Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Maame by Jessica George

62 reviews

bryanneashley's review

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness

cheaploaf's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

Best book I’ve read in a bit. I really enjoyed it. Didn’t want to put the book down. I guess my only critique would be the brief part where Maddie asks Shu why she likes girls and there’s no reference to the fact that people’s sexualities just are what they are and they can’t choose. 

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Content Warnings

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

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Mental illness, Racism, Infidelity, Chronic illness, and Death of parent

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Alcohol, Cursing, Racism, Suicide, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Body horror, Dysphoria, Dementia, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

courtneyer's review

funny hopeful reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Sexual content

mel_s_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual content

tina94's review

sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Abandonment, Racism, and Infidelity

Minor: Biphobia

ooohgoshtara's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman.
A coming of age story featuring twenty something Maame. Her family refers to her as Maame but her name is Maddie. She's the main caretaker for her father who has parkinsons. She's responsible for maining her entire household financially since her mother lives mostly abroad and her older brother is rarely available to help. So they selfishly leave all of the responsibility on Maame. When her mom comes home from living abroad Maame jumps at the chance to move out and have a life of her own free from responsibilities that have been smothering her. This story explores chronic disease, death of a parent, grief, identity, mental health, childhood trauma, etc. I did enjoy some aspects of the novel. I did root for Maame but had a hard time staying connected with her character. I do get that she led a very sheltered life and people deal with trauma in many ways. She had very real responsibility caring for her family and household. But that responsibility also stunted her to the point of being written very unrealistically to me. She becomes even more lost when the responsibility of her father is permanently  taken from her. There were a lot of internal monologues paired with the constant consulting of google for very basic information. As a woman in her mid twenties she was written as being very naive more like a YA character. I found her sexual encounters disturbing. I liked that the ending was not perfectly tied up. I was happy that Maame finally started getting professional help from a therapist. She stood up to her family, spoke up for herself at work and finally had a normal dating situation. She was making strides towards becoming Maddie and no longer just Maame. Although I have mixed feelings about this book as a whole I would recommend to a twenty something.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, and Grief

purplepenning's review

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

This is an exceptionally written character-driven book (with a couple of plot-driven gut punches) that captures the current moment in a way that reminds me of Such a Fun Age. For some reason, I didn't realize the depth of the grief and loss that would be explored, so definitely check those content notes. It also explores racism in the workplace and relationships, pressures of first gen immigrants, modern dating, Google as parent/mentor/friend, loneliness, sexual pressure and pleasure for women, found family, mental health, and more. It's all packed into a deceptively simple story about a daughter with an overly developed sense of responsibility and an underdeveloped support system. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Biphobia, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Cursing, and Homophobia

Minor: Suicide

More specifics on the grief and loss:

Maddie's experiences surrounding the death of a parent are a gut punch, including a missed opportunity to say goodbye, the painful conversations surrounding the arrangement of services, and the grieving process afterwards

jesstele's review

emotional medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug use, Death of parent, Dementia, Infidelity, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Sexual content