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Lullabies for Little Criminals

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 6,409 ratings · 688 reviews

A gritty, heart-wrenching novel about bruised innocence on the city's feral streets--the remarkable debut of a stunning literary talent

Heather O'Neill dazzles with a first novel of extraordinary prescience and power, a subtly understated yet searingly effective story of a young life on the streets--and the strength, wits, and luck necessary for survival.

At thirteen, Baby v...more

Paperback, 330 pages

Published October 17th 2006 by Harper Perennial (first published October 1st 2006)

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Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill

Canada Reads 2011 - Top 40 Novels

4th out of 72 books — 95 voters

In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje

CBC Canada Reads Winners

1st out of 12 books — 32 voters

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Mar 14, 2012 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: icky-sex, littry-fiction, upstairs-neighbors

don't make your books look like chick lit if you want people to read 'em.

more free advice from me.

but it's true - not all of us have a sarah montambo in our lives to tell us, "no, this is really very good." because it is. and this is not just me groping all the canadian books in the corner of the dancefloor, this book is a sparkly little gem.

at the beginning, it reminded me a lot of weetzie bat. it is a similarly glossy-slick storytelling style, but this one is about a girl with a loving junkie...more don't make your books look like chick lit if you want people to read 'em.

more free advice from me.

but it's true - not all of us have a sarah montambo in our lives to tell us, "no, this is really very good." because it is. and this is not just me groping all the canadian books in the corner of the dancefloor, this book is a sparkly little gem.

at the beginning, it reminded me a lot of weetzie bat. it is a similarly glossy-slick storytelling style, but this one is about a girl with a loving junkie single dad who treats her like a peer (and since he is only 15 years older than her, he's not far off) and they breeze from apartment to apartment in montreal in a daze where there are no consequences and everything will be okay, even if they have no money and there are dangers on the streets and foster homes.

but it doesn't stay rosy.

this one is not teen fiction, but she captures the young teenage character so well, in both thoughts and actions. even though baby is exposed to so much that is unsavory, she is still a little kid with a kid's energy, freaking out pimps with her sudden dancing and yelling, trashing a house and not stealing the jewelry (because of her own kid-logic) but stealing a cute turtle knickknack, avoiding bathing...it's like what greg is always saying when he talks about lolita; that lo is totally gross, the way a little kid is, playing with her gum and being dirty and smelly, and it's not like in the movie at all, or in most may-december films. kids are rarely sexually precocious, even when they are imitating behaviors they have seen or been taught. the gross will always out. and i loved that about this book; the moments of kid-grossery that would pop out unexpectedly.

in the back of the book, where harpercollins slaps all those readers' guides and interviews, there is this wonderful passage in her "making of" feature:

the inability to properly identify danger exists throughout the book. whereas children can be terrified by a puppet of a crocodile or a photograph of a shark in a national geographic magazine, they are unable to get it through their heads to look both ways when they cross the street or that there are strangers that you cannot talk to....

when i was eleven, i used to have a friend whose older brother was a junkie. he and his friends were the coolest kids in the neighborhood. some high points in my childhood were when drug addicts would flip out and come out of their apartments in their underwear with cats on their heads. we kids would dance around them, shouting and laughing with our hands up in the air. i wanted to capture this nonjudgmental attitude a lot of lower-class kids have to drugs. i also wanted to portray the relationships these same kids have with seedy adults. children believe the lies that adults tell them and are dutifully impressed. lowlifes are fantastical creatures who animate the world of children, and, in turn, lowlifes love children who are their most captive and adoring audience.

that's what i was trying to say, about the things i liked about this book. but she is a writer, so she said it much much better.

this book was written five years ago. i am ready for a follow-up, please!!(less)

69 likes · like · see review

Sep 06, 2009 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: gmba, the-kids-are-all-right

Damn. This book just about broke my heart. It wormed its way in and split me three ways---three different identities rubbernecking in the lives of Jules and Baby.

The story is seen through the eyes of Baby, a 12 yr old who lives with her Dad in Montreal. Her Mom died when she was one and Jules, well… bless him, but he’s not the most responsible guy on the planet.

