Three YA-books with good parents

Parents seem to be quite seldom in YA-books. Often the father and mother are dead, absent, busy or apparently not interesting in their children? In a Dutch magazine about books, some writers from children’s books say it just works better. Parents will solve all problems for children. I agree that the absence of parents works very good in Harry Potter and Pippi Longstocking. But I also like books where a good father and/or mother play an important role in the story. I have two lovely parents. Only when making this list, I realized how uncommon it is in YA-books!

This post was inspired by Top Ten Tuesday. The Broke and the Bookish created this weekly meme, but That Artsy Reader Girl now manages it.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
This book learned me a lot about institutional racism in the United States. It also features two great parents. At the start of the story, Starr witnesses how her childhood friend is shot by a police officer. He was unarmed and did nothing wrong. Starr knows that speaking out is the right thing to do. She also is afraid for doing so. Her family is incredibly supportive. Starr’s parents talk with her, help and protect her. They really try to do what is best for their children.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
This beautiful book is about the special friendship between Aristotle and Dante. Ari has great parents. He is very close with his mother. This is described in a beautiful way: “I could feel my mom listening to me. She was always there. I hated her for that. And loved her.” Ari’s relationship with his father is complex. He fought in the Vietnam War and still suffers from it. But Ari as well as his father make a genuine effort to understand each other.

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
Although love plays a major role, also family is important in this trilogy. The parents of Marguerite, are physicists. They invented the firebird, an instrument that can be used to travel to other universes. The murder of her father prompts Marguerite to chase his killer into other universes.  Her parents play a role in every universe she visits. Each time her relationship with them is different.

Did you read any of these books? Do you know other YA-books with good parents? Tell me in the comments!