I laughed and I cried. What a great book. Funny and heartbreaking in equal measures, this debut novel about twenty-something British Ghanaian Maddie grappling with identity, love, loss, and becoming the woman she wants to be is a must read.

Thanks for the ARC!

I absolutely ADORED this audiobook. It gripped me from the start and I simply couldn’t put it down. Read over a couple of days.

The narrator was amazing, the story was just so fascinating to me and I was truly compelled to listen none stop till it was finished.

I would truly recommend this audiobook and the book version to anyone wanting an insight into a different culture. Absolutely would read and listen again. Thank you!

Maame is a beautiful, touching debut about Maddie's journey from caring for her sick father to finding space in her own life. This book took me an immensely long time to finish because the writing really resonated with things I had personally felt. Jessica George writes discomfort and guilt and frustration and awkwardnes with lots of empathy and compassion. So much so that I kept having to put the book down because it hit several nerves. It's a brilliant modern picture of Black British life in London. This is clearly an author to watch and a book to read if you haven't.

So inspiring and heartwarming, an amazing debut that deserves all the praise!
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review this emotional ARC.

this was okay, but read very juvenile and i didn't feel connected to the characters or what happens to them at all. i can see other reader enjoying this a lot tho!

— thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free digital ARC.

Maddie is a 25 y/o Black woman who has lived a very sheltered life. Her mother goes to Ghana for a year at a time and comes home for "visits", so Maddie is left to take care of her father who has Parkinson’s disease. She went to University, but commuted and lived at home and now works to take care of her father. She is overqualified for her job, and her supervisor doesn't take her suggestion seriously, or even worse, passes them off as her own. How is she going to move forward? When her mother returns home she takes the opportunity to move out and into a flat with other flatmates. She begins to attend parties, go to bars and experience love and heartbreak. She also learns that people are not always what they seem and are not all to be trusted. This is an interesting coming of age story by a debut author.

There is a lot of sadness in this story as Maddie has essentially had to raise herself after the age of 17. She is lost, yet also strong. I didn't like her mother very much, abandoning her family to go live in Ghana for long periods of time, then try to justify herself to her children. There is an angry brother as well, but he doesn't play much of a role in this story. Maddie's father was a loving dad, who wanted more for his daughter, but was stuck with his illness. Maddie makes a lot of mistakes while trying to become an adult, but it is interesting to see how her Ghanian heritage and customs conflict with life in London. There is racism and the challenges of trying to begin a career with wages that are sub-standard. Being ignored and treated as an inferior were all there and very realistic. Although this is an interesting story, I felt it was definitely over-hyped. I enjoyed parts of it, but not all. Having said that, I will watch for more by Jessica George. In her biography, the author says she was born and raised in London to Ghanaian parents and studied English Literature at the University of Sheffield, so this book is definitely realistic, and I wonder if some is autobiographical

Such a raw and relatable insight into a young woman re-evaluating her life, and learning to live authentically.

Maame follows the life of Maddie through some difficult times as she navigates relationships with family, friends and colleagues. She struggles to enter the world of romance and dating, and has some interesting experiences. This book highlights the pitfalls of trying to establish an independent successful adult life, and the reader is invested in Maddie’s story, wanting things to go well for her. Recommended

Great insight into coming of age as a young black woman in London, exploring family relationships, romantic relationships, friendships, grief and finding yourself at work.

The audiobook beats with life and the narrator was perfect for Maame, or Maddie, daughter of Ghanaian parents in London.

Trying to find her feet has never been easy, with a succession of dead-end admin jobs and essentially caring for her dad who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease just as Maddie graduated from university with a degree in literature.

The book is told in Maddie's gorgeously honest voice. Through insecurities, her Google searches and friendships, steps towards independence and understanding who she is.

Maame is her nickname from her parents meaning a woman, a mother.
It's a typical Ghanaian nickname and it's been hers since she was just a baby, but reading into it, it makes Maddie feel uncomfortable.
It means she’s always felt she has to grow up, be serious, be a provider, the one who looks after the others.

But who is there to look after Maame?

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me listen to this brilliant audiobook in exchange for my honest feedback.

This book was definitely one of my most anticipated releases for 2023 and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. I really liked the ease of the writing style of this one and the way it allowed us to get both the more likeable and less likeable characters.

This book pulled me from my reality into Maame's. In Maddie, I could explore the complexities of certain family dynamics and borrow a window to look into mine as well. Maame is me, Maame is all of us. Through subtle dialogue exchanges, I could relate to the character and the author did an awesome work bringing her to life the way she did: complex, different, unique, and very much three-dimensional. I am completely in love with this story. And Oh, How much I loved the narrator!! Heather brought the emotions in this story to life. Her subtle intonations and soft pauses made listening to this book quite the experience.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this exciting novel.

I’ve missed Maddie ever since I finished this book. Yes, it’s another book about being in your 20s and figuring out what you’re doing with your life, but it’s so much more than that. It’s grief, it’s belonging, it’s negotiating the place you hold within your family. It’s figuring out what romantic relationships mean and what you need from them.

I listened to the audiobook and really felt like Maddie was talking to me about her life. The voice was honest and funny - I particularly enjoyed Maddie googling her life choices and the results that came up. An excellent read - I highly recommend this.

Thank you for an ARC of Maame to the author and NetGalley.

An amazing debut novel that you truly can't pass this year! I think that Maddie's character is so relatable as well as having one of the best arcs on personal growth that you can find.

Living in South London and taking care of her father, who has advanced Parkinson's. With an absent mother living in Ghana most of the time and a brother that lives his own life.

Caring and then going through grief, as well as getting to live her own new life, will take Maddie on a whole new journey. I loved how mental health and the stigma around it as well as grief were written in this novel. Anxiously waiting for more work!

TW: death of a loved one, depression, anxiety, illness, racism, not consensual sex

I got really attached to Maddie, or Maame. She's such a real person, determined to change, to discover her real self, but also socially awkward and kind of goofy in a funny and tender way. I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook (the narrator is just perfect) and Maddie's voice is so unique, hilarious and real. The way she keeps asking everything to Google as if it were a friend is just too much. So many subjects are well tackled here by the author: grief, racism, the tabou of being a virgin in one's 20s, anxiety and panick attacks... I really recommend this novel, it manages to be deep and funny at the same time and you'll just feel like jumping in and hugging Maddie in several moments! I appreciated (... .spoiler alert!!!!) the happy ending, although the only thing I did not like is the equation happiness = finding a man/partner. Maddie could have found her happy ending by herself!
Anyway. I really enjoyed myself listening to 'Maame' and I really thank Netgalley and the publisher for making it possible !

A wonderful read/listen. I really enjoyed getting to know Maddie and watching her develop her character and find her herself, while dealing with family, work and love .
Highly recommend

I have to be really honest. I feel like I missed something with this book. I was so excited to read it, and have seen so many amazing reviews for it. But to me, it just felt so mundane. I do understand that the point of the novel is to follow the main character, Maddie, through every element of her life, and every emotion that she experiences, but to me this resulted in far too much plodding along, through boring events that didn't really grip me at all. There were elements that I enjoyed, but I don't think it's anything special.
Also, parts of it were so unbelievable that I found myself getting annoyed. For example, the fact that Maddie, with no publishing experience, is able to land an interview and job offer at a publishing house in London within hours of deciding to pursue this job path. As someone who has been trying - unsuccessfully - for years to find a way into publishing, the artistic license taken here is pushed a bit too far for me to accept. The way her relationship with Sam comes to be also just feels a little bit forced - despite the mundanity of her everyday experiences, things like her job path and this relationship are all just tied up too neatly, and don't feel real - which is what I think the author is trying to achieve.
I have given this 3 stars, because I don't think there's anything particularly bad, or offensive, about it. I didn't actively not enjoy it. I just wasn't enamoured at any point, and found it all a bit... boring.

This was such a good read and I highly recommend I went into this book completely blind and I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't even know what genre it was, LOL. This was a great book that explored a number of important themes.

The main character Maddie/Maame) is such an unforgettable and rootable-for heroine. Gosh. My good sis went through it and I'm so so proud of her. Family, friendship, love, grief, self-discovery, and exploration are some of the themes discussed in this book.

The characters were not all loveable but they were well-written and worked in the context of the story. Maddie wasn't surrounded by the best people always, but she was resilient and I'm glad she let herself bask in the love of people who did love her.

I really liked the aspect of her dad and even though I didn't like how her family kept taking and taking from her, that was an important aspect of her story and the book.
Her roommates, though, ugh. Also, if I catch Ben, I'll deck him.

I love love love the ending. This was such a good book, I know I keep saying that but it really was. Her career and workplaces were also important aspects of the book and I like how her two jobs were seemingly contrasted.

It's super worth the read.

Good writing, great reading, but unfortunately I found the plot quite stale and dull, and it was a real slog to get through. It does pick up once Maddie's mother gets back, but I found it quite a quiet read.

I was eager to read this, having seen comparisons drawn between Bonnie Garmus. Unfortunately it did not quite match that level in my opinion. I saw more similarities between this and Yinka where is your huzband, although it is less light hearted than Yinka.
Maddie has led a very secluded life as the responsible one in the family, who is now the primary care giver for her father who suffers from Parkinsons. Early in the book Maddie has the opportunity to move out of her home and gain more independence - to become the kind of woman she wants to be, and it is on this journey that we follow her.
I loved the audio narrator - what a superb and skilful narration. I also enjoyed aspects about Ghanian culture and some of the conflicts that Maddie was facing.
However, I did not really warm to the lead character Maddie. I found some of her actions incredibly frustrating and the way in which she allowed herself to be walked over at times was rather tedious. Her constant googling for answers felt a little bit infantile and almost dated.
I can however see that this could be a book that others would love and suspect that I may be a bit of an outlier in my opinion.

I really enjoyed 'Maame' by Jessica George. I was lucky enough to get approved for the ebook and audiobook versions which were perfect for me. 'Maame' was a heart breaking read but, I had such empathy for Maddy. Madeline is in her 20's, has never had the opportunity to leave home because she cares for her father who has Parkinson's disease. Maddy works in a job she hates as a PA to someone who completely takes advantage of Maddy. The blessing really is when Maddy gets fired for a mistake her boss made which enables Maddy to live her life to the fullest. I related hard to 'Maame', stuck in a dead end job, juggling your family life and what you want out of life alongside depression and grief. Often a difficult read but I appreciated the rawness of this book. Maddy is a black British woman with Ghanian heritage. She is affectionately referred to as Maame by her mother, but, what is really in a name? A wonderful insight into the secret life of a family and the image we choose to present to others.