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A review by booksbeyondthebinary
Maame by Jessica George
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
5.0
If you didn’t pick this for your February BOTM, you’re missing out.
This phenomenal debut by Jessica George is a mid-twenties coming-of-age story featuring Maddie, a 25-year-old Ghanaian woman living in Britain caring for her elderly father who has Parkinson’s when suddenly, her mother returns home and she is able to move out of the house and finally experience things like sex and navigating living with roommates for the first time ever.
This story expertly navigates what it is like to learn how to advocate for yourself. As a recovering people pleaser myself, that aspect of the story really spoke to me.
As someone who was a late bloomer of sorts, I also identified with the camaraderie Maddie has with the wisdom found on Google, making sure to not commit any first date faux-pas by extensively gathering research from anyone who was willing to provide their own experiences. It also made me miss Yahoo Answers. RIP.
This book is about grief, about love, about finding yourself, about learning how to put yourself first, and about understanding without always having all the answers.
Content warnings: death, microaggresions, depression and panic attacks.
This phenomenal debut by Jessica George is a mid-twenties coming-of-age story featuring Maddie, a 25-year-old Ghanaian woman living in Britain caring for her elderly father who has Parkinson’s when suddenly, her mother returns home and she is able to move out of the house and finally experience things like sex and navigating living with roommates for the first time ever.
This story expertly navigates what it is like to learn how to advocate for yourself. As a recovering people pleaser myself, that aspect of the story really spoke to me.
As someone who was a late bloomer of sorts, I also identified with the camaraderie Maddie has with the wisdom found on Google, making sure to not commit any first date faux-pas by extensively gathering research from anyone who was willing to provide their own experiences. It also made me miss Yahoo Answers. RIP.
This book is about grief, about love, about finding yourself, about learning how to put yourself first, and about understanding without always having all the answers.
Content warnings: death, microaggresions, depression and panic attacks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Racism