Maame by Jessica George. Wonderful debut!

Maame by Jessica George

 

Maddie is the twenty-five-year-old daughter of Ghanian descent who is the glue supporting her dysfunctional family. As her father slips away with Parkinson’s disease, her brother enjoys independence from all responsibility, since Maame (Maddie) takes care of everything, and even her mother leaves her in charge, to spend every other year in Ghana. So, Maddie stays home and is her father’s caretaker. Stuck in a job that doesn’t value her, with a few close friends from high school and no social life, Maddie bears the burdens of family without reprieve.

When her mother returns, Maddie takes the opportunity to find out how life can be and moves out. And it all falls apart.

The name Maame, what her mother has called her from childhood, means Woman, and implies that she carries the weight of the family on “heavy shoulders.”  Despite the burden, this book is more a tale of discovery and growth than sorrow and shame. George’s voice is fresh and gives a peek inside Ghanian culture as an immigrant, but also the story of how family values mold and guide characters, even when they reject them.

Thank you to St Martins and NetGalley for this ARC. Maame goes on sale January 31,2023.