Jules is the first rip in my identity crisis: He is still a child himself, having had Baby at 15 and deciding to take her out of the...more

26 likes · like · see review

Jun 28, 2007 Sharon rated it 2 of 5 stars

I want to say that I liked this book, I really do, but in the end I can only say that I tolerated it. I found the voice to be simultaneously irritating and endearing. The narrator, a 12/13 year old street child named Baby, has a habit of describing everything with multiple similes:

After he said that, his kisses began to feel good. They were like tubes of lipstick being crushed against my mouth. I took comfort in his kisses. They were so soft now. They made me smile. His kisses tasted like my tea...more

10 likes · like · see review

Aug 03, 2008 Ben Babcock rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, canadian-author, favourites, literary-pretentious, 2008-read, 2008-best10, as-lit-ideas

About two hundred pages into the book, I suddenly realized that this story was breaking my heart.

It's sneaky. You don't know you're getting attached to Baby, the main character, until it's too late. You don't realize you're emotionally invested in her, that you want to see her make the right decisions that lift her out of the morally ambiguous streets and propel her to a successful, happy life. So when events push her into doing the opposite, it's terrible.

The theme that resonates with me most i...more About two hundred pages into the book, I suddenly realized that this story was breaking my heart.

It's sneaky. You don't know you're getting attached to Baby, the main character, until it's too late. You don't realize you're emotionally invested in her, that you want to see her make the right decisions that lift her out of the morally ambiguous streets and propel her to a successful, happy life. So when events push her into doing the opposite, it's terrible.

The theme that resonates with me most is that childhood is the most precious innocence we have. Baby makes several philosophical remarks about childhood, how society encourages us to grow up too fast--and the fact that we can't go back afterward. We're stuck as adults. As an 18-year-old, I've reached the legal age for adulthood. I'm venturing into that scary world of responsibility; no one treats me as a child anymore. I have the advantage of never experiencing Baby's hardships, yet I still feel confused at times. Everyone probably does, which is why this book captures your heart.

Baby has no mother, and her father is not much of a father figure. She is a person of remarkable natural integrity and morals nonetheless, but as the book progresses, these morals get twisted further and further out of focus as she tries to deal with growing up while her father slips further away from reality. She goes through several phases of friendship, attempting to fit in at school, hanging out with other kids at a community centre, hanging out with a more dangerous social misfit than her, her first boyfriend ... and being seduced by a pimp.

It was the contrast of those last two relationships that broke my heart. Baby, fast approaching the nadir of her pre-adolescent life, succumbs to the advances of the neighbourhood pimp. You think, "Okay, this can't get any worse. Yeah, she's with a pimp, but she'll get out of it. She'll find a way out." Then she meets a boy her age and falls for him, and suddenly it is that much worse. Baby is torn between two worlds, two different lifestyles. She tries to push each away in turn, but both stick to her and try to claim her.

The ending is open. It does not neatly wrap up Baby's life in an epilogue, tell us that she went on to live happily-ever after. If it had, that would cheat the book of its significance. I won't spoil it, but I will say it is positive.

Trying to do the right thing is hard enough when you know what "the right thing" is. When you don't even know that, and you're a thirteen-year-old girl without the advice of a parent to guide her, life is much, much harder.(less)

13 likes · like · see review

Jan 09, 2008 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: canlit

A magnificently beautiful first novel, and I didn’t want it to end!! O’Neill has a magical, musical storytelling style that is a pure joy to read, even when the subject matter is as dark as this. The story is about 12-year-old Baby, being (kind of) raised by her heroin-addicted and shiftless single father. It is an engrossing account written from the perspective of this thoughtful, precocious and surprisingly philosophical youngster, a memoir of life in the seedy corners of Montreal — a life tha...more

4 likes · like · see review

Feb 05, 2008 Kristina rated it 4 of 5 stars

I couldn't put this book down. The narrators voice and descriptions were great. Some of the sentences made me want to laugh out loud and cry in the same moment. It was pretty disturbing throughout, as one should expect a story about a young teenage girl with a heroine addict father and deceased mother to be. Honestly, I read it under the impression that it was a memoir, so I really thought the story was true, at least as far as the author remembered it. I don't know if I would have enjoyed it qu...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jul 29, 2007 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars

