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serenealhalabi's review
3.0
Took me longer than usual to read because I got bored and don't love the writing style. This story had so much potential but was not executed well.
andersonk's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
beetsbydwight's review
challenging
hopeful
reflective
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
3.0
ern1n's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
vinginoa's review
2.0
I liked the concept and the light shown on the unhoused living in San Francisco but as a fiction novel, I found it lacking. From this book I will take away an interest in reading more about the unhoused to gain additional perspectives that can supplement this story.
ridgewaygirl's review
3.0
This novel begins when a young homeless woman finds a dying man in the bushes of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Before she realizes what's going on, she also sees the face of the man who stabbed him. But this novel is not primarily about that, but about the people who sleep in the park when the weather's good and in a shelter when it isn't. Maddy becomes homeless once she ages out of the foster care system and her friends, a small group that sticks together for safety and support, come from a variety of backgrounds. Seligman explores what led Maddy to prefer life on the streets and touches on the issues of her friends and in this she is both humane and clear-eyed. These characters are real people, often with serious problems and she also shows how help can be both well-meaning and badly aimed.
The situation created in the beginning of the novel is more of a distraction and I never bought into Maddy's motivations for some of her actions, but it also served to show the impact on a family when one of its members choses to leave and live without a fixed address. I appreciated this novel more than I enjoyed it, although it never felt preachy and the way it illuminated the daily fabric of living homeless was something not often found.
The situation created in the beginning of the novel is more of a distraction and I never bought into Maddy's motivations for some of her actions, but it also served to show the impact on a family when one of its members choses to leave and live without a fixed address. I appreciated this novel more than I enjoyed it, although it never felt preachy and the way it illuminated the daily fabric of living homeless was something not often found.
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 - Really good look at life as a young homeless person - the dangers, the challenges, the social stigmas, etc. A great book to encourage empathy and compassion. Part of the book that stuck with me the most was the critique that many people would rather help a stray dog than a homeless person. The homeless kids find more charity when they have their pet dog with them. Even the animal shelter they visit to get their dog back mentions that there was a proposal to let homeless people spend time with the shelter dogs (help socialize the dogs and give the homeless people a warm place to stay) but the program didn't gain traction. CW: mental health issues, depression, homelessness, teen pregnancy, drug use, poverty. Short but powerful story worth reading!
jesseonyoutube's review
3.0
Centering the realities of the unsheltered with candor, At the Edge of the Haight uses a young girl named Maddy to set a spotlight on homeless folk in San Francisco. The novel's selling point is that Maddy stumbles upon a boy just moments after his murder and is thrown into a police investigation while the boy's bereft parents attempt to use forced proximity to her to settle their own grief. Marketed as a literary thriller, I was pleasantly surprised to find the book focused MUCH less on the 'mystery thriller' aspect and more heavily on centering homelessness.
Desperately, I wanted to love the story much more than I did. The audiobook made the writing (which I believe was in need of editing), far more enjoyable; the narrator had the absolute perfect voice to bend Maddy's perspective into Life. However, I am certain I'd have discontinued my read had I been consuming Haight in a physical format.
Still, I deeply suggest this book for anyone who has not experienced homeless, especially those of you who "don't believe in giving money to the homeless" and have never consumed a single written perspective on the unsheltered. Ideally though, read a work from a formerly (or currently) homeless individual in order to put their perspectives first.
Desperately, I wanted to love the story much more than I did. The audiobook made the writing (which I believe was in need of editing), far more enjoyable; the narrator had the absolute perfect voice to bend Maddy's perspective into Life. However, I am certain I'd have discontinued my read had I been consuming Haight in a physical format.
