Book Blurb:
It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting. When her mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie leaps at the chance to get out of the family home and finally start living. A self-acknowledged late bloomer, she’s ready to experience some important “firsts”: She finds a flat share, says yes to after-work drinks, pushes for more recognition in her career, and throws herself into the bewildering world of internet dating. But it’s not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils––and rewards––of putting her heart on the line.
My Review: 4 stars
Maame by Jessica George is a sad but hopeful coming of age story about a young girl caring for her father as he battles Parkinson’s. She is forced to grow up too soon as her mother flits back to Ghana for years at a time, often not sending her enough money. Seventeen is a hard year by many measures, add being a caretaker to your ailing father and that compounds everything.
Maame is a Ghanian nickname given to Maddie by her mother, meaning woman, which often feels like it was a foreshadow for her life. She’s had no time to live as she bore adult responsibilities and grew up way too fast. For me, Maddie sometimes felt ridiculously mature for her age, but at others, she borders between naïve and immature. I found the continuous googling to explain things a bit over the top, but the answers from google made me laugh.
This book deals with self-discovery, depression, race, learning to adult, romance, workplace dynamics and Ghanian lifestyle. I look forward to what’s next from this debut author. And, congrats to the artist who designed the cover art. This book is gorgeous!
Quotes I liked:
It made me grow up when I should have had more time. It made my dad overlook me when I was a child, my mum leave me behind, and my brother get away with doing the bare minimum. It made me lonely and it made me sad. It made me responsible and guilty. It made me someone, if given the choice, I wouldn’t want to be.”
“I believe the difficulty of life has much to do with understanding and then navigating how the people you love both express and receive love themselves. It cannot be your responsibility, your burden, to reshape people into someone you’d like them to be. Ultimately, you must either accept a person for who they are, how they behave, how they express themselves emotionally, and find a healthy way to live with them, or let them go entirely. Either way, you must release yourself from that responsibility.”
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