Oh, I really did want to like this book. I fell in love with Heather O'Neill's story about Jesus in middle school on This American Life, and was hoping for more writing like that. Instead, I often found her writing style so distracting that it was hard to stay in the story. Just opening the book to a couple random pages:
"The snowflakes came down like little bits of newspaper. The night was a typewriter key that got stuck and kept punching all the letters on top of the others until all that was l...more

8 likes · like · see review

May 18, 2007 Alexa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. This is the story of a young girl coming of age on the streets, and, unfortunately, on her own, as her addict father seems to disappear at a critical point in her life. O'Neill manages to capture the changes in the young herroine's (Baby) voice throughout the book, yet also describes the funny, dramatic, painful changes in her life, as she loses her virginity, finds love and innocence in friendship, shoots herroine... It's a tough story, but beuatifully written.

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 09, 2009 Diana rated it 4 of 5 stars

I started reading this almost a year ago and put it down halfway through because I was too depressed by the child prostitution in it, but I braved it again recently. One of the things I like most about this is that even while terrible things are happening, there is a determination to represent lightness and whimsy in the midst of squalor. The character's father, Jules, is a sympathetic, idiosyncratic character despite being a recklessly negligent junkie, and there is a sweetness in their connect...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 07, 2012 Sarika rated it 5 of 5 stars

Lullabies for Little Criminals, set in the crime-alerted city of Montreal, is Heather O'Neill's most extraordinary piece of writing so far. I happened to glance through the first few pages of this book when I was hunting for books to help me endure my Summer holidays, at my local bookstore, and luckily I was only able to skim through the beginning of the book before deciding to buy it. Because had I seen what was in store for me at the climax, I wouldn't have hesitated before slamming that book...more Lullabies for Little Criminals, set in the crime-alerted city of Montreal, is Heather O'Neill's most extraordinary piece of writing so far. I happened to glance through the first few pages of this book when I was hunting for books to help me endure my Summer holidays, at my local bookstore, and luckily I was only able to skim through the beginning of the book before deciding to buy it. Because had I seen what was in store for me at the climax, I wouldn't have hesitated before slamming that book back in the bookshelf, where I though it belonged. Prostitution, drug addictions and 'pimp' stalkers are not things I expected a 12 year old to deal with, even in one of the most crime-infected areas of the world. But as the novel progressed, so did my interest, and I found myself rushing through the last few pages of the book, gripping the pages while anticipating the ending.

The story is based around the life of Baby, a vulnerable yet smart young girl, while she battles between the fine lines that define childhood and adulthood. She struggles with reality, and forces herself to oblivion to avoid the ugly facts that confront her when her father her father indulges his Heroin addiction and abandons all presences of looking after her. With a 'pimp' who strikes up a special interest to Baby and a sometimes-abusive father, Baby's life is far from perfect, but she manages to find beauty in certain things in life that we ourselves take for granted, which undoubtedly keeps her afloat to the chaos that engulfs her through her 'childhood'.

This was, without a doubt, one of the most enthralling books I have ever read. No, not because of an extraordinary use of vocabulary or insightful observations, but because it was an honest-to-god, factual novel that actually allowed the reader to step into 12 year old Baby's world and experience the dark, dangerous city of Montreal as it is. Although this book may be hard to digest, it certainly provides an inside look into the world of drug-lords and addicts. Yes, O'Neill lacks personal opinion and feeling in certain incidents in the novel, such as ransacking a former friend's house or being subjected to abuse, but that proves to be an asset rather than a vulnerability. The casual way the author is able to describe incidents with an oblivious feel to narration, makes the facts she puts down so much more realistic. Scrape away the few emotions that sugarcoat Baby's life and you have some horrendous facts in front of you, and the fact that the 12 year old is unable to process then means that it is your job to do so.
Add the fact that the events of this novel are narrated without a trace of self-pity or wallowing, and the novel is the perfect tool for instant gratitude. Had Baby resided to her room each time she was treated unfairly, bawling her eyes out while marveling at her misfortune, I would have been able to relate to the character so much more. But her lack of self-awareness only led to me becoming so much more aware of her, and I found myself taking her place and pitying her. Baby was used throughout the novel, and her naivety makes it so much more agitating to get through the book. At some point in the novel I felt like shouting in her ear 'He's taking advantage of you, DO something!'. She only adds to my angst when she wordlessly accepts the criticism and mistreatment her father and Alphonse (her 'pimp') had to offer without any protests, but perhaps O'Neill meant for us to feel this way as to truly let us see the real picture she had painted for us.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who was feeling particular ungrateful or spiteful at any time of the day, because this shocking novel will snap you right out of any fits, and will have you counting your lucky stars in no time. A word of caution, this book is not for the fainthearted, so if you're looking for one of those happy-go-lucky novels before bedtime, perhaps you should try another novel. Although this novel is difficult to get through, and is quite hard to get into towards the beginning, you will certainly thank yourself when you actually finish reading and have experienced the book for yourself.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Aug 21, 2008 April rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: canadiana

