Maddy is in her mid 20s and struggling, she is the main carer for her ailing father and is left to pay most of the bills by her mother, who spends time in Ghana and her brother. She is depressed and not treated great in her job.
When the worst happens, she must find a way to navigate through the change and learn to start getting what she wants.
Despite all these things I found the book hopeful, I enjoyed spending time with Maddy and her friends. She is finding her way and as such we are finding it with her.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and properly binged it in a couple of days.. I think there are likeable and very unlikeable characters and it was a real struggle listening to some of the unlikeable ones. I did find this quite an emotional read and would definitely recommend it.

I really enjoyed the audiobook and the narration was great

I absolutely adored this book!

This audiobook was such a lovely listen that I immediately bought a physical copy of the book because I have to add it to my bookshelf

I absolutely adored this book and its central character Maddie. I grew up in south London where the book is set and found the descriptions of the area and setting deeply comforting. Maddie's story will be relatable to many, as the child of immigrant parents who is forced to grow up quickly and take on huge responsibility in caring for and supporting the family.
I often find books where the protagonist working in a publishing house, of which there are many, frustrating. But I really enjoyed the dynamic between Maddie and her employees. I thought her interactions with them were a great balance of critical and complimentary.
Her interpersonal relationships are equally touching as it's rare to see such strong examples of female friendship.
It's a moving book that doesn't come without its challenges and low moments, but overall a coming of age story that is heartwarming and up lifting.

Maame feels fresh and new, and I found it relatable, funny and moving. It tackles so many topics - the challenges of being a young black woman, navigating dating for the first time in your mid 20s, the impact of being a carer, grief and all that comes with it. Although so many of those topics could make it a heavy novel, it is a really fun and engaging read, and I also feel it’s one I’ve learned from. I hope that many people pick this book up!

Maame (Ma-meh) was one of my more highly anticipated novels at the start of the year; I kind of can’t believe we’re here already; it was just published last week.

Maame (a Twi word meaning “woman”), or Maddie, is a young British Ghanaian woman living in London, trying to find her feet. She lives with and cares for her father, who is dealing with advanced stage Parkinson’s. Maddie’s mother and brother aren’t really involved and so the weight of familial responsibility falls firmly on her shoulders.

She’s the only black person in her office, and her ideas are regularly stolen by her boss. Her friends are great but Maddie feels they are several social steps ahead of her; she describes herself as a late bloomer.
When her mother shows back up at home to relieve Maddie of her duties, she decides to take a few tentative steps out into the world; going on dates, after work drinks, and moving out of her comfort-zone, work-wise.

This is a real coming of age story. I adored Maddie’s google searches; there was something really sweet and naive, but also realistic about her constantly looking things up in an attempt to keep up with her peers, and I found her relatable and loveable.
I really wanted the best for her, and felt every blow she dealt with myself.

I can’t really include content warnings without spoiling the story, but I’d say to be aware that there are lengthy descriptions of caring for an incapacitated loved one, and strong themes of grief, familial guilt, racism, and sexual awakenings.

I really loved the female friendships in this book, and how the author delved into Maggie’s culture and family dynamics.
It’s a well written story and works particularly well on audio; kudos to the narrator on this one, she did a wonderful job.

With many thanks to @netgalley and @hodderstoughton @hodderbooks for the opportunity to read #Maame.

I was delighted to receive a NetGalley audio of MAAME, a unique coming-of-age debut by Jessica George. I was initially attracted by the beautiful cover and have since read many glowing reviews. I have read and enjoyed Wahala, Quennie and Such a fun Age which this has been compared to . MAMME wins my top spot.

The Story begins with an introduction to our lovable and loyal MAAME, Maddie Wright. This nickname was given to her by her absent and overbearing mother who resides part time Ghana and part time London. It means "woman " in Twi. At the tender age of fifteen MAMME was left to shoulder the responsibly of looking after her ailing father, diagnosed with Parkinson's. Along with this huge responsibility she manages the household bills leaving little time to grow into the woman she wants to be. When her mother returns she takes an opportunity to move out of home to try and live her own life. Life takes an unexpected turn and we follow MAAME's journey as she tries to navigate life's curveballs.

This was read by Heather Ageypong who really enhanced the audio experience with her authentic Ghanian British accent. At times it felt like MAAME was in the room and I wanted to hug and comfort her .

Full of charm and soul this authentic coming of age story will warm your heart, break it and leave you wanting the best for Maddie. An ideal choice for Bookclubs as there is plenty of topics to discuss.

