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delz's review against another edition
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
thespinystacks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Vomit
pdxpagemaster's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was entranced by this book and was fully engrossed with Maddie and her story - until we go to a sudden bout of fixated biphobia nearly 70% of the way through the book, which docked my enthusiasm.
I understand that straight people are surprised by bisexual people on dating apps, but the MC questioning whether a person is worth dating because they are bisexual is a pretty cut and dry phobia.
For a coming of age story, this was otherwise really endearing.
“I get that respite when I’m not being me,” was a really big and relatable moment with anyone who has done the laborious process of suppressing trauma - and that feeling of shame.
There was an intimate sadness throughout the book that felt both natural and familiar.
Sometimes, everything really is exhausting.
For a coming of age story, this was otherwise really endearing.
There was an intimate sadness throughout the book that felt both natural and familiar.
Sometimes, everything really is exhausting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Death of parent
Moderate: Biphobia and Sexual content
tayyo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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: Racism, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual assault
thirdeyeangel23's review against another edition
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, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Biphobia, Racism, and Gaslighting
bella_cavicchi's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
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
This book had me feeling warm and fuzzy (even in its saddest moments!), a reaction in large part due to how honest a character Maddie feels. We're all in for a treat with whatever Jessica George writes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Biphobia, Drug use, and Alcohol
evavstheworld's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Grief, and Death of parent
headinthepages's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
claire_michelle18's review against another edition
dark
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? No
4.5
This is a lovely if quite sad coming of age novel about Maddie who is British-Ghanaian, in her mid-twenties, and a carer for her father. Maddie's journey to creating a life for herself whilst also honouring who she is is very relatable and her determination and naivete are charming. The author really makes you root for Maddie and feel her troubles deeply.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, and Abandonment
lingfish7's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
3.5
This is a debut novel I recommended to my good friend, whose African family and background were eerily similar to many parts of this book. I cannot wait to hear what she thought! This is not a book I would recommend to everyone though. Maame reads very slowly and doesn’t really “pick up” in pace or plot much. It does get more interesting in the last quarter, but interesting is subjective.
I found this book interesting because I related a lot to the main character. The main character, Maddie (nicknamed Maame by her family), is a firstborn daughter whose people pleasing and naïveté are central to the book’s plot. At 25 years old, she is a virgin who hasn’t dated in 8 years and doesn’t know basic social norms or how to make friends as an adult. She spent the whole of her early 20’s as the primary caretaker for her father who has Parkinson’s disease.
What intrigued me was how this coming of age book centers on a sheltered, late bloomer who relies on Google as her every day consultant to ask basic questions. Some reviews on Goodreads found this unrealistic and annoying, but I come from a highly sheltered background. This was very realistic as there are plenty of us who had to learn the hard way at a much later age than our peers. Seeing a protagonist like me, in this way, was refreshing.
🎧The audiobook might not have been the best medium to consume this book. I say this because, as a highly emotional but slow paced book, I don’t think the voice actress adequately read the emotion into the words. Her British accent was lovely, and she inflected the words, but the heartbreaking sentences were spoken without the emotional tone to match. I’m still unsure if this was intentional, or simply a product of British and African culture. Either way, it felt emotionally monotone to listen to, and I can’t help but wonder if reading the physical copy would have helped me feel deeper emotions throughout.
Lastly, the exploration of family duties, gaining autonomy on your life (for the first time), grief, and racism in the workplace were all important topics. The slow pace and British accent made listening to this book almost meditative. Although I didn’t love how slow the pace was or the lack of emotion in the narrator, this book caused me to think and reflect on my own life experiences and sheltered background. Seeing Maddie “grow up” through a series of trials, failures, and loss is very authentic to the human experience, whether you come of age at 18 or 25 or 40.
⚠️Triggers: rape, death, job loss, racism in the workplace, being taken advantage of by your family
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Death of parent