I really enjoyed this one. A really great book that looks at family conflict, grief, love and finding yourself. The writing style is quite simple but the content is actually really complex.

A great debut novel. The writing is excellent. The characterisations are done well. Some of the characters are unlikeable. This is an emotional read.

While I enjoyed reading this one I don’t feel as though it is one I will re read.

Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

Title: "Maame" by Jessica George: A Heartfelt Exploration of Identity, Family, and Belonging

"Maame" by Jessica George is a poignant and thought-provoking novel that delves into the complexities of identity, family dynamics, and the search for belonging. Set in London, the story follows Maddie, a young woman who finds herself caught between two worlds and struggling to navigate the challenges of her life.

Maddie's life in London is far from fulfilling. With a distant mother who spends most of her time in Ghana and an overbearing presence when she is around, Maddie takes on the role of primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson's disease. At work, she faces the frustration of being the only Black person in every meeting, dealing with a difficult boss and a lack of recognition.

When Maddie's mother returns from Ghana, Maddie seizes the opportunity to break free from her family home and start living her own life. She embarks on a journey of self-discovery, experiencing important "firsts" and pushing for more recognition in her career. She also explores the world of internet dating, hoping to find love and connection. However, tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to confront the true nature of her unconventional family and the challenges that come with putting her heart on the line.

George's writing is smart, funny, and deeply affecting. She skillfully tackles a range of themes, including familial duty, racism, female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the power of friendship. Through Maddie's journey, the novel explores the struggles of being torn between two homes and cultures, and the ultimate quest to find a sense of belonging.

One of the strengths of "Maame" is its well-developed characters. Maddie is a relatable and compelling protagonist, and readers will find themselves rooting for her as she navigates the ups and downs of her life. The supporting characters, including Maddie's family and friends, are equally well-drawn and add depth to the story.

George's exploration of racism and the challenges faced by people of color in predominantly white spaces is particularly noteworthy. She tackles these issues with sensitivity and nuance, shedding light on the everyday microaggressions and systemic barriers that people like Maddie encounter.

Overall, "Maame" is a beautifully written novel that tackles important themes with humor and poignancy. It is a story that will resonate with readers who have ever felt torn between different aspects of their identity and longed for a place to truly belong. Jessica George's debut novel is a remarkable achievement and marks her as a talented voice in contemporary fiction.

Engaging, fresh, heartwarming and poignant coming of age story of 25 year old people pleaser Maddie who lives with her family in London, which offers intimate insights into Ghanaian culture.

Her mother's pet name for her is Maame, meaning woman, and this proves to be pivotal in cementing Maddie's feelings that she has to put everyone else's needs before her own.

Maddie has grown up feeling the weight of responsibility from a young age. She is a carer for her dad who has Parkinson's, her mother regularly goes back to Ghana for a year at a time, and her brother is too busy leading a jet-setting, unencumbered lifestyle to offer any support. She regularly has to dip into her meagre funds to pay family bills and puts her life on hold to care for her father because that is what she is expected to do and she doesn't feel she has a choice, or very much support.

When her overbearing mother finally returns, Maddie feels able to spread her wings and move out. Before she can even move in she is unfairly fired by her dreadful boss after enduring her mood swings and erratic behaviour without complaint in exchange for the steady pay cheque, but now has to find a new job urgently.

Managing to find an admin role in publishing which is much better suited to her degree and her love of writing, once again the only Black woman, she still feels pressure to behave a certain way and not rock the boat. This becomes even more difficult when she realises her ideas are being used without her getting any credit.

Dating her first proper boyfriend and thinking she is finally starting to fit in, Maddie has a nasty surprise when discovers her new boyfriend treats his white girlfriends very differently.

One of my favourite reads this year. A dazzling coming of age story that feels fresh and engaging. You feel so much compassion for Maame and her family and identity struggles. It’s the perfect combination of humour and heartbreak. For a debut novel there is so much nuance and authenticity and I really look forward to seeing what Jessica George does next.

I had no idea what to expect from this striking cover but the glowing reviews from authors that I adore gave me a lot of hope. Thankfully, I was completely enthralled by Maddie’s story and I really struggled to put it down.

Maddie’s London life is tough as an absent mother and brother leaves her the sole caretaker of her father who has late stage Parkinson’s. At work, she is tired of being the only Black person in the office and she feels sure that there is something bigger and better out there for her. But there is no way she could abandon her familial duties. When her mother returns from Ghana. Maddie sees a chance to move out and find her true purpose.

Maddie has a difficult relationship with the word ‘maame’. It’s the name that her mother has used for her since she was very young and because of her strained relationship with her mother, Maddie struggles to find it endearing. By the end of the book, there is a sense that she has relaxed into it but that Maddie has realised that the true power that a 'maame’ or 'woman’ can wield.

Maddie is an introvert and she likes to keep her family and home life private. She has always known that her mother’s frequent, lengthy flits to Ghana and that her father’s condition isn’t something that every daughter has to deal with. There does seem to be a sense of shame surrounding her family situation and although some may see that as sad, it’s wholly relatable as a reserved person who likes to compartmentalise in order to cope with everything.

