Maame

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER.

Hilarious, honest and heartbreaking, MAAME is the most moving debut of 2023 - and a heroine you'll never forget.

Read with Jenna Today Book Club Pick

Apple Book of the Month

A 2023 Debut of the Year as chosen by:

SUNDAY TIMES, STYLIST, VOGUE, RED MAGAZINE, INDEPENDENT, BELFAST TELEGRAPH, HUFFINGTON POST UK, POP SUGAR, HARPERS BAZAAR, MY WEEKLY, EVENING STANDARD, COSMOPOLITAN, BUSTLE

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'Lively, funny, poignant . . . Prepare to fall in love with Maddie. I did!'

BONNIE GARMUS, Sunday Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

'Utterly charming and deeply moving . . . Maddie's journey will resonate with anyone who's had to grow up - or who's still trying to'

CELESTE NG, New York Times bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere

'I loved every page of this beautiful, heartwarming, empowering book. An exceptional debut from an incredibly exciting new talent'

BETH O'LEARY, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Flatshare

'One of the must-reads of the year' SUNDAY TIMES

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Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi, but in my case, it means woman.

What to say on a first date?

Back pain in your mid-20s normal?

Is it bad to cry at work?

% of young people who are also carers?

Meet Maddie Wright.

She wants to wear a bright yellow suit.

She wants to date men who her mother wouldn't like.

She wants to stand up to her boss - once and for all.

She wants to know why her father can't tell her he loves her.

She wants to stop Googling every life choice she makes.

But will the world let her?

This is a story of heartbreak, friendship, and breaking the rules - it's a book that will leave you feeling braver than you were when you started.

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EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT MAAME:

'Tender and compelling from the word go, Maame is one of the year's most anticipated books' STYLIST

'A poignant and heart-warming coming of age story' RED

'George's novel is a deeply moving one, packed with heart and sparkling prose' HARPER'S BAZAAR

'Moving, funny, poignant and completely unforgettable, you'll love this beautiful coming of age tale' MY WEEKLY

'Funny, resonating and uplifting, Maame is going to be big in 2023' EVENING

“Honest, warm, heart-breaking and heart-healing . It felt truly modern, yet somehow timeless. I adored it A poignant coming-of-age tale about finding strength, hope and courage . . . Maame 's quiet confidence is true to life and liberating Lively, funny, poignant . . . Prepare to fall in love with Maddie . I did! An utterly charming and deeply moving portrait of the joys - and the guilt - of trying to find your own way in life. At heart, Maame is about seeing life, your loved ones, and yourself in a new light, and Maddie's journey will resonate with anyone who's had to grow up - or who's still trying to Meeting Maame feels like falling in love for the first time ; warm, awkward, joyous, a little bit heartbreaking and, most of all, unforgettable . Jessica George viscerally renders the exquisite pain and poignant hilarity of coming of age as a woman today while perfectly capturing the extra thickets of thorns that lay in the paths of women of color in all white spaces. Maame is so many women I have known and loved: experiencing firsts, coming to hard revelations and choosing to bite into life with full, open heartsA woman finding her feet, her independence, her place in the world, and all family obligations and expectations that pull on this particular British Ghanaian woman living in London. This book has such a strong voice, it's incredibly easy to read, it's funny, heartbreaking but also uplifting and thought provoking I loved every page of this beautiful, heartwarming, empowering book. The world is going to fall in love with Maddie - she stole quietly into my heart and made herself at home there. An exceptional debut from an incredibly exciting new talent This is such a special book . Warm, beautifully drawn and instantly engaging, George tackles pain, loss and longing with the lightest of touches . I learned so much from Maddie, even as I was rooting for her to reclaim her power and jump-start her own life.”

