11 May, 2012

Feature and Follow Friday (#5)


Feature & Follow is a weekly blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and AlisonCanRead. It's set up so bloggers to discover new blogs and gain new followers. Every week two different blogs are featured. This week's features are Books Galore and The Fake Steph.

If you are a new follower, please leave a comment on this post so I can follow you back!

This weeks question: 

Q: This Sunday in the U.S. is Mother's Day. In celebration, what are some of your favorite books with strong mother/child relationships?

A: I had to honestly think about this question. First of all, it makes me miss my mom who is over 5,000 miles away. Secondly, most YA books are lacking strong parental bonds with the main character, who is more often than not either an orphan or left to fend for themselves. In all honesty, if they were such good parents they wouldn't let their children hang out with their significant others or vampires, etc. the way that they do in YA books. And that wouldn't nearly be as interesting! 

Luckily, there are a few books where mothers share a part in their child's life. I feel that Clary from the Mortal Instruments series has a close relationship with her mother, Jocelyn. In the same manner, Clara from the Unearthly series and her mother Maggie share a similar bond. Both these women can relate to what their daughter is experiencing, whether she is becoming a shadowhunter or fulfilling her angelic duties and they'd do just about anything to protect them. There is hope after all for our beloved YA characters to receive the parental guidance they need!




24 comments:

  1. While thinking about this week's FF question, I also realized that a lot of YA protagonists don't have a parental presence in their lives. Great pick with Clary and Jocelyn!

    Old follower. :-) Our FF

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    1. I know! Hardly any YA protagonist has a normal/complete family.

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  2. I had the exact same problem with answering this question but I finally came up with choosing Clara from Unearthly, I also agree with your pick of Clary and Jocelyn. Great answer!

    My #FF - http://thewildreader.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/feature-follow-4.html

    Have a great weekend :)

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    1. I love Clara and her mom! Sometimes she reminds me of my mom.

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  3. I know what you mean when you say you miss your mom. Mine lives in another state but at least she's better than most of these young adult book mothers. Lol they're usually terrible! New follower!

    Shae @ Understanding Shae's Story

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    1. I miss my mommy!(*sniff*) Most YA mothers make actual parents look like superstars. Thanks for the follow!

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  4. I used Unearthly too. I haven't read the Mortal Instruments books yet. Def need to get on that lol. My Feature & Follow Friday

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    1. Oh gasp. You should def read that series quick! I'm excited for the 5th one! Haven't picked it up yet.

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  5. I almost chose Clary for mine. Their relationship is pretty strong. Check out my FF @ http://best-of-ya.blogspot.com/2012/05/feature-follow-friday-20.html. I'm a new follower by the way!

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    1. Gotta love Clary and Jocelyn. Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. I miss my mom too girl! She isn't as far away as yours though! Great choice :)

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  7. Third time I've seen Unearthly! It's on my TBR pile so I must get to it soon!

    My follow friday

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  8. I have got to read both of those. They are on my TBR list, but it is such a long list! Thanks for stopping by my FF. Following back!

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    1. When aren't our TBR lists long? There's always more to put on them! Thanks for the follow!

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  9. I've seen Clary and Jocelyn mentioned a lot today & I have to agree! They're a great pick. Unearthly's been a popular one too, but I haven't read it yet. I'll have to get around to it soon!

    Anyway, new follower here! Here's my FF.

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  10. Old follower now also following through Linky, I picked the exact same thing although it did take me a while to think of one, my FF

    http://www.headstuckinabook.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/feature-and-follow-friday-27.html

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  11. I wish I would have remember the Unearthly series when I was writing my post. Oh Well. Returning the follow :)

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  12. I appreciate you explaining why you believe so much of today's YA fiction doesn't illustrate strong mother/child bonds. I've read this sentiment again and again as a response to today's question and have found it disturbing. The Unearthly series is one of the overall winners in terms of frequency. I will check it out.

    (Sorry you miss your mom. I'm sure she misses you Too!!!!) Can't help but wonder why you're so far apart.

    New follower:
    http://michelecozzens.blogspot.com

    Cheers

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    1. It is quite disturbing. Maybe if I ever write a YA book, I'll try to rectify it.

      She's in California where I grew up and I'm all the way over in the UK. Came here for my masters degree and haven't left!

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  13. okay after this week, I really need to read unearthly!

    new follower :)
    My FF

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  14. I totally agree with everything you had to say.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier, I'm returning some of the love.

    New Follower

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  15. Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm following you now too!

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