I seem to be on a kick these days for semi-autobiographical books about difficult childhoods. Like The Glass Castle, Lullabies is the story of a young girl growing up in less than ideal conditions. The main character “Baby” (her name screams something indefinable about her parents right off the bat) is growing up with her father in Montreal. They live a life of constant moves, illness, hunger, and drugs. Eventually Baby garners the interest of the neighbourhood pimp, Alphonse. Heather O’Neill do...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 21, 2008 Shaindel rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone.

Recommended to Shaindel by: Barry Graham!

JUST finished it. And want to read the rest of the "Meet the Author" section in the back, but I'm at work, so should...uh...work.

There are images in this book that will blow your mind. Normally, I sort of roll my eyes when people type passages from the book on Goodreads, but I'm going to do it for this one:

The minute Alphonse said those words, my guardian angel started humming and circling me happily. I could feel her there, getting excited. Some guardian angels did a terrible job. They were giv...more

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Jul 28, 2008 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, book-club, 2007

Baby (that's her real name) is eleven going on twelve. Her mother is dead, her father, Jules, has raised her alone in Montreal. He's only 26, and more of a child than she is. He's also a heroin addict, a "loser" as Baby is well aware. They constantly move apartments, often to escape people Jules owes money to, and wear clothes often pilfered from the lost and found boxes.

Baby is smart, though. She does well at school, except for the times when she was younger when she followed Jules advice. But...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jul 24, 2007 Brad rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, teenagers

I got excited about this book because of Heather O’Neil’s appearances on This American Life and Wiretap (dating a guy in public radio has its benefits). Her voice is so fragile and beautiful, which is how much of her writing in this book is, too.
Her protagonist, Baby, is a twelve-year-old living with her 28-year-old drug-addled dad, and she matter-of-factly gets put in social services, becomes a prostitute, and becomes addicted to drugs. However, it’s not really a sad book—O’Neil never lets Baby...more

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Aug 09, 2007 Willie N rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone <3

This book is about a twelve year old named Baby who lives in Montreal, Canada. Her young, single parent father, Jules is a heroin addict.
The books a struggle about growing up but still trying to keep your youth. Once it's gone, it's gone forever.
I read this book less then a week and it's pretty big for me :(
But It was a really good book and I couldn't put it down.
Towards the middle of the book it did get a little weird and confusing but it really went well with the character and the novel, y...more

1 like · like · see review

May 31, 2008 Natalie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone with a heart.

Ok, so this one actually kept me up at night, both in the sense that I didn't want to have to put it down, and then once I did, the images still plagued my brain. I don't know what I can say about it... it was beautifully written, almost poetic in her descriptions, if such a thing can be said given the content of what is being described... those who have read it will completely understand. She did such a good job of recapturing the thought processes, and the mentality of being that young.. the i...more

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Mar 31, 2009 John rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: all-time-favorites, must-read

Five stars is nowhere near enough for this book. It has to be one of my favorite reads in years. Between the druggy dad and pimp friend this girl stands little chance in life. She is smart yet naive. Even to the end there is always hope for her to succeed. You just want to wrap your arms around her and give her a great hug. She deserves someone to give her a warm home, hot meals and unconditional love - she earned it!!!

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Oct 14, 2007 C. Highbury rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Adults with a stomach for difficult subject matter and a taste for great writing.

