Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Maame by Jessica George

141 reviews

smkelly1997's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Maddie has been the Maame (translation: woman) of her family as long as she can remember. She has taken on the role of caring for her dying father, paid for the family’s bills, and single handily run her household for as long as she can remember. That is until her mother returns home allowing Maddie to finally leave home at 25 years of age and discover who she is and not who her family wants her to be.
Maame is central themes of love and loss, complex family dynamics, mental health, race, and the dynamics of a first generation Ghanaian are prevalent through the book. Maddie character provides a charming yet relatable moments as she googles her way through life, overshares with those around her, and obsesses over a yellow pant suit. These themes along with Maddie’s relatability culminate in a refreshing take on a coming of age story following a 25 year old young woman as she navigates a whole new world. 
I would highly recommend the audiobook version read by Heather Agyepong. Her voice acting not only brings the accidents to life but places you inside of Maddie’s head. Experiencing the world as she does.   (I think had a read the book it would have been a 4.25. The voice acting put it over the top)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, and Panic attacks/disorders

ekgraham's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content

meghanelizabeth's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Death

Moderate: Racism and Mental illness

Minor: Suicide

chrisje's review against another edition

emotional hopeful

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Mental illness

oz2021's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Grief

saltycoffee's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Toxic relationship, Classism, Drug use, Mental illness, Grief, Chronic illness, Dementia, and Panic attacks/disorders

amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is a coming of age story of a young Ghanaian woman in her 20s living in London. Throughout the story she tackles work related race stressors, relationships, grief, family, moving out for the first time and finding a voice. 

I can hardly believe this is Jessica George’s debut novel. The way she was able to capture grief had me in tears (and I do not cry easy). After reading her forward I realized her dad is no longer with us. Which totally explains how she was able to have Maddie tap into that grief. 

I loved how she was able to explain complex topics like love and culture. It was very relatable and her characters felt so real. 

If you are looking for a realistic black woman version of a coming of age story, this is it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Drug use

martapsalvado's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Took me more than a month to read and several in-between books because it's so sad and intense and I'm not in the right headspace 🥲 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Medical content, Death, Racism, Death of parent, Sexual content, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

Minor: Drug use, Suicide, and Alcohol

teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I'm on the fence if I loved this one. It told a realistic story, the responsibilities of caring for a sick parent and not getting to "grow  up" in time. I found the main character believable, but I struggled to connect with her. I found for broaching such a dense topic, this book just skimmed the surface level. I wanted more substance to it, and didn't feel I got what I wanted. Take my review with a grain of salt. It is still worth reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, Racism, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Infidelity, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

mdavis26's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Abandonment, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Grief