Maame

I just finished Maame by Jessica George and here is my review

Maddie is no ordinary 25 year old. Still living at home with her sick father and working a job she doesn't care for, she spends her time avoiding her life rather than living it. When her mother returns from Ghana, Maddie has the chance to finally move out and discover who she really is.

Looking to make her life the way she wants is exactly what she needs right now but will things turn out the way she hopes?

This is the kind of debut that weaves its spell around your heart and takes you on the most beautiful journey through love, devastating loss, responsibility and finding yourself then wraps it all up with a warm hug.

I couldn't be more obsessed with this book. I found myself wanting to hold Maddie's hand and shield her from all the bad things away from her. Such a gentle person who never sees herself for who she is but is looking to be loved. It was so heartfelt and witty and I loved the format of the book. Narrated from Maddie's POV and including text messaging was a fun way to inject some humor and fun into a book that tackles a lot of harder to read topics. I [particularly enjoyed how the author humanized depression and parkinsons as well. It was very clever and the writing was beyond excellent. If I didn't know it was a debut I wouldn't have believed it after reading it.

The ending was brilliant and so realistic. I am glad that some things worked out for Maddie, it was amazing that the author showed such depth in the rollercoaster that Maddie had to go through just to get to a place where things didn't completely suck.

5 stars. I don't even feel that is enough. This book had amazing character development and showed real skill!

Thank you to @stmartinspress for my review copy and @jessicageorge for bringing Maddie into my world!