Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Maame by Jessica George

62 reviews

lkjones19's review

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Mental illness

Moderate: Chronic illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Terminal illness

murve's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Sexual content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Biphobia

3littlewordz's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Maame is a great example of why I never DNF books! The first third of the story started out very underwhelming, and I questioned the hype given to the novel. But as the story built, more nuance was introduced and I really started rooting for Maddie to become the main character in her own story. I appreciate the depth provided for her mother's background - while I certainly didn't agree with her mother's treatment of her family, I understood it better. The grief process was explored with sensitivity with the Google searches, but especially with the introduction of the therapist. And kudos to the therapist being written as black and Ghanaian! 

Stick through the first 50-100 pages and you'll really enjoy this novel. I did! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Chronic illness

Minor: Death of parent

kimveach's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book started slowly, but it was worth reading until the end.  Watching Maddie come into her own was tremendous.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Racism, Bullying, Medical content, Sexual content, Alcohol, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death of parent, Misogyny, Vomit, Dysphoria, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Grief, and Death

transquake's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Vomit, Biphobia, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

kayladaila's review

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Ableism, and Chronic illness

Minor: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Religious bigotry, Biphobia, Sexual content, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, and Medical content

booksemmahasread's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Racism, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, and Suicide

jj_tj's review

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent, Grief, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Infidelity and Racism

Minor: Suicide and Panic attacks/disorders

delz's review

dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Maddie is a 25 year old  Ghanian woman working full time as a personal assistant in publishing and also the full time caretaker for her father, suffering from Parkinson’s. She’s had little to no time for a personal life while her mother splits her time between England and Ghana and her older brother James gallivants around the world. Maddie suffers bouts of depression, navigates adult relationships and generally learns to live independently as an adult after her mother returns. The characters are fleshed out beautifully, even the unlikable ones. Even though the story covers heavy topics like mental health, and the challenges of working and dating while being a black woman, there is also humor giving the story depth. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Chronic illness

thirdeyeangel23's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Maame is the story of our late bloomer Maddie. After years of being her father’s caretaker and sole provider for her family, Maddie is in desperate need of finding a live that is all her own. While I believe this story has some important messages about how our daughters are treated, especially within black families, there were definitely some issues for me. For a woman who is highly educated Maddie is often written in a way that completely undervalues her strength and quite frankly makes her look stupid. These constant Google searching throughout the book eventually felt over-done for comedic relief. There is also some unfortunate bi-phobia within Maddie’s story.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Gaslighting, Racism, and Biphobia