Sweet, charming and funny – and utterly heartbreaking too. A wonderful insight into bereavement and family dynamics. An excellent debut.

Maddie has long been called Maame by her Ghanian parents. It’s meant as an endearment and an acknowledgment of how helpful and dependable Maddie is. With Maddie’s mum so often abroad, Maddie becomes her ill father’s carer, giving up much of her own life in the process. Then Maddie gets the chance to move out. She wants to start living for herself and maybe even to find love, but is she ready to break away from being Maame?

At times laugh-out-loud funny, at other times shocking or poignant, Maame is a powerful debut novel.

This is an incredible read. It is beautifully wirtten with a captiavting storyline and well deveoped characters that were believable, relatable and loveable. I couldn't put it down and I can't wait to see what this author writes next

It took me a couple of chapters to get into this book, so I would say if you are not blown away at first, please perservere with it. The book did start to draw me in and now I have finished, I can say that I enjoyed it . The situation that Maddie finds herself in, is not great as we meet her. She is caring for her chronically ill father and loses her job. She has a tiny social circle and is not really a sociable person. She describes her first dates, the beginnings of her sex life and moving away from her father's house. In some ways she is very naive, in others old for her age as the caring duties for her father have rested on her shoulders.
I liked the way Maddie opens up as the book progresses, though she hits rock bottom first. Lots of advice along the way and Maddie comes to recognise that she is not responsible for others reaction towards her. Lots to think about, attitudes to race in work , relationships , friendships and grief which add substance to this book.
Thanks to Net Galley For the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a delight of a book, with an equally delightful protagonist. Maddie has had the role of matriarch of the family foisted upon her from a very young age. When her father dies when she is in her mid-twenties, she decides that it’s time to start living for herself. This book depicts her emotional journey of self-discovery with wit, wisdom and insight.

This is a fabulous book. It reads like a memoir describing her experience of leaving home and finding her feet as a London born Ghanaian in her 20’s. It is brutally honest and touches so many emotional nerves, yet becomes a celebration of life, a victory for warm, sensitive, thoughtful human interaction. The female lead is both vulnerable yet possesses an inner strength that allows her to tell people where to go when they deserve it.

My slight problem was the expression of faith from the mother was akin to a prosperity doctrine. ‘If God has t answered your prayers, you haven’t prayed hard enough’. This is theologically wrong in my opinion. The problem of unanswered prayer is a bit more complex than this simplistic answer.

However, I loved this book.

Maame was a charming and relatable read for people rediscovering themselves as young adults, it was warm and emotional but also funny.

Wow, I loved this book! I did not want to put it down. I was really rooting for Maame to find happiness and was not disappointed. The book was really well written and I will definitely be looking out for more books by Jessica George. The ending was beautiful!

I so enjoyed this book. Maddie is such a relatable character for most of us. She feels she hasn't really lived yet, due to her responsibilities for home and family. This is her journey to find herself. It could've been quite a heavy subject, but there's some amazing humour that lightens it and makes it a very good read. Some wonderfully vibrant descriptive prose also added to my enjoyment. My sincere thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

My god what a debut!

Maddie is 25 and still living at home in order to care for her dad who has parkinsons. Her mum spends most of her time in Ghana and her older brother can never seem to find the time to help out. Her job is rubbish, her love life is non existent and she just feels unable to say 'yes' to anything fun that might come her way.

When her mum comes home Maddie has the opportunity to move out for the first time in her life. Suddenly the world seems to open up to her - a new job, dates, time spent with friends. Until tragedy strikes.

Maddie is a protagonist that you just want the world for. She is so likeable and her struggle with even realising she's suffering with depression feels all too real. The friendships are also second to none.

I loved this and pretty much flew through it in a day, I hope it gets the reception it richly deserves!

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to review this book!

Maddie is not happy about growing up and about the troubles that entails, but she has a list. However, things don’t go exactly according to her plan.

Maame is a story about the search for happiness, grief, family dynamics, romances and the writing style makes it as authentic as possible, very easy to relate to!

maame is the story of a name, a young woman moving out, a carer and a mourner. the novel follows maddie - who to her family is ‘maame’, meaning woman, a term of endearment that carries a heavy weight for the character. with a mother more often in ghana than at home and a brother always travelling, maddie is the primary carer for her dad with parkinson’s disease, putting him to bed four nights a week and preparing meals whilst navigating full time jobs. when her mother comes to stay for a year, maddie moves out - but then her father dies on his birthday when she wasn’t able to visit and her grief triggers depression she didn’t know that she was suffering from.

