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letstalkaboutbooksbaybee's review against another edition
4.0
3.75⭐️
Thank you Algonquin Books for a free copy to review.
Maddy is a homeless young woman living in the San Francisco area when she stumbles across the body of a young man, and his murderer is nearby. She runs away and tries to kind her own business, but somehow she gets wrapped up in the homicide investigation and the young man’s parents find her and ask her to testify. All she wants to do is get back to being on her own with her dog and her small group of trusted friends.
I’ll be honest, this was a quieter book. Nothing much outside of the synopsis happens but I thoroughly enjoyed the slower pace and how the author really crafted the setting of this book. I’m not sure how accurate the homeless aspects in this book are to real life, but to an outsider it felt pretty believable. The writing drew me in from the first page and I devoured this book in one night.
My only drawback is I’m not entirely sure what the overall point of this book was, but sometimes a book exists to just tell a story and I think that’s what happened here.
If you like literary fiction, I definitely think this one is for you.
Thank you Algonquin Books for a free copy to review.
Maddy is a homeless young woman living in the San Francisco area when she stumbles across the body of a young man, and his murderer is nearby. She runs away and tries to kind her own business, but somehow she gets wrapped up in the homicide investigation and the young man’s parents find her and ask her to testify. All she wants to do is get back to being on her own with her dog and her small group of trusted friends.
I’ll be honest, this was a quieter book. Nothing much outside of the synopsis happens but I thoroughly enjoyed the slower pace and how the author really crafted the setting of this book. I’m not sure how accurate the homeless aspects in this book are to real life, but to an outsider it felt pretty believable. The writing drew me in from the first page and I devoured this book in one night.
My only drawback is I’m not entirely sure what the overall point of this book was, but sometimes a book exists to just tell a story and I think that’s what happened here.
If you like literary fiction, I definitely think this one is for you.
jennseeg's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-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
sweetlybsquared's review against another edition
3.0
It’s no wonder that this book won an award for Socially Engaged Fiction. The portrayal of Maddy’s life on the streets is both touching and matter-of-fact.
Maddy was a character who evoked some sympathy for her plight, but at the same time she made it clear that this was her choice and she was being as smart as possible about it. Minding her own business and taking care of her dog, Root, were her primary goals. She knew her closest friends on the street would help look out for her and Root, but she also knew they were free to leave whenever they chose.
As a YA book, this presented a great overview of life in this makeshift community. It did not glamorize these kids living on their own. Their circumstances all varied in regards to how they ended up on the streets. The father of the murdered boy tried to make assumptions about why kids lived on the streets, but each kid’s story was truly unique, and usually unknown to the other kids. The kids shared their time with each other, but not their history.
Overall, I’d give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. It could really help a reader visualize a lifestyle probably different from their own. I’d recommend this book for readers who enjoy contemporary fiction and socially engaged stories.
Maddy was a character who evoked some sympathy for her plight, but at the same time she made it clear that this was her choice and she was being as smart as possible about it. Minding her own business and taking care of her dog, Root, were her primary goals. She knew her closest friends on the street would help look out for her and Root, but she also knew they were free to leave whenever they chose.
As a YA book, this presented a great overview of life in this makeshift community. It did not glamorize these kids living on their own. Their circumstances all varied in regards to how they ended up on the streets. The father of the murdered boy tried to make assumptions about why kids lived on the streets, but each kid’s story was truly unique, and usually unknown to the other kids. The kids shared their time with each other, but not their history.
Overall, I’d give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. It could really help a reader visualize a lifestyle probably different from their own. I’d recommend this book for readers who enjoy contemporary fiction and socially engaged stories.
kellybarker's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
book_ish_bitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
lak98's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'd recently moved to San Francisco, so was interested in a book to learn more about the city and the unhoused populations here. It's a good book for those reasons but was disappointing overall. There was hardly any plot (the murder is really a side story that randomly has salience but most of the book is just the characters' day-to-day lives). I'm usually ok with character-driven books, but the characters here were not well developed. Of the four main characters, two seemed practically interchangeable. All characters besides Maddy seem one-dimensional, and it's even hard to feel invested in Maddy's characters because she's so closed off, even in her own narration. While the book had some thought-provoking moments and well-written lines, it was overall a bit of a slog to get through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Grief
Minor: Pedophilia
addicusmarie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.0
caitisbooked's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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
This story follows the life of Maddy, who is apart of the homeless community within San Francisco. She knows how to live – where to eat, where to sleep, where to shower, and most importantly, how to avoid the police. However, one day she witnesses the murder of a young man when chasing after her dog, and her world is changed for the worst. She has to face the killer, the police and the young man’s parents who want to know what happened to their son and how he came to be in the park. However, this ends up with Maddy being reunited with her lost family by the young man’s parents. This puts the question into Maddy’s thoughts about who her true family is.
