Where Are All the Mothers in YA Literature? (Analysis of My 2020 Reads)

Introduction

In May 2019, I wrote a most titled “Where Are the Mothers in YA Literature? (Hint: They’re All Dead)” in which I noted that I typically struggle to create a list of “Top Mothers from Literature” because there often aren’t any mothers in the books I read, either because they’re dead or they’re technically alive but present in anywhere from 0 pages of the book to maybe 10 pages.

In 2019, I analyzed the books I had read from January through May and concluded 44% of the YA books had protagonists with dead mothers. Five of the 16 books I had read had mothers that were living but essentially not in the book anyway. I ultimately found two examples of books that had mothers that were alive and could be categorized as positively involved with the main character.

I decided to do the same analysis this year. This is, of course, a small sample size of books and biased towards whatever books I personally choose to read, but overall, it looks as if the trend of dead mothers in YA has continued for another year.

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YA Books and Their Mothers

1. The Night Country by Melissa Albert

Mother is alive and supportive of protagonist.

2. Harbor for the Nightingale by Kathleen Baldwin

Mother is dead.

3. Honor Lost by Rachel Caine and Ann Agguire

Mother is alive but on a different planet and never speaks to protagonist during the course of the book.

4. Spellhacker by M. K. England

Mother is dead.

5. Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli

Mother is alive and supportive but largely absent from the book, as the protagonist is an elite gymnast and lives apart from her parents.

6. A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

Grey’s mother who raised him is alive but not in the book.

7. Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Mother is alive but has a contentious relationship with protagonist.

8. The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Mother is dead.

9. Supernova by Marissa Meyer

Mother is dead.

10. Rogue Princess by B.R. Myers

MINOR SPOILER WARNING!

Mother dies.

11. Zero Repeat Forever by Gabrielle S. Prendergast

Mother is presumed dead.

12. Arc of a Scythe Series by Neal Shusterman

Both protagonists’ mothers are alive, but characters are allowed no or limited contact with family.

13. The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

Mother is dead.

14. The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Both protagonists’ mothers are alive, but not very involved in the plot.

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Analysis

• 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.
• One book has an “active” mother who has a terrible relationship with her daugher.
• Only one book has a mother who is alive and actively supportive during the plot.

Non-YA Books I’ve Read This Year

1. The Memory Keeper by Jennifer Camiccia (MG)

Mother is alive but emotionally absent; protagonist is essentially raised by her grandmother.

2. The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Adult)

No mention of parents of adult protagonist.

3. The Trial by Franz Kafka (Adult)

Mother is dead.

4. The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury (MG)

Mother is dead.

5. From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks (MG)

Mother is alive and generally has a good relationship with the protagonist.

6. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (Adult)

Mother is alive and has a good relationship with the protagonist.

7. Sisterland by Salla Simukka, Owen F. Witesman (Translator) (MG)

Mother is alive but essentially absent from the book.

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Conclusion

In 2019, I wrote:

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!

It looks as if that’s still true, whether the book is young adult, middle grade, or even adult!

What is your experience reading? Do you think all the mothers in YA books are dead?