I was so impressed by this book. And while it's true, as a previous reviewer wrote, that there are similes galore, I thought they were insightful and original and become part of the character's personality, and voice. Even though I was aware of these stylistic elements, I think that the girl's voice seemed to me to be coming from a later stage in her life, looking back somewhat, so it was not inconceivable to me that it would be insightful and mature. The book captivated me. The brutal childhood...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Haleigh is currently reading it

Have you ever wondered what it was like to live with a drug addicted parent or what it was like not having a stable home? Heather O’Neill tells a story about a twelve year old girl named Baby who lives this lifestyle in a book called Lullabies for little criminals published in 2006.

Baby lives with her single father Jules, as her mom passed away before she could even remember. Jules doesn’t have a job and is addicted to drugs. They can not hold a home down, they moved around so much that Baby kno...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Christina Windle rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Females, female teens, Canadians

Recommended to Christina by: Emily Haines

I'm going to start off by saying that this review is pretty one-sided to the negative, but overall I enjoyed this book and would read it again and recommend it. It's a unique, yet not so unique story. It's Canadian, and as a Canadian I love to read our athours and books set in our country. The characters are engaging, varied, and memorable. The plot kept me reading a the imagery is beautiful, unique child-like, but this imagery is also repetative in some spots. Baby, as a character, is ideal to...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Gina S rated it 4 of 5 stars

Born and raised in Montréal Canada, Heather O’Neill has grown up to become quite the novelist. Her debut novel, ‘Lullabies for Little Criminals’ published in 2006, was selected a year later for the 2007 edition of Canada Reads and went on to win the competition. Over the years of her career she has built up a reputation as an international best selling author, as well as one of the most influential women in Canada.

The setting of this book is not your typical childhood scene. Instead, the main c...more Born and raised in Montréal Canada, Heather O’Neill has grown up to become quite the novelist. Her debut novel, ‘Lullabies for Little Criminals’ published in 2006, was selected a year later for the 2007 edition of Canada Reads and went on to win the competition. Over the years of her career she has built up a reputation as an international best selling author, as well as one of the most influential women in Canada.

The setting of this book is not your typical childhood scene. Instead, the main character ‘Baby’ is forced to grow up in the heart of a large city on the dirty and unforgiving roads of Montréal. This hard part of town has had an impact on Baby and throughout the 330 pages of this book you learn more and more about her and the obstacles she is faced to overcome. This attention-grabbing book keeps you on your toes, and has you constantly flipping the pages just to find out the next detail.

Baby, a 12 year old girl is living a sad excuse of a childhood. She and her father, Jules, that she adores more than anything, are always found moving from place to place because of something her father has done. The relationship between the two of them is simply dysfunctional although Baby remains oblivious. Baby has a split personality, one side consisting of the true innocent girl she really is, and the other full of rebellious curiosity that leads her into some deep trouble. Each page of this book takes you deeper into her thoughts and always has you guessing on what her unpredictable mind will come up with next. Why would someone want to put themselves in danger? That is the kind of question you ask yourself throughout the entire book. Exposed to drugs and prostitution this 12 year old girl finds her self growing fonder of her dad’s rigid life style.

Lullabies, is a heart wrenching novel, with a storyline similar to a rollercoasters tracks. Its twists and turns really capture the essence of a hard knock life and shows you the reality of things that can occur in big cities. I really enjoyed reading this fictional memoir and I would strongly recommend it to other readers.
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Apr 17, 2011 Daniela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, canadian, coming-of-age, fiction, realistic-fiction, social-commentary

Age Group:
Adult

Genre:
Canadian Literature, Coming-of-age, Realistic Fiction, Social Commentary, Social Classes

Summary:
Baby, a twelve-year-old on the verge of her thirteenth birthday, lives a harrowing and unstable life with her young father Jules. Motherless and living in near desolation on the streets of Montreal has been soul crushing for the impressionable young Baby. She finds herself sent to temporary foster care, banished to a detention facility, and abused by those around her, namely he...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Leonie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Perhaps it sounds weird, but I liked the afterword with the bit about how the author loved beautiful books about tragic childhoods because they made her feel glad she was poor and downtrodden. It was interesting to think how it's possible to fetishise situations one is in, partly as a way of getting though them. In a way the book is about how people relate to being in awful, cliched, "gritty" situations, and how if you look at them from the inside convincingly enough, the book doesn't have to be...more