'One of the must-reads of the year' Sunday Times
Tender and compelling from the word go, Maame is one of the year's most anticipated books . . . Very funny and utterly readable, this is one for your reading lists' Stylist
Jessica George's Maame has a warmer, frothier take on family matters. The book follows 20-something British Ghanaian Maddie, who has spent years as a carer for her father and the breadwinner for her family, as she breaks free of doing what's expected of her Vogue
A poignant and heart-warming coming of age story Red Magazine
A must-read for 2023 Belfast Telegraph
This sparkling and poignant coming-of-age novel is going to be huge Fabulous, Sun on Sunday
A funny coming-of-age novel. When Maddie Wright is presented with the opportunity to leave her traditional Ghanaian home to become the type of woman she has always dreamt of being, she leaps into her new life. However, tragedy then strikes, leaving Maddie forced to consider what she's sacrificing Huffington Post UK
Maame will have you laughing, crying, and rooting for the protagonist the whole way Pop Sugar
George's novel is a deeply moving one, packed with heart and sparkling prose Harper's Bazaar
Moving, funny, poignant and completely unforgettable, you'll love this beautiful coming of age tale about a young woman on a journey to discover the real her' My Weekly
George has fashioned an appealing hero here: You can't help but root for Maddie's emancipation. Funny, awkward, and sometimes painful, her blossoming is a real delight to witness. A fresh, often funny, always poignant take on the coming-of-age novel -- Kirkus starred review
George illustrates the complexities of navigating two cultures and rising from the pressure of other people's expectations beautifully. This is a clever and deeply moving debut Booklist
A pitch-perfect debut...The work's ample magnetism resides in the savvy portrayal of Maddie as a complicated, sharp, and vulnerable person who is trying to figure out adulthood. Readers will revel in this. Publishers Weekly
An exciting and emotionally charged debut... Every word is a gem. You will fall in love with Maddie's character as she sets out to find her way in the world via nightmare bosses, passive-aggressive flatmates, questionable men and online dating. A really heart-warming tale of redemption and self-discovery The i paper
It's impossible not to champion Maddie from the start of this fantastic debut... A truly remarkable debut. Powerful, poignant and downright heart-breaking in parts My Weekly
Jessica George's first novel is a compassionate portrait of a young woman caught between cultures, and a moving look at how grief can undo you. Maddie is a charming mix of innocence and world-weariness; you end up rooting for her to find her place in the world Times
An accomplished debut from a talented writer Prima
Warm and heartfelt, this tender coming-of-age novel will have you rooting for her through it all. Marie Claire
This coming-of-age story is witty, poignant and inspiring Elle
Pick of the Week: We root for her through triumphs and tears in this funny tale The Sun
A moving, funny story about finally finding out where you truly belong Cosmopolitan
The hot debut Grazia
A resonant and engaging debut from Jessica George, we absolutely loved Maddie's mature voice as she deals with challenges at this potent time in her life Magic Book Club
A coming of age tale with a perfectly imperfect protagonist, Maame holds a mirror up to the lives of Black British women anxiously treading the tightrope of our twenties, with little to lean on and much to learn AZ Magazine
Irresistibly charming, this story of a later bloomer shows us that we all find our stride in life when we are meant to, even if it's not when the rest of the world expects us to. Maame left me with a huge smile and a full heart! Mikki Brammer
This book will make you laugh and cry but you'll be rooting for Maame all the way Stylist

Jessica George was born and raised in London to Ghanaian parents and studied English Literature at the University of Sheffield. After working at a literary agency and a theatre, she landed a job in the editorial department of a publishing house. She now lives in North London with an incontrovertible sweet tooth and the knowledge that she can consume half a cake by herself if left to her own devices.

A blisteringly funny, heartbreaking coming-of-age debut about identity, love, loss, and becoming the woman you want to be. 'Lively, funny, poignant . . . Prepare to fall in love with Maddie. I did!'BONNIE GARMUS, Sunday Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry 'Utterly charming and deeply moving . . . Maddie's journey will resonate with anyone who's had to grow up - or who's still trying to'CELESTE NG, New York Times bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere 'I loved every page of this beautiful, heartwarming, empowering book. An exceptional debut from an incredibly exciting new talent' BETH O'LEARY, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Flatshare Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi, but in my case, it means woman. Meet Maddie Wright. All her life, she's been told who she is. To her Ghanaian parents, she's Maame: the one who takes care of the family. Her mum's stand-in. The primary carer for her father, who suffers from Parkinson's. The one who keeps the peace - and the secrets. It's time for her to speak up. When she finally gets the chance to leave home, Maddie is determined to become the kind of woman she wants to be. One who wears a bright yellow suit, dates men who definitely aren't on her mum's list of prospective husbands, and stands up to her boss's microaggressions. Someone who doesn't have to google all her life choices. But when tragedy strikes, Maddie is forced to face the risks - and rewards - of putting her heart on the line. But will it take losing everything to find her voice? As blisteringly funny and achingly relatable as its heroine, MAAME is an unforgettable coming-of-age story about finally finding where you belong. ' Maame is a really special novel, at once sweet and sad and funny and so full of life. The sort of book that people are going to cherish, and with good reason' BOBBY PALMER, author of Isaac and the Egg 'This book is going to be EVERYWHERE next year. A truly sparkling coming of age tale. Vividly drawn, witty and heartbreaking' JULIE OWEN MOYLAN, author of That Green Eyed Girl 'Honest, warm, heart-breaking and heart-healing. It felt truly modern, yet somehow timeless. I adored it' NIKKI MAY, author of Wahala 'A poignant coming-of-age tale about finding strength, hope and courage . . . Maame 's quiet confidence is true to life and liberating' LIZZIE DAMILOLA BLACKBURN, author of Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? 'Meeting Maame feels like falling in love for the first t

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