Heather O'Neill's Lullabies for Little Criminals was one of the best
books I read from the 2006 season. It is the story of Baby, a 12
year old girl who lives with her heroin addicted father Jules.
They live perilous lives, but Baby doesn't mind because she loves her
dad and they are together. When Jules goes into rehab Baby is
placed in foster care and her life spirals away from what little
protection and stability it had The narrative voice of this
twelve year old was completely believable. O'Neill captures the
essence of the child teetering on the edge of a very nasty
adulthood. The little girl who sits down and plays with dolls
after turning tricks is heartbreaking. Baby's relationship with
the nerdy kid Xavier in her class is one of the joys of the book.
With him she can be a child, have a friend, be openly as smart as she
is and feel the stirrings of first love (even though she is already a
prostitute). This is a book that you sometimes have to put down
and walk away from, but you always come back because the writing is so
sharp and clear and the character of Baby is so well drawn that you
really care about what happens to her. Buy at Amazon
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