A gritty, heart-wrenching novel about bruised innocence on the city's feral streets--the remarkable debut of a stunning literary talent
Hea... read full description
reviews
Sep 17, 2011
Kim
rated it: 
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 deci More...
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 deci More...
2 comments
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(21 people liked it)
Apr 28, 2011
karen
rated it:
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 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 More...
more free advice from me.
but it's true - not all of us have a 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 More...
30 comments
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(42 people liked it)
Dec 16, 2009
Sharon
rated it: 
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 More...
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 More...
8 comments
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(8 people liked it)
Aug 03, 2008
Ben
rated it: 
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 th More...
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 th More...
2 comments
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(8 people liked it)
Jan 09, 2008
Donna
rated it:
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
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(4 people liked it)
Feb 05, 2008
Kristina
rated it:
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
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(4 people liked it)
Jul 29, 2007
Jessica
rated it:
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 More...
"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 More...
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(7 people liked it)
May 18, 2007
Alexa
rated it:
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.
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(2 people liked it)
Apr 09, 2009
Diana
rated it:
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
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(3 people liked it)
Aug 21, 2008
April
rated it:
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’Nei
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(2 people liked it)
Jun 21, 2008
Shaindel
rated it:
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 ange More...
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 ange More...
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(2 people liked it)
Jul 28, 2008
Shannon
rated it:
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 follo More...
Baby is smart, though. She does well at school, except for the times when she was younger when she follo More...
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(4 people liked it)
Jul 24, 2007
Brad
rated it:
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 let More...
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 let More...
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(1 person liked it)
Aug 09, 2007
Willie
rated it:
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 ch More...
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 ch More...
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(1 person liked it)
May 31, 2008
Natalie
rated it:
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
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3 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Mar 31, 2009
John
rated it:
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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(1 person liked it)
Oct 14, 2007
C.
rated it:
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
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(1 person liked it)
Dec 01, 2011
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 t More...
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 t More...
Dec 01, 2011
Gina
rated it:
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 More...
The setting of this book is not your typical childhood scene. Instead More...
Apr 17, 2011
Daniela
rated it:
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, More...
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, More...
Mar 15, 2011
Leonie
rated it:
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'
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Oct 23, 2010
Rachel
rated it:
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
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Oct 15, 2010
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 wit More...
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 wit More...
Jun 17, 2010
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!). Anoth More...
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!). Anoth More...
Mar 15, 2010
Brittany
rated it: 
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 More...
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 More...
Nov 16, 2009
Karen
rated it:
“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
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Nov 03, 2009
Shannon
rated it:
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 give 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 give More...
Jun 11, 2009
Christina
rated it:
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
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Dec 02, 2011
Ceilidh
rated it:
Review of Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neil
Lullabies for little criminal puts you in the mind set of a girl who doesn’t know right from wrong and doesn’t know anything out side of the environment she grew up in. The genre is a fictional memoir. It shows you the life of someone that doesn’t exist. This book is set in the hard and gritty streets of Montreal where prostitutes, pimps, drug addicts and drug dealers are at every corner and roam the streets of Baby’s neighborhood. More...
Lullabies for little criminal puts you in the mind set of a girl who doesn’t know right from wrong and doesn’t know anything out side of the environment she grew up in. The genre is a fictional memoir. It shows you the life of someone that doesn’t exist. This book is set in the hard and gritty streets of Montreal where prostitutes, pimps, drug addicts and drug dealers are at every corner and roam the streets of Baby’s neighborhood. More...
Apr 09, 2010
Janean
rated it:
I knew the first time I heard Heather O'Neill's voice, reading an absurd short story on Wiretap, that I would love any book she wrote. Jeremy gave me this novel for my birthday and this month I finally got around to reading it.
At the start of this book Baby is 12, moving from one dingy apartment to another with her dad, Jules. Though perpetually poor, and occasionally abandoned, Baby manages to navigate the red-light streets of Montreal keeping her innocence - for the most part - int More...
At the start of this book Baby is 12, moving from one dingy apartment to another with her dad, Jules. Though perpetually poor, and occasionally abandoned, Baby manages to navigate the red-light streets of Montreal keeping her innocence - for the most part - int More...