Still, I deeply suggest this book for anyone who has not experienced homeless, especially those of you who "don't believe in giving money to the homeless" and have never consumed a single written perspective on the unsheltered. Ideally though, read a work from a formerly (or currently) homeless individual in order to put their perspectives first.
booksaremypeople's review
5.0
Katherine Seligman’s At The Edge of the Haight, is a beautifully written novel about a young adult experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. When Maddy Donaldo witnesses a murder in Golden Gate Park, she becomes tangled in a complicated web that includes the killer, the police and the victim’s parents. This is a novel about what it means to be a family and how it can come in many different shapes and sizes. And who doesn’t love a novel with a dog? Maddy’s dog, Root, will not disappoint.
marilynw's review
3.0
At the Edge of the Haight by Katherine Seligman
At the Edge of the Haight follows twenty year old homeless Maddy Donaldo as she comes across a dying young man, while the murderer is still standing near his body. Homeless life is fraught with perils and being seen by a murderer just adds to Maddy's fears and worries. Yet for as dangerous, unpredictable, and uncomfortable as being homeless in the area of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park must be, life for Maddy, her friends and her acquaintances, almost comes across as truant teenagers/young adults spending too much time loafing around a mall, waiting to be chased off by the security guards who make their rounds each shift.
Maddy and her friends are very intelligent and creative but as this story relates their lives, they have a chance to take advantage of a myriad of resources, safety nets, and handouts that are designed to bring them in off the streets and start on a more independent path to life, and they seem to take advantage of those things when it's convenient or when they make an effort to be in the right place at the right time . These young people seem to see their homelessness as being independent and not allowing others to tell them what to do but don't face that really living in a way that allows you take care of yourself (and maybe take care of a family, in the future) comes with rules and guidelines that are best followed, to achieve true independence from handouts and a life of never knowing where your next meal will come from, where you will sleep/squat for the night.
The writing of this story is very good and I cared about, not only Maddy and her friends, but for those who try to help Maddy and the other homeless people. There are people trying so hard to change Maddy's life for the better but it seems almost impossible when Maddy and those she spends time with, reject the opportunities that are offered, over and over. There is so much more going on with the plight of homelessness but this story makes it seem less dire than the real life situation. It seems that this book is aimed more at young teens/young adults and that could be why it's written in a less gritty manner than reality might dictate, but I think it's a disservice to the real thing when it seems to almost be glamorized.
Publication date: January 19, 2021
Thank you to Algonquin Books/Workman and Edelweiss for this ARC.
At the Edge of the Haight follows twenty year old homeless Maddy Donaldo as she comes across a dying young man, while the murderer is still standing near his body. Homeless life is fraught with perils and being seen by a murderer just adds to Maddy's fears and worries. Yet for as dangerous, unpredictable, and uncomfortable as being homeless in the area of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park must be, life for Maddy, her friends and her acquaintances, almost comes across as truant teenagers/young adults spending too much time loafing around a mall, waiting to be chased off by the security guards who make their rounds each shift.
Maddy and her friends are very intelligent and creative but as this story relates their lives, they have a chance to take advantage of a myriad of resources, safety nets, and handouts that are designed to bring them in off the streets and start on a more independent path to life, and they seem to take advantage of those things when it's convenient or when they make an effort to be in the right place at the right time . These young people seem to see their homelessness as being independent and not allowing others to tell them what to do but don't face that really living in a way that allows you take care of yourself (and maybe take care of a family, in the future) comes with rules and guidelines that are best followed, to achieve true independence from handouts and a life of never knowing where your next meal will come from, where you will sleep/squat for the night.
The writing of this story is very good and I cared about, not only Maddy and her friends, but for those who try to help Maddy and the other homeless people. There are people trying so hard to change Maddy's life for the better but it seems almost impossible when Maddy and those she spends time with, reject the opportunities that are offered, over and over. There is so much more going on with the plight of homelessness but this story makes it seem less dire than the real life situation. It seems that this book is aimed more at young teens/young adults and that could be why it's written in a less gritty manner than reality might dictate, but I think it's a disservice to the real thing when it seems to almost be glamorized.
Publication date: January 19, 2021
Thank you to Algonquin Books/Workman and Edelweiss for this ARC.