Reviews

Maame by Jessica George

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taniemaree's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense 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

4.5

jet78's review against another edition

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reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

essentiallynovel's review against another edition

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3.0

I ended up listening to this on audio and sadly, this was a miss for me. Not every book is for everyone.

George does a great job fleshing out the awkwardness and uncertainty of dating in your late-twenties, living with roommates, family dynamics and strained relationships, employment struggles, feeling divided between two cultures as well as grief and the various ways it presents itself after a loss, including the toll it takes on mental health. I liked the story, and for the most part I liked Maddie’s development and how she begins to embolden herself to explore her identity separate from her family and who they have made her out to be, and though I understand that it sadly is now common for people to experiment and explore their sexuality outside of marriage, I don’t like reading about it, especially not to the detail that we are given during some of her encounters. However, I do appreciate that we are privy to Maddie’s thoughts, questions, and even regrets about sex and how it impacts her, albeit mostly in a negative fashion, but I don’t like how she continues to participate and later seeks it out. We also observe Maddie as she learns to stand up for herself in the workplace and not be walked over and for that you go girl!

I did end up getting a physical copy through BookOutlet’s fiction sale while I was in the midst of listening to this one and honestly, I am likely going to sell it. Like I said, it’s a really good story about a young woman’s journey to be her own self and to stand up for who she is and what she wants, but the content that litters this book makes it one I likely won’t pick up again as there’s plenty of unread books I’d rather give a chance than reread one that I didn’t enjoy because of the sexual content. Obviously warnings include that (some quite detailed) but also death of a parent, parental neglect and complicated relationships, and some profanity.