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A review by freethefrican
Maame by Jessica George
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
“Fun doesn't equate to happiness; at the very least, it lends you happiness and I want to know how to keep it.”
Madeline really had me out here ready to throw hands at anybody who tried to hurt her. I got quickly attached to and very protective of her.
It was a coming of age story that was wonderful in all its starts and stops. The narrative was woven in such an interesting way—from mundane google searches that came from random (and sometimes precise) thoughts to dealing with family and work drama and even grief. It showed the weirdness of romantic interest especially from a naive and earnest mindset where you’re not sure what you want or even what you should want but you know you crave connection and so you sort of just take what you get.
It showed how people never really get it right on the first go and how things that seem good in the moment can quickly turn sour.
It showed grief, depression, and anxiety in ways that highlighted how a person can be high-functioning but still be suffering mentally and not know it.
Personally, I found it to be a love letter to the African girls who have had to grow up too fast so their families could have someone to rely on. The girls who were everyone’s mother but no one was there to mother them. Girls who gave up personal freedom and comforts for fear that their wants and needs would impede on the wants and needs of others. The girls who had emotional, financial, and physical burdens placed on them at ages when they were too young to understand/do anything about it.
This was a fantastic debut.
“We grow up fast. Not by force, but because we are needed.”
"I think sometimes we're needed for the wrong reasons”
Madeline really had me out here ready to throw hands at anybody who tried to hurt her. I got quickly attached to and very protective of her.
It was a coming of age story that was wonderful in all its starts and stops. The narrative was woven in such an interesting way—from mundane google searches that came from random (and sometimes precise) thoughts to dealing with family and work drama and even grief. It showed the weirdness of romantic interest especially from a naive and earnest mindset where you’re not sure what you want or even what you should want but you know you crave connection and so you sort of just take what you get.
It showed how people never really get it right on the first go and how things that seem good in the moment can quickly turn sour.
It showed grief, depression, and anxiety in ways that highlighted how a person can be high-functioning but still be suffering mentally and not know it.
Personally, I found it to be a love letter to the African girls who have had to grow up too fast so their families could have someone to rely on. The girls who were everyone’s mother but no one was there to mother them. Girls who gave up personal freedom and comforts for fear that their wants and needs would impede on the wants and needs of others. The girls who had emotional, financial, and physical burdens placed on them at ages when they were too young to understand/do anything about it.
This was a fantastic debut.
“We grow up fast. Not by force, but because we are needed.”
"I think sometimes we're needed for the wrong reasons”