#BookReview: Those Who Wander by Vivian Ho

“Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost” … But Some Are. Ho does an excellent job of focusing on one particular tale – of a trio of homeless kids in the Bay Area convicted of a pair of murders – while exploring young adult homelessness generally quite well. Maybe it was because the version I read was the Audible, but there didn’t seem to be many citations throughout the book, and indeed Ho waxes poetic and goes into editorial mode quite often – a bit too much, for my own personal tastes, particularly when making various claims that really do need supporting evidence to be provided. (Checking the text based version of the book I also have, I do in fact see that the notes/ bibliography is a bit too sparse for my thinking.) Which is ultimately what dropped this a star for me. Other than the sparse bibliography and a too much editorializing, this truly was a beautifully written book that highlights an oft-overlooked circumstance and does a stupendous job showing these people as the humans they are – warts and all. Very much recommended.

This review of Those Who Wander by Vivian Ho was originally written on March 25, 2020.