Maame (Review)

A story of young adulthood, finding love, suffering loss, forgiving family, and becoming the person you’re meant to be.

The vibe

Book / Leggings / Sweatshirt / Shoes / Headphones / Tote / Passport holder / Necklace / Gloss

Old Maddie might never wear this much color, but maybe the new Maddie would! She’s going places — so she needs the right travel outfit as she takes the world by storm!

The review

Maddie has a dull life, she admits. She doesn’t love the admin job she has just to pay the bills, she can count her friends on one hand, and her dating life — ha! The 25-year-old is the primary caregiver for her father, who’s Parkinson’s only gets worse and worse. Maddie’s mom, who spends large chunks of time in Ghana where their family is from, announces her return to London and now, for the first time in a while, Maddie gets to branch out on her own and take control of her life. Meet the new Maddie — which comes with both highs and lows, unfortunately.

Maame by Jessica George is the quintessential coming-of-age, character-driven novel, but, there’s nothing normal about George’s clever writing and storytelling. She created such a relatable and genuine character in Maddie, and I’m honestly having such a hard time coming to terms with the fact that she is, in fact, fictional and not one of my friends.

I do need to note that grief and depression are a big theme in this book. Anyone struggling with loss or mental challenges should consider skipping Maame. For me, I share a very similar loss to Maddie and it brought up a lot of bad memories and made me more emotional than the average reader. That being said, I enjoyed the story and vulnerability George shared in her novel.

Also, ok, there is just SOMETHING about Maddie that makes me think she really was inspired but the author’s life. I have nothing to confirm this theory EXCEPT two things… The author’s described as having similar jobs to our main character. And, toward the end of the book, Maddie looks into writing fiction and her character’s name is Jess. I wondered if that’s a nod to the author!

Read if… you loved Transcendent Kingdom and Queenie.

The verdict: Pick this one up immediately. Well, once it comes out 1/31.