George, Jessica. Maame. New York : St. Martin’s Press, 2023.
For our protagonist, Maddie Wright, life is full of questions and Google searches. Just to name a few of those Google searches highlighted throughout the story are “Is Parkinson’s disease genetic?”; “Jobs with the happiest employees”; “How long do guys wait before asking a girl out on a date?” The answers are more than complex for 25-year-old Maddie, born of Ghanaian parents that immigrated to London. While other young adults are striving for financial security, their own apartments, and long-lasting romantic relationships she seems hopelessly stuck between the beginning stages of adulthood and family obligation. Becoming the primary caregiver to her ailing father while his diagnosis worsens, her mother becomes obsessed with taking care of the family business back in Ghana and her older brother busies himself to keep from having to help all while Maddie is trying to figure out her own life.
This poignant, relatable coming of age story about discovering your true self is strikingly honest, vulnerable, and most of all unforgettable. This is a story of a late bloomer finding her stride in life in her own time, reminds us that life is not a race, it’s a journey. An enjoyable read for a wide range of audiences from young adults navigating life, seasoned travelers reminiscing through historical moments, to African foreigners who will grasp the novel’s cultural nuisances. George candidly creates a world that so perfectly describes the false starts, heartbreak and awkwardness of coming into adulthood. She does so with such empathy and a necessary sense of humor that it’s hard to place the book down once you get started reading it.
Chantell Huell is a Circulation Assistant at North Park Library. She can be reached at Chuell@alamancelibraries.org.