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Oct 23, 2010 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Heather O'Neill's 'Lullabies for Little Criminals' is a heart-wrenching and powerfully written novel. Halfway in to the novel, I could feel my heart breaking into a million pieces. I considered putting down the book before the tears in my eyes started running down my face. I was too late. 12 year old Baby had claimed a place in my heart and I wanted desperately to see her with a 'happy ending'. The story of Baby is set in the cruelest streets of Montreal riveting with pimps, drug dealers, prost...more Heather O'Neill's 'Lullabies for Little Criminals' is a heart-wrenching and powerfully written novel. Halfway in to the novel, I could feel my heart breaking into a million pieces. I considered putting down the book before the tears in my eyes started running down my face. I was too late. 12 year old Baby had claimed a place in my heart and I wanted desperately to see her with a 'happy ending'. The story of Baby is set in the cruelest streets of Montreal riveting with pimps, drug dealers, prostitutes and abused children. Not exactly the ideal home for a little girl of Baby's age, however it's the only home Baby ever knew of with Jules, her drug addict father. Her father often leaves Baby by herself for long periods of time feeding his heroin addiction. Baby is sucked into the dark world of Montreal's streets, surviving on her wits, intelligence and luck. A beautifully constructed character who serves also as the narrator, Baby is imaginative, resourceful, funny and desperate. She often makes many philosophical quotes about quotes about childhood and society. The novel is packed with brilliant quotes which reach deep into the reader's emotions and strike beautiful imagery.
“Becoming a child again is impossible. That's what you have a legitimate reason to be upset over. Childhood is the most valuable thing that's taken away from you in life, if you think about it.”
The further Baby progresses in the story, the bleaker and darker it gets. She goes through the hardships of friendship, trying to fit in and ends up in a foster home. At this point, the reader is begging Heather O'Neill to pull Baby out of these tragic situations. Unfortunately, a turn of events led her into child prostitution. The purity and innocence of Baby is slipping away. I have had the advantage of never being exposed to Baby's hardships and circumstances, which ultimately is the reason the novel is so compelling. The plot dares to tackle a wide range of shocking themes of life in the eyes of a 12 year old. The narration is the most captivating element of the story, a child's view of the darkest streets and the world. The ending is open, leaving the reader based on their optimistic levels to hope for the best. If the ending was neatly tied up with a 'they lived happily ever after', it would've crushed the entire significance of the novel.
The authentic and wild journey of Baby's life leaves the reader with a different insight and view of society. (less)

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Oct 15, 2010 El added it

Lullabies for Little Criminals (Heather O’Neil)
Eric Lovinger
It doesn’t take much to be touched by Heather O’Neil’s “Lullabies for Little Criminals”. The story follows a motherless, twelve year old daughter of a struggling heroin addict named Baby, and her life on the rough streets of Red Light District Montreal. This novel exceptionally depicts the hardships and consequences that Baby faces, and the strength, smarts, and sheer ambition necessary for her survival.
The plot is without a doubt as si...more Lullabies for Little Criminals (Heather O’Neil)
Eric Lovinger
It doesn’t take much to be touched by Heather O’Neil’s “Lullabies for Little Criminals”. The story follows a motherless, twelve year old daughter of a struggling heroin addict named Baby, and her life on the rough streets of Red Light District Montreal. This novel exceptionally depicts the hardships and consequences that Baby faces, and the strength, smarts, and sheer ambition necessary for her survival.
The plot is without a doubt as sinister and bleak as it is touching. But with O’Neil’s beautiful collection of phrases and wording, the reader is given the opportunity to see through Baby’s eyes, and almost forgets that they are reading about drugs and prostitution. Baby always seems to be able to turn any atrocious thing around her into something beautiful. “Even the little cockroaches in the wall are clockwork. They are made with the most beautiful tiny bolts from a factory in Malaysia. They have little buttons underneath them to switch them on and off,” –quote by Baby. Baby’s (whom also narrates the novel) optimistic tone of voice helps the reader survive through the depressing plot, yet also killing the reader when seeing her innocence slowly fall victim to the inescapable dangers around her. Some may say that the somewhat childish tone of voice ruins the reader’s experience of the book, but to me it only adds to the intrigue. Overall, the extremely well created characterization of Baby allows the reader to see the world through this magnificent twelve year-old’s eyes.
The subtly hidden theme of the novel reflects on the loss of ones childhood and the corruption that society enforces on children. “Becoming a child again is what is impossible, that’s what you have a legitimate reason to be upset over. Childhood is the most valuable thing that’s taken away from you in life, if you think about it,” –quote by Baby. There is no certain emotion the reader is intended to feel when reading the novel; weather it is sadness, pity, or empathy. Either way any emotion would be a powerful one. This book may be stunning or shocking to some, but the truth is that it is more than a story about drugs and sex, but an adventure into the mind of an innocent twelve year old girl, who has been corrupted by the world around her.
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Jun 17, 2010 Ehrrin marked it as to-read