There is some humour in the novel and it mostly comes during the scenes where Maddie is breaking out on her own and socialising more. Her polite, gentle nature comes out as she struggles to insult those who wrong her effectively which made me laugh. It’s really lovely to watch her blossom and find her confidence.

Part of Maddie’s battle to find happiness and peace comes from cultural attitudes that she has been raised with. It becomes apparent that in Ghanaian culture, mental health isn’t something that is talked about openly and that there is a cynicism around mental health treatment. However, Maddie is distanced enough from it to know that she would benefit from speaking to a therapist. Perhaps one of the messages that Maame is trying to tell us is that while remembering our roots and culture is important, we must always do what is best for own health and happiness.

Maddie also starts dating and it was so much fun rooting for her as she goes through all the trials and tribulations of that as a young Black woman. Themes of racism, virginity and female pleasure drive this aspect of the plot, which made for both joyful and intensely frustrating moments. Some of it resonated with my own experiences and some of it never could but it was really lovely to watch.

Maame has a similar vibe to Candice Carty-Williams’ Queenie and Kiley Reid’s Such A Fun Age. I don’t know why but I was expecting it to be more literary and serious than it was. It’s a contemporary character study rather than a book that deeply tackles social issues. It manages to speak candidly about racism, toxic whiteness, losing one’s virginity 'late’ and family duties while maintaining a light-heartedness. Touching, warm and fantastically honest, Maame is a compulsive read with a fantastic heroine.

Full review was delayed due to reviewer illness. I'll need to re-read the book to provide a full review, but star rating is accurate.

Maame is an excellent debut novel by Jessica George covering Maddie’s exploits following moving out of the family home at 25, where she has been looking after her sick father whilst her mother lives in Ghana, and her brother is off living his own life.

Although she is 25 Maddie is quite naive in her outlook and is hit by a number of life’s events hitting her all at once, and finds herself struggling to cope. You live every moment with her, and the gamut of different emotions this brings, this is superbly aided by the excellent writing. You can simply feel each character, as they ooze off the page.

The book covers many aspects of Maddie’s Ghanaian roots and how these impact on her, including at one point speaking to a Ghanaian counsellor. This adds extra layers and dimensions to the book.

All told this is an excellent story, which is very character driven, and is superbly told. At times it isn’t easy reading as you feel for Maddie and what she is going through, and find yourself cheering Maddie along.

An excellent, and different, book which I am happy to recommend. I look forward to seeing what Jessica George writes in the future.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Maame by Jessica George is a fantastic debut. Moving and engaging - will recommend to friends and family.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and of course the author for gifting me this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Praise to Jessica George for her debut novel which is so powerful and well written and covering a lot of difficult topics.

I found this novel was quite close to home - I am white british and my husband is nigerian who lived in Nigeria until the age of 12 when he moved with his family to the UK. We both had very different upbringings and experiences, and although I experienced a lot of PTSD from serious events myself growing up, he experienced a lot of cultural difficulties as mentioned in this book especially trying to adapt to life within the UK with the ongoing difficulties people face trying to integrate and also dealing with racism. Although we have been together for 8 years now, within 6 weeks of us being together his dad passed away in Nigeria from Parkinson's, and being the eldest child/son to 4 other siblings, the responsibility fell on his shoulders to front the family - a dynamic and responsibility he was not prepared for but was culturally expected from him to manage the family not only here but also extensive family members in Nigeria that even he didn't know. A role that he was not able to say no to regardless of how he felt or was ready for. During our relationship I have learnt a lot and have had to be very open minded and flexible to the different dynamics our families have as we have been brought up very differently - even more so that we now have 2 beautiful daughters together.

The story of Maddie Wright really touched me as I can appreciate and understand the burden she must have been carrying, wanting to take care of her dad but also at 25 wanting to spread her wings and live her life but not being able to do so due to her duties as a daughter; alongside the demands of her mother for money back in Ghana, when the cost of trying to live and provide in the UK is not easy when you have not had a chance to build a solid career.

On top of that Maddie was having to deal with the absolute crap that is racism (why the hell are people so bloody racist!) at work and being made to feel like a minority in the workplace, alongside the grief and responsibilities and loss of her own personal life at home.

Jessica wrote this story so beautifully and the respect for Maddie through it all is endless.

I look forward to reading more books from this author.

This debut novel by Jessica George is touching, funny and a really enjoyable read. Maddie (nicknamed Maame) has a lot on her shoulders, working in a job where racism is never far from the surface and helping to care for her father who has Parkinson’s disease with little to no help from her brother or her frequently absent mother. Her mother’s nickname which translates as “woman” suggests the role that has been assigned to her within the family. She tries to make changes to her situation (such as moving out the family home), but then something awful happens which shakes up her world in every way.

With her mother back in Ghana and her older brother off doing his own thing it’s left to Maddie to be the prime carer for her father who has Parkinson’s. When at long last she gets the chance to leave home she’s determined to make the most of it and discover who she really is.

