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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
At 25, Maddie struggles to navigate adult life when all her friends seem to have everything figured out. Her mother spends most of her time in Ghana; her brother is pursuing a music career and is barely present, while Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from Parkinson's. When her mom finally returns to London, Maddie leaps to start "living" finally. She moves into an apartment with roommates, says yes to smoking and drinking, and starts online dating. But when tragedy strikes, Maddie is forced to face her unconventional family, her loneliness, and her messy love life.
Labeled as a coming-of-age story, I didn't expect to ugly-cry while reading this book, and I loved every moment of it. MAAME encompasses the messiness of the mid-20s perfectly with Maddie, a self-deprecating and introverted protagonist. Her struggles with loneliness, friendship, dating, sex, and starting a career are all topics I related to profoundly and wished I'd known when I was younger. I especially appreciated the discussions on sex in MAAME and how George paints a realistic picture of what young women face in modern-day dating, particularly the microaggressions young women of color could encounter when dating white men.
One of the most poignant aspects of MAAME is the relationship between Maddie and her father; both are reserved and tend to bottle their emotions inside. As a result, they lost valuable time communicating with each other. It's a heartbreaking reminder of how we can sometimes let our relationships suffer due to our own struggles. It's a rite of passage for every child to realize that their parents aren't perfect, and MAAME does an excellent job of capturing this moment of realization for Maddie.
There's so much to love in MAAME, and this will likely be my top read of the year. This beautifully written and emotional coming-of-age story will resonate with readers of all ages and make you lol & sob at the same time. For those in their 20s, it's a valuable book to know that they're not alone; for readers who have passed this stage (like me ✌️), MAAME made me realize how far I've come and could go.
Labeled as a coming-of-age story, I didn't expect to ugly-cry while reading this book, and I loved every moment of it. MAAME encompasses the messiness of the mid-20s perfectly with Maddie, a self-deprecating and introverted protagonist. Her struggles with loneliness, friendship, dating, sex, and starting a career are all topics I related to profoundly and wished I'd known when I was younger. I especially appreciated the discussions on sex in MAAME and how George paints a realistic picture of what young women face in modern-day dating, particularly the microaggressions young women of color could encounter when dating white men.
One of the most poignant aspects of MAAME is the relationship between Maddie and her father; both are reserved and tend to bottle their emotions inside. As a result, they lost valuable time communicating with each other. It's a heartbreaking reminder of how we can sometimes let our relationships suffer due to our own struggles. It's a rite of passage for every child to realize that their parents aren't perfect, and MAAME does an excellent job of capturing this moment of realization for Maddie.
There's so much to love in MAAME, and this will likely be my top read of the year. This beautifully written and emotional coming-of-age story will resonate with readers of all ages and make you lol & sob at the same time. For those in their 20s, it's a valuable book to know that they're not alone; for readers who have passed this stage (like me ✌️), MAAME made me realize how far I've come and could go.
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
emotional
hopeful
fast-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
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*i listened to the audio book and the narrator deserves 5 stars. she was amazing! it's usually hard for me to follow an audiobook but not this time.
i started and stopped this book many times. although some of the writing was beautiful, a lot of it fell flat for me.
i started and stopped this book many times. although some of the writing was beautiful, a lot of it fell flat for me.
I liked this book and would recommend it. It’s a coming of age story of a black woman in her twenties navigating the challenges of modern life as a first generation immigrant daughter. It falls short of 5 stars because the whole time I kept thinking, this is reminds me a lot of Queenie.
There were laugh out loud funny moments, and heartwarming moments of what love really looks like, in friendship, romance and family.
There were laugh out loud funny moments, and heartwarming moments of what love really looks like, in friendship, romance and family.
AMAZING! Beautifully written. Maddie is a mid-20s Black woman navigating her sense of self/identity amidst living in white London, at a job where she is under-appreciated and recognized, and being the glue that holds her family together.
Her parents are Ghanaian immigrants and her mother holds Maddie to a very high cultural threshold, which is difficult to maintain while trying to figure out who she is -- a mix of "nature" Ghanaian, but also 21st-century British. Her dad has Parkinson's and her family leaves her to be his major caretaker, also responsible for keeping the finances afloat, thinking she can handle it all because of her namesake "Maame", meaning woman.
A very relatable read and was extremely heart warmed at her growth, bravery, and navigation to figure out her role in her newly changed family, and coming to terms with who she is and who she wants to be. Highly recommend for anyone to read!
Her parents are Ghanaian immigrants and her mother holds Maddie to a very high cultural threshold, which is difficult to maintain while trying to figure out who she is -- a mix of "nature" Ghanaian, but also 21st-century British. Her dad has Parkinson's and her family leaves her to be his major caretaker, also responsible for keeping the finances afloat, thinking she can handle it all because of her namesake "Maame", meaning woman.
A very relatable read and was extremely heart warmed at her growth, bravery, and navigation to figure out her role in her newly changed family, and coming to terms with who she is and who she wants to be. Highly recommend for anyone to read!
I love this story! I know others are distracted by how Maddie searches Google to solve basic issues, but honestly who among us doesn’t? Seriously. Maddie aka Maame has always been the caretaker of her family. Her mom and older brother go their own way, leaving Maddie to take care of her ill father. She loves him so much, but she has missed out on do many of life’s opportunities because he requires so much. The book incorporates many themes such as unconscious bias, racism, religion, jealousy, online dating, and much more. As Maddie finally experiences these things, she matures. She takes more risks. She finds ways to voice her wants and needs. Simply superb for a debut.