On Day 2 of the Canada Reads debates, Jane Urquart’s Away was banished to the dustbin of unsuccessful entrants, Indian Horse maintained its dominance in the public polls, and February began to look like the panelists’ favourite book.

After a relatively staid first day of debates yesterday, the contest heated up today as panelists were urged by moderator Jian Ghomeshi to pick out their least favourite aspects of their colleagues’ selected books.

Discussion first turned to which book’s characters had been the least relatable. Away took a beating during this portion of the debate for its characters’ strange and selfish decisions. As panelist Carol Huynh said of one Away character, “In contemporary words, she was a ditz.”

During the later stages of today’s session, the criticism turned more towards the authors’ storytelling choices and methods. Ron MacLean (who despite having seen his pick, The Age Hope, eliminated on Day 1 was still one of today’s most vocal panelists) poked holes in the hockey-related details of Indian Horse, and took issue with the implied assimilation undertaken by the book’s Aboriginal main character.

Two Solitudes, which for much of the debate was second only to Away in the number of barbs it received, was picked apart by Charlotte Gray. She said she had found the Hugh MacLennan-penned dialogue to be “dead.”

The only contender that escaped unscathed was February, which was so notably free of criticism that Ghomeshi eventually urged the panelists to comment on it specifically. Although suggestions were then bounced around that the book was too focused on an isolated incident, that there was a disconnect between the main character’s beliefs and actions, February still seemed to retain the favour of the panelists.

Today’s poll of the public showed that, as was the case yesterday, Indian Horse was the favourite, although it had dropped from 55 per cent approval to 44.

In the end, MacLean voted to eliminate Indian Horse (a move that prompted Jay Baruchel to label him a “giant slayer”) and Gray attacked Two Solitudes, but the remaining three votes were for Away. Like MacLean, Gray will remain on the panel for the remainder of Canada Reads 2013.

The debates will continue Wednesday, Feb. 13, and Thursday, Feb. 14. Each day’s debate will be aired on Documentary Channel at 7 pm, daily. Go to the Canada Reads web page to find out how to book tickets to see the debates live. Stay tuned to Chirograph for more coverage of the debates as they happen, and follow @TorontoReview for live updates.