from a Powells Daily Dose 06/17/10:

Lullabies for Little Criminals (P.S.)

by Heather O'neill

Teresa's Comments:
"Authentic and captivating, I read it all in one day, just couldn't put it down! Heather really captures the essence of that time in life where we are transitioning from childhood to adulthood with a gut wrenching and funny delivery. There are several beautiful gems of insight throughout the book (I felt like I was on a treasure hunt!). Another takeaway I got was how we assimilate the wor...more

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Mar 15, 2010 Brittany rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Can Lit fans, people who have read White Oleander and liked it

Shelves: canadian, coming-of-age, girly-books, literary-fiction, fiction

How I Came To Read This Book: I won a cookbook and they sent me the audiobook of this book. The joke however, was that the audiobook is missing the last half of the last chapter. I went to the library today and finished it up.

The Plot: Baby is just about twelve when we first meet her, living in a rundown area of Montreal with her incompetent, irresponsible, widowed father Jules, a former teen dad. With Jules off to satisfy himself – whether through drugs, friends, women or otherwise – Baby is le...more How I Came To Read This Book: I won a cookbook and they sent me the audiobook of this book. The joke however, was that the audiobook is missing the last half of the last chapter. I went to the library today and finished it up.

The Plot: Baby is just about twelve when we first meet her, living in a rundown area of Montreal with her incompetent, irresponsible, widowed father Jules, a former teen dad. With Jules off to satisfy himself – whether through drugs, friends, women or otherwise – Baby is left to navigate this very adult world by herself. She haphazardly looks for solace and love in the various homes she’s shuttled through, and naively yet bluntly approaches sex, drugs, alcohol, and crime at a frighteningly young, immature age. As she continually unconsciously looks for an escape from her dark world, Baby is constantly pulled back in by the familiar, which to any parent, would be horribly scary to learn your child is involved in.

The Good & The Bad: Having read this mostly via audiobook, I found I got easily distracted which may have diminished my interest in this book. That being said, I liked that this was a piece of modern, Canadian literature that managed to be interesting and relevant (well, I don’t have a whoring, druggie for a daughter, or any daughter at all, but you get my point). The book is super, super similar to Janet Fitch’s ‘White Oleander’, although it manages to be unique in Baby’s experiences. Compared to Astrid, Baby goes through pure hell and yet still seems to come out the better for it. The way the book tells the story through a hybrid of Baby’s naïve, starry twelve-year-old eyes mixed with a seemingly older, wiser narrator makes for an interesting window into this world.

I liked the plot, I liked the transitions from setting to setting, and I found the characterizations relatively believable. I did not however, particularly care for the simile-laden prose. I found it distracting, even in audiobook form, and it took away from my grasp of the plot and dialogue. I just wanted the book to be a little simpler sometimes as Baby veers off one time too many into her sugar-spun fantasies, which actually serve as a tragic mask for an adult’s translation of her various scenarios. The constant juxtaposition of Baby's sickeningly sweet descriptions (no one thinks or talks like that except an author, sorry) mixed with the gritty realities of her world breaks your heart - but not as much as it could have.

The Bottom Line: A grittier, Canadian take on the foster child experience, a la White Oleander.

Anything Memorable?: Other than my botched audiobook? Nope.