Maggie is such an adorable character, a great mix of vulnerability and feistiness, and her google searches added a nice touch of humour. I really enjoyed Maggie’s journey as she negotiates her way through grief, dating and micro aggressions and would recommend to those looking for a heartwarming but thought provoking read

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.

It's incredibly rare that a book of any kind, leaving aside a debut, merits the level of hype it attracts. This is a sweet, funny, wince-inducing, richly observed slice of life. It's a rhapsody, a melody, a prayer, a song. A thing of beauty, a thing of wonder, and something that absolutely hums off the page. I loved Maddy. Everybody else does too!

I saw multiple reviews and blog posts before I got to reading this book. I would not claim that any of them affected me as such since I read this book much after a lot of people read it.
I appreciated this book best for the new point of view I got - That of the responsible sister, one who takes on the load (both emotional and financial) of the household just because she never refuses.
Maddie is currently caring for her father, someone she was not really close to prior to his disease affecting him. Her brother is always busy with his own plans, and her mother leads half her life in one country and another back in Ghana. Maddie has had enough by the time her mother announces that she plans to come back for a longer stint. Her friends (the two she has) have been trying to get her to commit to living her own life, but she feels compelled to help out at home.
This is the story of her finding her way to being more self-aware and, in a positive way - more selfish.
Maame is a work that focuses on how the name pigeonholes Maddie into the role, the way her mother's previous instructions continue to be a part of her psyche even after she has accepted that her parents may not have made the best moves.
The only thing I did not particularly gel with was the romance angle. The final way things ended made sense in the bigger picture, but it felt like another box that the original character fit into, not the new person she was supposed to be. I would like to read another book by the author and recommend this to readers who enjoy reading books by people with different family backgrounds.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

This book deserves all its hype! A sweet look at Maame's life - gorgeously written, and the sort of book you want to press into all of your girlfriends' hands.

This is a really special book. So deep, emotive and moving. I fell in Love with Maddie and related to her feelings of isolation. Navigating womanhood is tough and adding to that feeling 'other' and dealing with grief and mental health issues makes things seem insurmountable. Maddie is a ray of sunshine and her story is profound.

This book had a very similar feel to other novels written about young Black women (Yinka, Where is Your Huzband and Queenie, as examples) and with a story that felt very personal to the author.

There's a lot that's immediately familar here - distant or overbearing parents that don't quite get it, a young woman struggling to find herself when she hasn't had the opportunity to do so before (and making plenty of mistakes along the way), as well as some of the ignorance and (unconscious?) stereotyping shown by some men and white people in general.

Maddie is caught between her duties as a daughter, and loyalty to her father, and her own need to explore her independence. When she has the opportunity to do this by moving out and unexpectedly changing jobs, we see her not only exploring her own freedom, but testing the boundaries of this.

When tragedy strikes her family, Maddie lashes out - her behavious becoming more extreme and totally different to the "Maame" or mature woman that she has always been. She's then torn between rejecting the family and culture she has struggled with all her life, or learning to embrace them on her own terms.

This book isn't necessarily original in its story, but perhaps that's an indication of how many Black women have had similar experiences and are telling similar stories in their own way. That means that if you've ready similar Black, New Adult, Coming of Age stories then you might find some elements repetitive, or feel as though they've been included in order to meet the requirements of the genre, but the experiences are still there to include.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“I don’t know why you’re offended. Gold diggers are our nation’s hardest grafters; do you know much effort goes into pretending to give a shit about some guy for his money? A lot. Hoes are Britain’s unsung heroes”.

TW: Loss of a parent, racism.

Maame follows Maddie, affectionately nicknamed Maame - the Twi word for Mother - who is the unofficial carer of her father's debilitating illness and the rock that every family member relies on. Only in her early twenties, the story follows Maame's first steps into adulthood where she grapples with low-level admin jobs, moving out for the first time with the ensuing freedom and the pursuit of losing her virginity. Expect a lot of laughs, love and heart-wrenching tears.

“How many men is too many men when you factor in my moth, G-d’s wrath and my reluctance to contract an STI?”

The portrayal of Maame's relationship with her father is delivered in a way that pulls at the readers heart strings, as it juxtapositions the absence of her mother and the weakness of their marriage against her overly present care and self-sacrifice in order to ensure her father isn't forgotten left to fester. Additionally, the story successfully delivers discussion and insight into serious matters such as the double standards of dating in the UK when elements such as race and wealth are at play and there are significant power imbalances which enable one partner to dictate how things go.

“I don’t think you turn thirty and become immune to mistake-making or lesson-learning. You grow wiser (supposedly) but never omniscient. There’s always something you need to be taught, and so you keep learning and you keep growing up - until you’re dead”.

This coming of age tale delivers. It will hit you right in the heart with grief and loss, but build you back up by the end as the pieces slowly come back together in a healing, new reality. Truly a beautiful read, I couldn't recommend enough.

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc.