TORONTO (CP) - "Lullabies for Little Criminals," the story of a pre-teen girl surviving on the streets of Montreal, has won the all-star edition of CBC Radio One's "Canada Reads" contest.
The debut novel by Heather O'Neill was championed by John K. Samson of the band the Weakerthans, edging out "Stanley Park," the pick from Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy, on the final vote.
Anosh Irani's "The Song of Kahunsha" was eliminated earlier in the program.
Samson, who defended last year's winning book, Miriam Toews's "A Complicated Kindness," said he was delighted his choice won for the second year in a row.
"This is a great win for 'Lullabies,' especially as it's Heather O'Neill's first novel.
All Canadians should read this incredibly evocative and moving story that so powerfully explores the effects of life on the street," he said Friday in a news release.
"Lullabies for Little Criminals" tells the story of 12-year-old Baby and her drug-addicted father, Jules, as they live a life of poverty and she tries to escape her desperate situation.
"Hearing that I won 'Canada Reads' was definitely tinged with the surreal for me," O'Neil said in the release.
"I couldn't be more delighted. The whole 'Canada Reads' experience has been so great, and fun, and wise, from conversations with John K. Samson to hearing readers' comments and discussions about the books.
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The CBC Radio One show "Between the Covers" will feature a reading of the novel weeknights from March 5 to 16, at 10:43 p.m. (11:13 NT).
This year's "Canada Reads" was billed as an all-star edition because the judging panel was made up of the five winners from previous editions: Cuddy, Samson, Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies, author/broadcaster Denise Bombardier and novelist Donna Morrissey.
Bill Richardson refereed the debates as each day the panel voted a title off the shortlist until only one remained.
Every year, the publisher of the final title donates a portion of sales proceeds to a non-profit organization.
This year, the beneficiary will be Frontier College, a national literacy organization.
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Keywords: Canada Reads, Cbc Radio, Little Criminals, Cbc Radio One, Heather o, John k, Radio One, o Neill, Heather o Neill
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