This book was powerful from the beginning, but then began to lose some power for me as the story went on. In saying that, I did thoroughly enjoy this book a lot more than expected. I find mystery books to either be hit or miss for me. I truly couldn’t put the book down for over the first half of the book. I wanted to find out more about Maddy and her backstory, along with Ash and Fleet, and the other characters that were within the homeless community. It is definitely not an easy read, due to certain actions that the characters fulfil, that make you constantly be questioning them, but I also loved that aspect
The way that Seligman thrusts you into a world that not many people, myself included, would know not a lot about. This was definitely an eye opening reading experience, especially around that not all that live on the streets want to be saved from their current living situations, and trying to get them to live in a house, doesn’t always work for them best. I truly didn’t know what I was expecting, but this was everything and more. You can definitely tell that Seligman has done her research into the homeless community, as I felt like Maddy was incredibly well rounded and explained character. However, I did feel like Maddy’s character was the only one to be fully explored and explained under the superficial level. I wanted a further dive into Ash’s character and his backstory, along with Fleet as well.
I highly recommend this book to absolutely anyone and everyone due to the pure fact of pushing yourself out of your normal boundaries and reading and learning more about the homeless community, especially the fact that not everyone that lives on the streets wants to be saved.
Thank you very much to Algonquin Young Readers for providing me with a copy of this novel and allowing me to participate in the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug use
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse and Homophobia
popthebutterfly's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Disclaimer: I received this arc and e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: At The Edge of the Haight
Author: Katherine Seligman
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3/5
Recommended For...: young adult readers, thriller, mystery, crime
Publication Date: January 19, 2021
Genre: YA Thriller
Recommended Age: 16+ (murder, violence, gore, death, homelessness, overdose TW, drug use, pedophilia mentioned, abuse (physical and emotional))
Explanation of CWs: Murder is central to the plot and there is some violence and gore in the book. Homelessness is experienced by the main character. There is an overdose scene. There is some drug use shown. There is implied pedophilia mentioned. Abuse is also shown.
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Pages: 304
Synopsis: Maddy Donaldo, homeless at twenty, has made a family of sorts in the dangerous spaces of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. She knows whom to trust, where to eat, when to move locations, and how to take care of her dog. It’s the only home she has. When she unwittingly witnesses the murder of a young homeless boy and is seen by the perpetrator, her relatively stable life is upended. Suddenly, everyone from the police to the dead boys’ parents want to talk to Maddy about what she saw. As adults pressure her to give up her secrets and reunite with her own family before she meets a similar fate, Maddy must decide whether she wants to stay lost or be found. Against the backdrop of a radically changing San Francisco, a city which embraces a booming tech economy while struggling to maintain its culture of tolerance, At the Edge of the Haight follows the lives of those who depend on makeshift homes and communities.
As judge Hillary Jordan says, “This book pulled me deep into a world I knew little about, bringing the struggles of its young, homeless inhabitants—the kind of people we avoid eye contact with on the street—to vivid, poignant life. The novel demands that you take a close look. If you knew, could you still ignore, fear, or condemn them? And knowing, how can you ever forget?”
Review: For the most part I thought the book was ok. It had some really good world building and the plot was intriguing enough to keep me going with the book. The book also had some fairly good moments.
However, I couldn’t really connect with this book. I couldn’t connect with the characters and they felt flat for me. The writing was disjointed and I didn’t like the back and forth of the book. The rest of the book was fine, but the characters really ruined it for me.
Verdict: Not for me but maybe for you.
Book: At The Edge of the Haight
Author: Katherine Seligman
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3/5
Recommended For...: young adult readers, thriller, mystery, crime
Publication Date: January 19, 2021
Genre: YA Thriller
Recommended Age: 16+ (murder, violence, gore, death, homelessness, overdose TW, drug use, pedophilia mentioned, abuse (physical and emotional))
Explanation of CWs: Murder is central to the plot and there is some violence and gore in the book. Homelessness is experienced by the main character. There is an overdose scene. There is some drug use shown. There is implied pedophilia mentioned. Abuse is also shown.
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Pages: 304
Synopsis: Maddy Donaldo, homeless at twenty, has made a family of sorts in the dangerous spaces of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. She knows whom to trust, where to eat, when to move locations, and how to take care of her dog. It’s the only home she has. When she unwittingly witnesses the murder of a young homeless boy and is seen by the perpetrator, her relatively stable life is upended. Suddenly, everyone from the police to the dead boys’ parents want to talk to Maddy about what she saw. As adults pressure her to give up her secrets and reunite with her own family before she meets a similar fate, Maddy must decide whether she wants to stay lost or be found. Against the backdrop of a radically changing San Francisco, a city which embraces a booming tech economy while struggling to maintain its culture of tolerance, At the Edge of the Haight follows the lives of those who depend on makeshift homes and communities.
As judge Hillary Jordan says, “This book pulled me deep into a world I knew little about, bringing the struggles of its young, homeless inhabitants—the kind of people we avoid eye contact with on the street—to vivid, poignant life. The novel demands that you take a close look. If you knew, could you still ignore, fear, or condemn them? And knowing, how can you ever forget?”
Review: For the most part I thought the book was ok. It had some really good world building and the plot was intriguing enough to keep me going with the book. The book also had some fairly good moments.
However, I couldn’t really connect with this book. I couldn’t connect with the characters and they felt flat for me. The writing was disjointed and I didn’t like the back and forth of the book. The rest of the book was fine, but the characters really ruined it for me.
Verdict: Not for me but maybe for you.
shegetsliterary's review against another edition
2.0
Unfortunately this one just wasn't for me. I found things felt a bit disjointed, I never got a real sense of comradery between characters and overall I wasn't a fan of the writing style. This might have been geared more to YA which is a genre that's not really for me.