Thanks to Hodder & Stouton and NetGalley for the advance audiobook for review.

I enjoyed Rootless very much. I loved Maame's story. It's a story about finding one's self in the midst of chaos. I didn't understand Maame's mother but by the time I finished the book, I couldn't help but empathize with the woman. The language is straightforward and easy to read. The story is funny and I found myself laughing at a point. It's a beautiful story and I recommend it.

Maame was my first 5 star read of 2023. And I fear I started too strong! This is a beautiful coming of age story and I completely resonated with Maddie all the way through. Her struggles with caring for her dad, leaving her family home, navigating herself, friendships, relationships, grief, her career and her identity was a wild ride but a very relatable one for many young girls. I feel like Maddies story is one that many young women will fall in love with and see their own experiences represented in them. I will definitely be reading more from Jessica George.

Thank you Netgallery for the audiobook, it was wonderful.

2.5 stars

Rating rounded up because of the STELLAR audio narration.

I initially found Maddie charming. Due to her dad’s illness and her mom’s frequent and long trips to Ghana, Maddie became the default carer for her father and as such never had the experiences a normal 25-year-old would have. She is timid at work and gets treated as expendable and when she gets fired from her job at the same time as her mom’s latest visit back home, Maddie takes the decision to move out into a flat share to finally start living her own life.

The frequent Googling and getting information on forums were cute the first two times and after that became annoying. Maddie has one extremely vocal and streetwise friend, so I find it hard to believe the extent of her ignorance about life in general.

Maddie’s first tentative experiences in the dating was handled well but then the author pushed into unnecessary awkward territory. The sex scenes were cringeworthy to say the least. Someone should have guided the author on this.

Stories where someone finally grows a backbone always has a level of satisfaction however, I would never have requested this from Netgally had I know just how YA this novel would be.

Firstly, I LOVED the Narrator of this book. However, This book was a DNF for me at 37% Chapter 14. I wanted to give it enough time where I hopefully liked the book. It was a Jenna pick after all. BUT, I just couldn't get into it. I felt the characters were boring and I did not like the writing style the author used. I may one day come back to finish this title but for now, I am marking this one as a DNF.

I feel like I have made a new friend after hearing Maddie's story. I would definitely recommend listening to this story as the narrator really brings it alive and makes it feel authentic and like it could be the girl next door telling her story. We get a good look inside the life of Maddie, raised in London but still with her Ghanaian roots playing a huge role in her life and relationships, both with her family and when it comes to dating. Maddie was a realitic, qwerky, awkward and very loveable main character. I was rooting for her and felt her emotions, the good, the sad and the bad when she shared her story. At 25 she finally gets to discover who Maddie is!

A lovely audiobook, but I did struggle to get into this one a little bit. It was a bit too slow-paced for me at times and it could have been shorter as far as I'm concerned. I did start enjoying it more towards the last quarter of the book so it wasn't a big disappointment, but I did feel like it could have been better.

In a Nutshell: An interesting debut work focussing on the titular ‘Maame’, who is caught between her duty and her life. As an OwnVoices coming-of-age work, the novel delivers to a great extent on its promise, though it did have certain flaws.

Story Synopsis:
Maddie, a British-Ghanaian girl in her mid-twenties, is the ‘Maame’ of her family, Maame meaning ‘woman’ in their native Twi. With an absent mum and an irresponsible elder brother, Maddie is the one taking care of her ailing father as well as their financial requirements. She barely has any personal life beyond this. When her mum promises to return from Ghana, Maddie finally decides to take charge of her own life and do everything she couldn’t or hadn’t. Will it really be as easy as that?
The story comes to us in the first person perspective of Maddie.

Unlike my usual headings of what I liked and what I disliked, I will have only one category this time, because the entire book left me with mixed feelings. The only exception was the title, for which I have only positive feelings. Not only does it serve as an interesting first point of appeal, but it is also justified in almost every chapter.

