Sunday, July 8, 2012

Marmees or lack thereof

As I submerge myself in YA fiction--and even in a lot of adult fiction as well--I can't help but notice there is a lack of parental focus. Either the parent has died, absent from the YA's life in some way, or is a complete jerk. I know not everyone is blessed with the same fabulous parents and sister I have, but it makes me sad to see such underdeveloped characters in YA, and like I said sometimes in even regular fiction. Even though I'm traveling the road of adulthood and live two hours away, (or I will again this fall) my parents still play a such role in my life.

I get texts from my dad every week, and whenever I start to panic, I immediatly call my mom. Their advice is important to me along with their respect. While they don't govern me, their opinion still does matter. However, I'm noticing a lot of YA MCs just don't care about their parents.

 I've always loved the character Marmee in Little Women. While she is somewhat of a saintly figure, she is always giving the girls advice and helps guide them through their journeys. Sadly, I haven't seen a lot of characters like her in popular fiction aside from Mrs. Weasley in the Harry Potter series. She was also more spunky then Mrs. March, but I still loved her.

Dads are also another character--and important figure in their daughter's lives--who are often overlooked. Even the good ones--like Bella's dad in the Twilight--come across as "bad" because they are being over-protective. Frankly, I wouldn't want my daughter to marry a 100+ year old vampire or have his child which could fatally harm her, but I digress.

I would like to see more strong relationships between MCs and their parents. The mom or dad don't have to be perfect, but just real. They can offer their advice, give their opinion, and even show general concern for their child without being "typical, jerk dad/mom."

Why do you think we don't see alot of good parental figures in YA any more?