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A review by kerasalwaysreading
At the Edge of the Haight by Katherine Seligman
4.0
3.75 stars, rounded up
Twenty years old and living on the streets and in the parks of the Haight district of San Francisco, Maddy and her dog Root stumble across the dead body of a teenage boy, Shane and the man who is standing nearby with blood on his face. Suddenly, everyone wants a piece of her. The police want her help with the investigation, the boy's parents want to put together all of the pieces of what happened to their son. And all Maddy wants is to forget the sight of the teenage kid's face burned into her brain.
Maddy is reluctant to accept help from Shane's parents. There were times while reading this that I was asking myself why she wasn't more eager to accept their help when she had so very little to depend on. But the more I got to know Maddy's character, I understood that she doesn't WANT to rely on people. And I can respect that. You can only help those receptive to help.
After appearing in court to formally finger, Jeremiah, the man who killed Shane, she is compelled to learn more about him... and Shane as well. Using the resources she has available to her in public records, she tracks Jeremiah's criminal history and speaks to people in his past. She then begins her own quasi investigation into Shane's life by canvasing places he could have frequented and asking anyone she comes across if they recognize Shane's face. She ends up learning enough to wonder if Shane was even more of a mess than she is.
I didn't connect with Maddy as much as I would have hoped. I respected her in a way, but I never really connected with her character. And I didn't feel strong emotions for the story so much as the facts surrounding it. But, it was a very interesting read and definitely got my interest piqued.
Twenty years old and living on the streets and in the parks of the Haight district of San Francisco, Maddy and her dog Root stumble across the dead body of a teenage boy, Shane and the man who is standing nearby with blood on his face. Suddenly, everyone wants a piece of her. The police want her help with the investigation, the boy's parents want to put together all of the pieces of what happened to their son. And all Maddy wants is to forget the sight of the teenage kid's face burned into her brain.
Maddy is reluctant to accept help from Shane's parents. There were times while reading this that I was asking myself why she wasn't more eager to accept their help when she had so very little to depend on. But the more I got to know Maddy's character, I understood that she doesn't WANT to rely on people. And I can respect that. You can only help those receptive to help.
After appearing in court to formally finger, Jeremiah, the man who killed Shane, she is compelled to learn more about him... and Shane as well. Using the resources she has available to her in public records, she tracks Jeremiah's criminal history and speaks to people in his past. She then begins her own quasi investigation into Shane's life by canvasing places he could have frequented and asking anyone she comes across if they recognize Shane's face. She ends up learning enough to wonder if Shane was even more of a mess than she is.
I didn't connect with Maddy as much as I would have hoped. I respected her in a way, but I never really connected with her character. And I didn't feel strong emotions for the story so much as the facts surrounding it. But, it was a very interesting read and definitely got my interest piqued.