there are so many well-developed discussions in the book, discussions of employment and work environments, racism in relationships, discussions on love and sexual pleasure, religion and of course, grief. i found these to be nuanced despite the more colloquial narrative tone. i actually struggled to enjoy the writing style at the beginning, but after i got used to it, i realised it’s actually quite well matched to maddie’s internal monologue and i started to connect this character and how she thought in some ways as her thoughts confronted these themes.

overall i really enjoyed the novel - i especially loved the characters of maddie’s best friends. i also appreciated the description of the beginning of maddie’s journey with realising her mental health struggles. i don’t think it’s anything groundbreaking but nor was it badly written - once i got into the book i really enjoyed it and some parts made me really emotional, but i personally didn’t love the writing style. however i would recommend adding this book to your tbr when it comes out!!

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book.
Even when I was reading it, I wasn't sure where it was going or what type of book it was trying to be.
But oddly, I loved it all the way.

Maddie works as a PA to a senior manager who's having a massive meltdown and taking it out on those around her. Maddie gets fired for her bosses insane mistakes and leaves to try her chances in a field that's much more interesting to her.

Outside work, she cares for her disabled father who has Parkinsons whilst her mother goes to Ghana for a year at a time and leaves her to get on with it. Her brother is missing in action and does very little. All the weight is on her shoulders.

Then suddenly, her mum decides to come back and suggests Maddie moves out. She sets herself some targets to become the person she wants to be. She takes us with her as she experiences being the 'not quite good enough to tell other people about' girlfriend to a well-off businessman. She lives with being the only black face in the room on multiple occasions. She has relationships that hurt - physically and mentally - and she shows us wonderful friendships.

I really enjoyed getting to know her and following her evolution in this lovely life-affirming book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

Just stunning. Maddie is such a strong and beautifully written protagonist. The crucial message being to talk!! Talk about problems or thoughts or feelings. Sharing is caring in order to protect our minds. Wonderful and empowering. Total recommend

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no large gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book therefore a star is lost for this.

I’d describe this book as realistic fiction. The author has done an amazing job of creating imaginary characters and situations that depict the world and society. The characters focus on themes of growing, self-discovery and confronting personal and social problems. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Maame is a ravishingly funny, moving, intriguing and remarkable. As a debut novel, it is first class for a young girl trying to find her voice. You meet Maddie and you fall in love with her innocence, her vulnerability, her openness to find out about life and living. She is a caring dotting daughter, a loyal friend, a wonderful sister and a hard working employee. Her search for love is a connection point for all those who want to feel special in the relationships they are in. Her choice of partners is questionable, but isn't that what growing up is all about? What is touching is her special relationship with her dad. Despite his illness, she is there for him, juggling all the things in her life just to take care of him. Her love for him continues, unquestioning and solid. By going in between different cultures, - British and Ghanian, Maame is an intersectional piece that sensitively bridges many gaps. The digital space is enhanced as Maddie makes Google her friend and her life coach. This book is a must read in a modern era. Jessica George - well done!

I found the beginning a bit tough to get through as it starts of very dark and sad but I soon found myself falling in love with Jessica George's simple and captivating voice. The story made me smile and cry throughout — a wonderful and touching novel that will stay with me for days. I can't wait to tell all my friends about it.

Maddie's family is complicated but it must be kept private; that's what her mother told her and her role as Maame means she is the woman that holds it together. Until things change and actually, Maddie finds that keeping everything together comes at a cost.


I enjoyed this story; it's full of real life problems and experiences. I learnt a lot about being of Ghanaian descent and how that can impact your life experiences. There are lots of complex issues that are unpacked within the story, but they all feel organic and happen naturally. There were some writing devices used I didn't always enjoy - the Google's for example- but I enjoyed the natural flow of conversation and emotion.

Something about the cover and description of this made me think it was a literary book. (A trend lately, me thinking the wrong thing about books!) I went into it not sure what I'd think of it, but it reads like a rom com, albeit with some heavy parts - at least, it does until that section around about the middle, after which everything changes. Not in a bad way, but the tone in the second half is very different.

I liked Maddie, she seemed like a real person (you know what I mean! Some characters are a lot more 'real' than others.) I thought her googling things was cute and worked well for a contemporary novel. I love her friends and I want friends like that in my life, please.

I can see why people are talking this one up so much - it's going to do great.

So many important topics covered and things to think about, but sadly, this one just didn’t live up to the hype for me. The plot was slow and at times, unrealistic. The main character’s personality was shallow and all over the place and the writing felt clunky and occasionally hard to follow. I feel like with some refinement, this book could have been so much more.