly recommend this quick read by Jessica George. The protagonist, who has become the default caregiver for her father (suffering from Parkinson's Disease) , suffers from mid-twenties malaise. Her tethers are many. Those around her who should be stable (a tear-prone boss), an irresponsible older brother, a mostly-absent mother) are self-indulgent and undependable. Maabe discovers opportunity for independence by moving into an apartment with flatmates. This is a novel that generously traces an emerging spirit. Maabe learns uncomfortable lessons about the subtleties of racism, but ultimately the success of the novel is in the growth of all (well, most) of the characters. I will happily add it to "free choice" reading opportunities for students.

I went into this book blind and I’m so glad I did. I loved it!!! Everything was done so well. I absolutely looooved the writing style!!!