“It made me grow up,” I answer. “It made me grow up when I should have had more time. It made my dad overlook me when I was a child, my mum leave me behind, and my brother get away with doing the bare minimum. It made me lonely and it made me sad. It made me responsible and guilty. It made me someone, if given the choice, I wouldn’t want to be."

Maame in Maddie's case means woman in Twi. Maddie is a woman stunted by family happenings. As is common in many families, Maddie being the girl child has to pick up the slack, and then some, that the parents left behind. Maame made me cry. I empathised with Maddie as the oldest girl in my family. I recall being told at such a young age how big and grown I was (by others, not just my parents). I had to pick up the slack.

The writing moves along well. Besides crying, I laughed. Maddie is a funny MC. Her exploration of the world leaves nothing unturned. When she stands up for herself I cheered. When she was low, I was low with her. Maddie's growth is believable and real. The family dynamics were well done. Everyone is three-dimensional; there is no evil villain here. The friendships touched me the most. Maddie had people she could rely on and who genuinely cared for her. George touches on many topics in her book, and I thought they were all well done.