50-Book Challenge?: Book #12 in 2010.
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Nov 16, 2009 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

“Lullabies for Little Criminals” by Heather O’Neill is the light side to a dark tale. I started book with the recommendation of a fellow bookworm and friend. Narrated by Baby, a preteen girl growing up in the red-light district of Montreal, her story captures the pivoting point of her youth. The mind of a child is far more complex than one gives credit because it has yet to follow a prescribed understanding; the unconscious limitations we place on ourselves as we start to become aware of the wo...more “Lullabies for Little Criminals” by Heather O’Neill is the light side to a dark tale. I started book with the recommendation of a fellow bookworm and friend. Narrated by Baby, a preteen girl growing up in the red-light district of Montreal, her story captures the pivoting point of her youth. The mind of a child is far more complex than one gives credit because it has yet to follow a prescribed understanding; the unconscious limitations we place on ourselves as we start to become aware of the world. Each page is laced with allegorical images and small humor, binding together a strange and compelling language that which could only be a child’s.

As an adolescent descending on the bridge between adulthood temptations and childhood innocence, Baby still clings to her constants as she attempts to make her way. Without guidance, she stumbles to grasp the meaning of growing up: “Suddenly I realized that I wanted everything to be as it was when I was younger...It never occurs to you when you are very young to need something other than what your parents have to offer you” (184). Appealing the concept was, I found myself disliking the book. It wasn’t the raw and shady world that Baby lived that made me turn away, but rather the way she thrown into it and how she saw her life.

Baby knew of other lifestyles that were different, better, yet she remained oblivious; to her, this life that she lived was still “normal”. She took words and gave them her own definition as she desperately struggled to find love. She was naturally drawn to Xavier: “I liked that he was immature and that he seemed naïve, as if he was actually acting his age” (232), because he resembled the childish antics she longed to hold on to. At the same time, she admired the prostitutes who walked around on the streets because she saw them as independent women who wore certain clothes.

Every page disgusted me, but I couldn’t walk away from Baby’s tale. She made it seems so “light” that you don’t realized just how truly dark and depressing the subject could really be until you’ve sat down with the book for a long while. Like a drug, it slowly captivates its readers before they are aware of it. I truly recommend this book, because although I didn’t like her story, I still enjoyed it thoroughly and felt for her.
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Nov 03, 2009 Shannon rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: canadian-reads, canadian-authors, bookclub

First off I will admit that I did not finish this book and it had to go back to the library. Part of me was glad that i had an excuse to put it down and part of me realized that if I would have stuck with it I would have liked it more.

This was my in person book club choice and I was the only one who did not finish it and the only one who did not REALLY like it. I have been assured that I woudl have liked it much more having completed it and one other admited that if she had been given a good opp...more

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Jun 11, 2009 Christina rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-reads

When I first began Lullabies for Little Criminals, I kept asking myself why I was reading this shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2008 novel. It’s different, to say the least, because the story follows twelve-year-old Baby — yes, that’s her real name — through foster homes, her drug addict, widowed father, Jules, reforming his ways and relapsing, her time in prostitution, and her first love, Xavier. Lullabies for Little Criminals is also — according to the author questionnaire in the b...more

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Coming of Age recommendations Please!!	4	27	Apr 10, 2013 05:50am
CanLit Challenge: Lullabies for Little Criminals - Book of the Month, November 2011	9	27	Aug 15, 2012 01:59pm
cruddy and interesting childhood reads..any recommendations??	1	8	May 02, 2012 11:05am

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About Heather O'Neill

Heather O'Neill is a Canadian novelist, poet, short story writer, screenwriter and journalist. She was born in Montreal, but spent part of her childhood in the American South. She currently lives in Montreal.

She published her debut novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals, in 2006. The novel was subsequently selected for the 2007 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by singer-songwriter J...more

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“People give you a hard time about being a kid at twelve. They didn't want to give you Halloween candy anymore. They said things like, "If this were the Middle Ages, you'd be married and you'd own a farm with about a million chickens on it." They were trying to kick you out of childhood. Once you were gone, there was no going back, so you had to hold on as long as you could.” — 70 people liked it

“Becoming a child again is what is impossible. That's what you have a legitimate reason to be upset over. Childhood is the most valuable thing that's taken away from you in life, if you think about it.” — 29 people liked it

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