Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
aame by Jessica George is a coming-of-age novel with a female protagonist who grapples with her station in life. Maddie is a young 20-something living in London, but her life is far from glamorous. Her father has late-stage Parkinson's and she lives at home with him to be his main caretaker. Her brother is off living his best life, while her mother is gone for a year at a time to Ghana, living her own life. Maddie holds an assistant role at a publishing firm where she feels like the token Black person with a dispensable job. While her needs are pushed to the bottom of her list, she cares for everyone to the point of utter exhaustion. When her father passes away, Maddie grapples with crippling guilt and grief, while trying to establish her life outside of her family.
One thing that made Maame unique is that Maddie's story is told almost from her perspective, including her internal dialogue, text messages with friends, and random life questions she searches on Google. It made it fun to read because you feel like you are inside Maddie's head and you are feeling all the emotions along with her.
Aspects of mental health, specifically depression and grief, are highlighted in Maame in such a supportive way. I love that authors are incorporating aspects of mental health into their characters because it makes them relatable and three dimensional. Maddie's struggles with grief are all too familiar with many of us, as well as some of the major life events she experiences when it comes to friendship, family dynamics, dating and navigating sexual experiences.
⚠️ Content warning: racism/microaggressions, death of parent, grief, depression, coerced sexual encounter
One thing that made Maame unique is that Maddie's story is told almost from her perspective, including her internal dialogue, text messages with friends, and random life questions she searches on Google. It made it fun to read because you feel like you are inside Maddie's head and you are feeling all the emotions along with her.
Aspects of mental health, specifically depression and grief, are highlighted in Maame in such a supportive way. I love that authors are incorporating aspects of mental health into their characters because it makes them relatable and three dimensional. Maddie's struggles with grief are all too familiar with many of us, as well as some of the major life events she experiences when it comes to friendship, family dynamics, dating and navigating sexual experiences.
⚠️ Content warning: racism/microaggressions, death of parent, grief, depression, coerced sexual encounter
This book made me want to be more honest, be more kind to myself, ask for more help, and accept myself as i am. i listened to the audio book, and it was done very well, had me sobbing in the car on multiple occasions.
I’d highly recommend.
I’d highly recommend.
emotional
funny
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
A great story of struggle and mother/daughter relationships and how that impacts our lives.
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
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:
Complicated
4.5
This had me very skeptical at first but this Maddie girl grow on me like crazy. You are witnessing an iconic growth. Unapologetic Maddie is sensational.
This book is also a pure reflection of what it feels to be a 1st-generation daughter in an Afro-carribean household. Felt heard AND seen.
Thank you Miss Jessica !!
This had me very skeptical at first but this Maddie girl grow on me like crazy. You are witnessing an iconic growth. Unapologetic Maddie is sensational.
This book is also a pure reflection of what it feels to be a 1st-generation daughter in an Afro-carribean household. Felt heard AND seen.
Thank you Miss Jessica !!
this is quite an easy read and i enjoy it up until the last page. as someone who also overthinks too much for her own good, i can relate to maddie, but only up to a certain level because i don’t really google things like “how to go on a first date?” (btw maddie, u would’ve loved chatgpt)
i do feel like the writing is kind of, for the lack of a better word, inconsistent? some parts are good, great even, but the other parts kind of falls flat. given maddie’s situation, i was expecting something a little bit more.. intense. it does got better at the second half though, when things started to fall into place
(maddie’s naivety is another issue but i just accept it as a part of her character for now) (and she did learn to be better after that so)
i wish we could’ve gotten more about her relationship with her family though, because that’s sort of the issue on why she ended up like that at her age. the romance and (inevitably) the sex parts are a little unnecessary for me
overall a 3.5/5
i do feel like the writing is kind of, for the lack of a better word, inconsistent? some parts are good, great even, but the other parts kind of falls flat. given maddie’s situation, i was expecting something a little bit more.. intense. it does got better at the second half though, when things started to fall into place
(maddie’s naivety is another issue but i just accept it as a part of her character for now) (and she did learn to be better after that so)
i wish we could’ve gotten more about her relationship with her family though, because that’s sort of the issue on why she ended up like that at her age. the romance and (inevitably) the sex parts are a little unnecessary for me
overall a 3.5/5
4⭐️
I think this was a good book. I listened to this on audible and I really liked the narration and accent. I wanted something that was wholesome and although I don’t think this was “give me a hug” wholesome, it was definitely an “I appreciate the lessons learned and how well rounded it is” wholesome book. This is a “getting your life together” book done right. The main character is 25 and I can relate with her on many topics. She was dealing with a lot of race, religion, friendship, relationship, career, loss issues and it showed how she navigated it. I think that sometimes it felt a little adolescent because she was experiencing a lot of things for the first time later in life, but at the same time it wasn’t her fault. She had a lot of weight to carry and a lot of responsibilities that prevented her from just enjoying her youth and adulting like the rest of us. I was happy when she eventually opened up to release the burdens that had been holding her down and causing her to be depressed and anxious. She experienced a lot of growth and I think that the book ended nicely.
I think this was a good book. I listened to this on audible and I really liked the narration and accent. I wanted something that was wholesome and although I don’t think this was “give me a hug” wholesome, it was definitely an “I appreciate the lessons learned and how well rounded it is” wholesome book. This is a “getting your life together” book done right. The main character is 25 and I can relate with her on many topics. She was dealing with a lot of race, religion, friendship, relationship, career, loss issues and it showed how she navigated it. I think that sometimes it felt a little adolescent because she was experiencing a lot of things for the first time later in life, but at the same time it wasn’t her fault. She had a lot of weight to carry and a lot of responsibilities that prevented her from just enjoying her youth and adulting like the rest of us. I was happy when she eventually opened up to release the burdens that had been holding her down and causing her to be depressed and anxious. She experienced a lot of growth and I think that the book ended nicely.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
I really just wanted more out of the ending but I suppose that’s life. Not everything comes to some great crescendo. It’s a very realistic story of family, the weight of parent’s failings, and how friends can be everything and nothing.
It was slightly jarring every time they mentioned temperature and it being clearly in °F despite being set in London. I don’t know if that would bother anyone else but a transplant reading the US version.
I rarely read the acknowledgments but the ones for Maame were actually interesting and pertinent to the story. Wholesome.
It was slightly jarring every time they mentioned temperature and it being clearly in °F despite being set in London. I don’t know if that would bother anyone else but a transplant reading the US version.
I rarely read the acknowledgments but the ones for Maame were actually interesting and pertinent to the story. Wholesome.