Mixed feelings all the way:
⚠ This is the first book I have read with a Ghanaian character (and by an author of Ghanaian origin.) I liked the insight the author showed us into the beliefs and behaviour of the Ghanaian people. She also depicts the struggles of second-generation immigrants nicely. At the same time, there is hardly anything positive about Ghanaian culture. The first-gen people are depicted as selfish pests.
⚠ Maddie is overly dependent on Google for even tiny things, and these online searches add a lot of fun to the plot. This could go either way, of course. Some of her online queries are ridiculous. But I found it hilarious how she googled even the stupidest of things and took the advice seriously. On a related note, Maddie’s first-person inner rambling also has some good bits of humour.
⚠ Maddie does justice to the title role. She is not portrayed as the perfect girl. She is dutiful, loyal, and intelligent, but she is also easy to push over, gullible, and impulsive. This realistic portrayal appealed to me. At the same time, I felt like she was too naïve and closeted to be believable. She was a 25-year-old Londoner for goodness’ sake! How could she not be aware of certain basics, especially considering her reliance on Google? Her blatant lies and her judgemental behaviour, especially in the second half, didn’t endear her to me. Also, her transformation from homebody to a free bird living on her own terms is too instant to be convincing.
⚠ As is common with many debut authors’ works, Maame too includes a whole range of themes within its plot: death of a family member, grief, corporate/professional conflicts, peer pressure, mental health issues, familial troubles, micro-aggressions, racism, sexual identity crises, romantic problems, Parkinson’s and the sadness it brings, extra-marital affairs, online dating,… Many of these were relevant and well-written, but some of the issues felt shoehorned. A few of the scenes felt like they were added only for the potential for social commentary though they had no direct impact on Maddie’s life.
⚠ Other than Maddie, none of her family members are written as likeable. One scene with Maddie’s roommate felt really silly and out of character. Her work colleagues are idiotic most of the times, and her friends, while having great roles, come in the main scenes just a few times. As such, if you like Maddie, you will like the book. But if you find her irritating, you might hate the content because there is no other character to fall back upon.
⚠ The writing is a too simplistic. This work has been marked as ‘New Adult’ (which is nothing but YA with Sex Scenes IMHO) by the publishers, and the book does fit the NA genre well. But I wish the writing had been more nuanced.
⚠ The book tries to be gender-inclusive with the presence of lesbian and bi characters. However, a certain subplot is highly biphobic.

The audiobook experience:
The audiobook, clocking at a little over 10 hours, is narrated by Heather Agyepong. She does a fabulous job of voicing Maddie and her insecurities as well as newfound confidence. If you are an avid audiobook listener, you will certainly enjoy her nuanced narration. If you are an audiobook newbie, this would be a good book to begin your audio journey with as there are no multiple timelines or varying perspectives to confuse you. The narration is easy-going on the ears.

When I looked at the author’s profile, I realised that she has quite a few things in common with Maddie. So is this partially autobiographical? I would have preferred an author’s note about this aspect. (It is quite possible that such a note exists in the digital/paper copies, but my audio version didn’t have it.)
All in all, this book has appeal as the coming-of-age story from a British-Ghanaian perspective. It has plenty of emotions, good and bad and ugly. The main character is what will make or break the book for you, so if you do pick it up, I hope you like her so that you can connect better with the book.

3.5 stars, rounding up for the excellent narration in the audio version.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “Maame”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

I loved this audiobook and couldn’t wait to listen to it all.

This is a multi-layered story about the life of Maddie, a 25 year old British Ghanaian, and how she navigates through family life, friendships and relationships as well as work.

The narrator was perfect and captured the highs and lows beautifully.

Maddie is a very likeable character with whom it’s easy to relate.

I’d definitely recommend!

Thanks NetGalley for giving me the audio version.

I was lucky enough to read this book and also listen to the audiobook version ( I’m strange and like to do both at the same time)
The narration for this book was perfect, I felt Maddie’s voice was portrayed perfectly and I especially enjoyed her arguments with her intrusive thoughts (or Lizzie Maguire moments)
This book is really something special and is Jessica George is deserving of all the praise she is receiving. Maame is a story about family, fitting in and so much more. There were moments of real humour, of sadness and parts where I could relate truly to Maddie and her thoughts. It is clear to see this book will be a clear success.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very interesting to read and had me hooked. I love the concept of the book and the narrator of the audiobook did an amazing job too

This is the best decision I have made with any book , not my usual genre I will admit that but my this has been my favourite audiobook by far ,full of emotions, drama ,humour and a wee bit saucy. I really enjoyed the storyline , loved it that i am going to pick a copy up for my bookshelves ,is this will be definitely a book i pick up to reread.please you need to read this ASAP

I really strong book from Jessica George. I absolutely loved it thought it was brilliant. I look forward to seeing what this Author does in the future.

This book was phenomenal, showing the complex feelings and dynamics in a family during illness and grief I laughed and cried.

I loved seeing Maddie's growth throughout the novel in all areas of her life. I rooted for her from the first chapter and found myself cheering her on and trying to warn her as she navigated life away from the family home.

I think there is something in this book that will resonate with most readers. I would highly recommend this book.