At the Edge of the Haight

Maddy is a young girl who lives on the streets of San Francisco and sleeps in Golden Gate Park. She has forged a small family of youths like herself who gather together at night to sleep until rousted by the morning police rounds. She cares for a stray dog called Root, who is her companion and protector. A secondary protector is her friend Ash, who has ways charming enough to scrounge for subsistence on the mean streets. The book opens as Root finds a young murder victim in the bushes. In pursuit of Root, Maddy sees the dying boy and his assailant. We see how thin her means of protection become as she navigates through having become a witness to this crime.

LIke many on the streets, Maddy had no real home or family; she is unattached to people and protection. Throughout the story, this reader worried about Maddy and longed for her to find her way off the streets. Unlike many novels, the author does not provide easy answers. The resonant title of this book reflects the edge of a hateful life on the streets.