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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
medium-paced
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
Happy with how the story came together in the end but found a lot of this very heavy for what I’d been hoping would be a lighter read. Author did a great job of weaving in so many important themes into this story though.
Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book! I’ve never read an ARC as immediately upon receiving it as I did this one. I was taken in by the colorful cover, the premise of a young career woman finding her own way in London, and a chance to learn a bit about Ghanaian culture.
The book started off strong and I was really enjoying the writing style, but I very quickly started to lose patience with Maddie, the main character. I’m not sure how someone gets to the age of 25 while being as clueless about life as she is. The constant Googling throughout the book became tedious and the way it was used as a device didn’t really make sense to me.
The book attempts to tackle a lot of deep topics and I thought that some of them were super rushed to be resolved at the very end, I would almost have preferred that it was left more open ended.
Overall, this wasn’t one of my favorites but I think it is still worth a read!
The book started off strong and I was really enjoying the writing style, but I very quickly started to lose patience with Maddie, the main character. I’m not sure how someone gets to the age of 25 while being as clueless about life as she is. The constant Googling throughout the book became tedious and the way it was used as a device didn’t really make sense to me.
The book attempts to tackle a lot of deep topics and I thought that some of them were super rushed to be resolved at the very end, I would almost have preferred that it was left more open ended.
Overall, this wasn’t one of my favorites but I think it is still worth a read!
3.5 rounded up! Those who enjoyed Olga Dies Dreaming will enjoy this too — coming-of-age stories for women already in their adult lives, fueled mainly by the complicated relationships with their parents. Very moving stories with narrators you really root for
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
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
Maame
Jessica George
Publishing Date: January 31, 2023
🎧 Narrator: Heather Agyepong 🎧
First, a special thank you to my friend Alex for gifting me this absolutely stunning (both inside and out!) book. What a special book this was; a very impressive debut.
Maddie is a 25-year-old with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her family life is complicated. She is the sole caretaker for her sick father, her mother is in Ghana for one year at a time, and her brother is living his life and not providing any help. She has had to grow up entirely too fast, while not being given any time to actually learn and grow for herself.
This stunning coming of age story will have you rooting for Maddie so hard. It’s a pretty heavy read throughout, but as with any good coming of age story, there is hope in the end. Maddie was such a genuine and relatable character. Life is often times really hard, and while we may like to use reading as an escape from the hardships, there is something really special about stepping into someone else’s shoes and just going on their journey with them. This book will have you feeling like you’re holding Maddie’s hand as she navigates the complexities of friendship, work, family, and love.
I loved the inclusion of mixed media. We get to experience Maddie’s story through her POV, her subconscious thoughts, and then also text and email exchanges. Make sure you don’t skip the authors note/acknowledgements at the end! Knowing how deeply personal this story was to the author was just icing on this beautiful cake.
🎧 I tandem read this with my eyeballs and my ears, and would highly recommend this way of reading. The narration was absolutely wonderful, but there was also something special about holding Maddie‘s story in your hands.
Jessica George
Publishing Date: January 31, 2023
🎧 Narrator: Heather Agyepong 🎧
First, a special thank you to my friend Alex for gifting me this absolutely stunning (both inside and out!) book. What a special book this was; a very impressive debut.
Maddie is a 25-year-old with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her family life is complicated. She is the sole caretaker for her sick father, her mother is in Ghana for one year at a time, and her brother is living his life and not providing any help. She has had to grow up entirely too fast, while not being given any time to actually learn and grow for herself.
This stunning coming of age story will have you rooting for Maddie so hard. It’s a pretty heavy read throughout, but as with any good coming of age story, there is hope in the end. Maddie was such a genuine and relatable character. Life is often times really hard, and while we may like to use reading as an escape from the hardships, there is something really special about stepping into someone else’s shoes and just going on their journey with them. This book will have you feeling like you’re holding Maddie’s hand as she navigates the complexities of friendship, work, family, and love.
I loved the inclusion of mixed media. We get to experience Maddie’s story through her POV, her subconscious thoughts, and then also text and email exchanges. Make sure you don’t skip the authors note/acknowledgements at the end! Knowing how deeply personal this story was to the author was just icing on this beautiful cake.
🎧 I tandem read this with my eyeballs and my ears, and would highly recommend this way of reading. The narration was absolutely wonderful, but there was also something special about holding Maddie‘s story in your hands.
I really loved this - the writing was wonderful, loved Maddie and watching her grow out of and also into herself. She was a real combo of strong and vulnerable and ugh I just loved the whole reading experience and put the book down feeling warm
Thanks to Jessica George for a great read, St Martins Press for an ARC paperback, and Netgalley for an advanced digital copy
Thanks to Jessica George for a great read, St Martins Press for an ARC paperback, and Netgalley for an advanced digital copy
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
I truly loved this book so much! It was such an easy read and I couldn’t put it down, I finished it in 3 days. It made me reflect on my own relationship with my family as an immigrant and think on some similar characteristics I have as Maddie. Would easily rank this in one of my favorite reads ever.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes