There’s a recurring theme in some recent Young Adult fiction I’ve noticed: a general lack of parental figures. Sure, there’s usually one or both parents “around” — but in several books I’ve read, the parents are often checked out, away for work, or are just generally not around to keep tabs on their kids.
Some recent popular titles in which this is the case include:
- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
- Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
- Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
- Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
It’s an interesting theme to consider for an essay or project topic. Some questions to explore:
* Is this just a coincidence, or is the physical absense of a strong parental figure key to these supernatural stories?
* In each case, the parent’s absense gives the characters a certain sense of freedom to explore the supernatural world they discover. If a stronger parental figure were present throughout the story more, would that keep away the supernatural element?
* What other books feature an absent parental figure, and how does that figure into the story and plot?
If you write an essay or do a project featuring this or a similar topic, send it to sara.novelnovice@comcast.net and it could be featured here on Novel Novice.
For the comments: In what other supernatural books have you noticed a lack of parental figures? What books do include strong parental figures?
Novel Novice 
Fallen by Lauren Kate is also sans-parental figures as it takes place at a boarding-type high school.