Where Are the Parents in Young Adult Books?

I had this idea in my head for awhile now, maybe because I’m in therapy, and it’s made me think of my family, and our dynamics with each other. Not that we’re feuding or anything, but it made me think of TV shows and movies and how their family dynamics work. Why do kids and teenage characters get away with so much in their stories? How is it that they are able to go on so many adventures under the age of 18? And where in God’s name are the parents???

Before we start the post, let’s play catch-up on some posts I did earlier this month:

Is Original Content Nonexistent?

How Do Book Triggers Affect You? // Let’s Talk Bookish

Reality Check Writing Process // I’m writing a poetry novel!!

Patreon Round-Up: August 2021

I know that it makes for more excitement and keeps readers reading, but I wish there was more parents involved in their kids’ lives. And if you’re a kid or teen of color, or Black kid, there’s an even less chance for their parent or guardian to be involved. 

Briana from the book discussion blog Pages Unbound did an analysis on how many books she’d read throughout the year on how many mothers are in young adult literature. She wrote her first analysis in 2019, “At this rate, writing a book with two living parents who actually talk  to their children looks like a selling point for originality, if nothing  else!” 

“Out of the 14 YA books I’ve read so far in 2020, 7 have dead mothers. That’s 50%. Five books have protagonists whose mothers are living but essentially absent from the book,” she added. “One book has an “active” mother who has a terrible relationship with her daughter. Only one book has a mother who is alive and actively supportive during the plot.”

 It’s the same with fathers in YA. I think fathers being absent or don’t care or can’t provide enough, is even worse. Briana included some stats for fathers in YA books that she had read:

• 53% of the fathers are dead (9 out of 17 books).
• 0% of the fathers are actively supportive in the book.
• 47% of the books have fathers who are alive but…barely in the book.

As someone who grew up with divorced parents, I still had my mom to lean on for support. My dad I’d always come and visit and spend time with, but it took until my late 20s to finally start to understand him. I don’t like that these younger characters, especially females, who are trying to navigate their world and understand themselves, don’t have a mother or father to fall back on. Then again, if the parents are horrible to their children, then there’s no point in having them featured, is there? 

There’s not much more to say about this…Hopefully as more releases come around, there will be more useful and supportive parents in YA, because this is just sad. Sorry to end this on a sad note, but I hope you enjoy anyways!

Patreon Shout-Outs

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Comment below! What do you think of parents not being more involved in YA?

Thanks for reading,