Maame by Jessica George

Thank you Netgallery and Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC for an unbiased review.

I'm not even sure how or where to start this review other than to say I felt this book was incredible. I couldn't put it down.

I'm White & British and yet even I was jolted in the early pages of the book. My grandmother, my father and his brother had/have Parkinsons.
When Maddie searched in regards if Parkinsons is hereditary, I made the same search. As I know my sister did. We found the same information. It was jarring to see it on the page like that. I also know what it is like to care for a father at the stages Maddie's father was at, although our mother was at home. Nor did we have the religious aspect playing out.
We also have family who aren't white, who are children of immigrants, and while not Ghanaian, again I could have plucked their experiences and written it down almost verbatim to this book. Seriously, pretty much verbatim.

But the book was so much richer and deeper than just these moments, although they are important in the overall theme of the book. It truly was a masterpiece on experiencing Maddie's pain, her triumphs, and eventually her love. It would be easy for the book to feel hopeless, sadness pervading all parts of it, but it didn't fall into that trap. Of course, there were moments that I felt my heart breaking, felt the conflicting emotions, but then it was also joyous, at times funny. Poignant and hopeful.

It isn't a book that I imagined would plunge me to the depths it did. I can scarcely believe this is a debut novel, it feels that immense to me. I cried. I laughed. I cried some more. I felt full and content, empty and wishful.

I'm still not sure this review is making much sense, but I just felt SO much reading the book that trying to put it into a semblance of order feels impossible.

What I can say with certainty is it is going to be a book I know I will read again and again, that I gift out. That I hug to my chest as I curl up under a soft blanket.

I adored it. Everything about it. I wish I could give it more stars!

5/5 stars 🌟

What a delightful read! Well-crafted story and characters. The plot was fairly heavy at times but written with a levity that made it easy to read, without compromising any of the subjects examined. What a job well done. Highly recommend.

Thank you @netgalley & Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC copy of Maame.

This isn't my usual read but I thoroughly enjoyed this coming of age story. I liked the way it sounded like we were reading Maddies diary in parts, loved the text aspect of it & liked the inserts of Google searches throughout.

We first meet Maame (Maddie) at 25, she's an introvert and has always been the reliable one so has since taken on the role of her father's carer whilst her mum flies between London & Ghana, recently spending more time over there and her brother James likes to say he's there to help but in reality is nowhere to be seen.

To her mostly-absent mum, she's Maame, the woman of the family. To her dad, she's his carer - even if he hardly recognises her. To her friends, she's the one who still lives at home, who never puts herself first.

It's time to become the woman she wants to be.

The kind who wears a bright yellow suit, says yes to after-work drinks and flirts with a thirty-something banker. Who doesn't have to google all her life choices. Who demands a seat at the table.

When her mum finally comes back for her year in London, you see Maddie experience life outside of her carer role & she sets out to become a new Maddie. New job, new flatmates, new boyfriend..

This is a very genuine and realistic account of someone dealing with dysfunctional family relationships, new friendships, grief & loss, regret, racism, being a minority in the workplace and coming of age all within the space of a few months. I loved the snippets of Ghanian culture thrown in & how Maddie dealt with this alongside everything else she was dealing with.

You see Maddie go on a heart breaking but fulfilling journey and watch her come out the other side a better, stronger version of Maddie/Maame.

An enchanting debut, and can already tell this will be a read of 2023.

Maddie's life is complicated- she googles nearly everything and has many life changes in a short space of time. Her family life is interesting to read and I appreciated learning about Ghanian culture.

Being a PA and her having the same job as me, was good to see as I rarely see this and I liked it.

The complexities of living with other people, attempting the dating scene, was all relatable and timely.

The added pressure of Maddie being a carer was also welcomed. I hope this supports and role models young carers who must often feel excluded.

A book for a young misfit in the best possible way- maybe to help us realise that there really isnt one size fits all.

Enlightening, moving, engaging.

This is Maddie.

She's 25. She hasn't moved out of home yet.

She's the reason her mum can please herself and spend so much time in Ghana. She's the reason her older brother James can do whatever he likes.

She cares for and about her dad, who has Parkinson's.

But who is Maddie really? She doesn't even know herself.

But it's time she found out....

Maddie is AMAZING

I really, really, enjoyed reading this book. I laughed and almost cried at certain points. The book follows Maddie or Maame as her mum calls her, as she finally moves out of her home to experience a new life outside of taking care of her family. We see Maddie experience dating, navigate flatmate relationships, and the difficulty and pressure that comes from being a daughter of an immigrant family.
Jessica George has done an excellent job of creating a rich, inner life for Maddie and vivid secondary characters. I almost didn't want the book to end because it was just that good.

Heart-rendering, emotive, sensitive novel with such a soul. I adored it. I adored Maame. A brilliant debut - congratulations to Jessica George!

From skimming the synopsis, I thought this would be a light-hearted, fun book about a young woman in her mid-twenties discovering herself. However, this book was actually incredibly painful to read at certain moments.

I nearly cried several times, reading Maddie slowly learn to become more independent. Unfortunately the author’s note didn’t make it into the ARC, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this was closely based on the author’s own life experience.

Jessica George’s writing style was quite simple, but very effective. I also liked the inclusion of Maddie’s google searches.

Overall a good, but very intense book.

In Maame, we follow the journey of Maddie who at 25, is the loyal daughter who lives at home caring for her father whilst her mother and brother are in Ghana, taking care of the family business. When Maddie’s mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie has the opportunity to leave home and start living her own life. However, life is never that straightforward and simple.
This is a heart warming story of a woman trying to find her place in a complicated world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review this emotional ARC.

A phenomenal debut novel, Maame is the tale of a woman named Maddie as she begins to gain her independence in her mid twenties and her struggles with her ongoing devotion to family and faith.

You follow as Maddie moves into her own flat for the first time - and, with her independence previously restricted due to a traditional and religious upbringing - explores new ventures. Online dating, drinking, flatmates with mixed intentions - it is a relatable read for just about anybody in their early twenties. The book does not shy away from Maddie’s existence, and the struggles that accompany it, as a Black woman - tackling microaggressions in every form; at the workplace, in relationships, in friendships.

This was stunning and the most wonderful read - I could not put it down, the author writes in a manner that is so engaging and vivid. The storyline is almost mundane - there is no real shock, no real plot twist - this is a journey of grief and adolescence - but its simplicity is what makes it. The writer takes every day subjects and portrays them in a way that is so palpable and brilliant. Each character you feel like you know, there is a whole diverse ensemble who are carved out perfectly that you get to know across the novel.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc.