The summer of love is long gone but some people hope to prolong the “glory days”, some are searching for something, some are hiding, and some are just hoping to make it another day. This honest look at life on the streets details the daily routines of seeking shelter, food, money, and purpose. Follow Maddy while she navigates Golden Gate Park, investigating a crime that just won’t let her alone, and battles a past that simultaneously haunts her and keeps her going when times are tough.

Reading this elicited feelings of frustration regarding the state of things; the lack of help and the unwillingness to receive help when offered. The general attitudes of law enforcement and people towards homeless, and the attitudes of the homeless towards law enforcement and other people. Spotlighting the many issues that those who do not have permanent housing face while not glossing over the many reasons why.

I am thankful for the honest perspective I received by reading this book.

Thanks to @algonquinbooks and @kr.seligman for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ⁣ ( )

In this novel, Katherine Seligman writes in a somewhat disjointed style that makes the reader feel the disconnection of those who find themselves living on the streets. The character's attempts at family are fractious and disorienting, but they grasp at any threads of connection. An important reminder for readers not to judge people whose shortcomings or faults we think we know. ( )

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. ( )

Maddy is living a rough life on the streets of San Francisco. After living homeless for years, she has scratched out a routine of rotating though friendly businesses and places to sleep and forged friendships. While not ideal, Maddy has no desire to return to where she has come from. Life in Golden Gate Park suits her just fine, that is, until she stumbles across a murder in progress. Maddy is left reeling, not knowing what to do or where to go... or who she can rely on.
Katherine Seligman has written a slow burn mystery with elements of the life of a homeless youth, which many do not have insight to everyday. Her description of Maddy's routine and the characters she encounters appear realistic. Seligman's research shows through. While the book has a quality story, the ending felt anticlimactic. I respect the author's choice to not make a tidy ending, but wish there was a crescendo to the story.
#AttheEdgeoftheHaight ( )

Perhaps it’s just because I finished an amazing book prior to this one, but this was just an lukewarm read for me. I wanted to like this one, and tried so hard to, but it never happened. I never fully connected to Maddy or any of the other characters, and the plot and dialogue was quite clunky throughout. Often Maddy would be talking to someone and I found it difficult following her conversation.
The book felt overall like it didn’t know what it wanted to be either, a murder mystery or a portrait of a young girl on the streets. Perhaps some books can pull off both, but this one failed in its execution. Characters often disappeared and then reappeared just as quickly as they disappeared, with everyone acting like nothing had happened.
It’s apparent that the author was trying to say something about homeless youth, but what that was I never felt was made clear. ( )