At the Edge of the Haight

By: Katherine Seligman

Narrated by: Gabra Zackman

The 10th Winner of the 2019 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, Awarded by Barbara Kingsolver

“What a read this is, right from its startling opening scene. But even more than plot, it’s the richly layered details that drive home a lightning bolt of empathy. To read At the Edge of the Haight is to live inside the everyday terror and longings of a world that most of us manage not to see, even if we walk past it on sidewalks every day. At a time when more Americans than ever find themselves at the edge of homelessness, this book couldn’t be more timely.”—Barbara Kingsolver, author of Unsheltered and The Poisonwood Bible

Maddy Donaldo, homeless at twenty, lives with her dog and makeshift family in the hidden spaces of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. She thinks she knows how to survive and whom to trust until she accidentally witnesses the murder of a young man. Her world is upended as she has to face not only the killer but also the police and then the victim’s parents, who desperately want Maddy to tell them about the life their son led after he left home. And in a desire to save her since they could not save their own son, they are determined to have Maddy reunite with her own lost family.

But what makes a family? Is it the people who raised you if they don’t have the skills to look after you? Is it the foster parents whose generosity only lasts until things become more difficult? Or is it the family that Maddy has met in the park, young people who also have nowhere else to go?

Told with sensitivity and tenderness and set against the backdrop of a radically changing city, At the Edge of the Haight is narrated by a young girl just beginning to understand herself. The result is a powerful debut that, much like previous Bellwether winners The Leavers, by Lisa Ko, or Heidi Durrow’s The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, grapples with one of the most urgent issues of our day.

©2021 Katherine Seligman (P)2022 Algonquin Books

Critic reviews

“A terrific novel, half murder-mystery, half a tale of growing up. The heroine and her friends are unique in my reading experience—homeless young people living in Golden Gate Park, with their own community and their own rules—and their story is suspenseful and touching throughout.”—Scott Turow

“Katherine Seligman's new novel makes alive and visible the lives of people we often walk past, sometimes as quickly as we can.”—NPR

“At the Edge of the Haight inspires empathy for San Francisco’s unhoused. A journalist who has written extensively about homelessness and mental health issues, particularly in California, Seligman is a keen observer of the wealth gap in San Francisco and the challenges facing those experiencing homelessness. Seligman’s writing is at its best when it juxtaposes the experiences of living in San Francisco for those who have and those who have not . . . The book is a compassionate and probing character study of the type of street kids Seligman knows people tend to overlook or even scorn when they see them begging on the sidewalk."—San Francisco Chronicle

Ring of Truth

I enjoyed this book very much because it felt authentic to the real lived experience of the homeless in the park. And the kindness of so many people who want to help, for many different reasons.

disappointing

narrator did an excellent job. story was just not that engaging. was hoping to understand more about the homeless in SF

Good story but narration distracting

I enjoyed this story which gave some interesting insights into the life of homeless youth (if accurate). However, the narration was the worst I have heard after listening to many books. The different voices were well done but the inflection of the voice of the main character was off. For example, it kept sounding like a question had been asked when it hasn’t been.

brilliant

exciting story about an extremely important issue in our world today and the real people

not a fan

I am more a fan of action/mystery/Sci fi, I thought I'd try this based on the reviews, after 6 chapters we had to stop to stay awake while we were driving.