Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Top Ten Tuesday-- Frustrating Moms in YA

Top Ten Tuesday is a really cool original feature/weekly meme created over at The Broke and The Bookish. Each week they post a new Top Ten List that bloggers join in on answering... and today (May 16th) I'm one of them :)

Today's Topic

Mother's Day Freebie!! Top Ten Most Frustrating Moms in YA Books




  • I tried to go with mom's that aren't absentee and mom's that aren't completely abusive (although I see one exception to both of those already--oops!!)






1.  Ask the Passengers by A.S. King- Astrid's mom was pretty awful.  She was around, but she was pushy, and judgmental, and not a mom Astrid felt like she could talk to.

2.  Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry- Echo and her mom had a completely messed up relationship-- and no one would even tell her the half of it!!  I felt bad that she missed her mom, yet didn't know the truth of why she wasn't allowed to see her.

3.  Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty- Jessica Darling and her mom just don't click.  It was frustrating to read about because it felt very much like Jessica's sister was favored by the mother and Jessica was just 2nd best.

4.  The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen- I could probably have every Sarah Dessen book on here as she likes to write about complicated Mother/Daughter relationships.  In this book, the mom and Macy haven't been on the same page since the father died, and OMG I just wanted to shake the mother and just say "would you just STOP AND LISTEN TO YOUR DAUGHTER!!  And like, really HEAR her!!!".

5.  What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen- McLean and her mom have a strained relationship at best.  They barely see each other, but it's definitely something that drives McLean in her life as a "reinventor".  Since what the mom did was so life-altering, I thought she should have been the one to try harder-- so maddening.






6.  Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett- This mom deals with her problems by NOT dealing with her daughter.  I was not a fan.

7.  Emmy & Oliver by Robin Fenway- Both mothers in this book were good moms-- the thing is, they each had their ISSUES.  Emmy's mom was psycho over-protective, wanting to make all of Emmy's life decisions for her.  Oliver's mom was overly-emotional and pushing for everything to be "better" when it just wasn't going to happen that easy.

8.  After the Woods by Kim Savage- Liv's mom was the worst.

9.  Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler- Hudson's mom!!!!  I mom-raged reading this book.  Her mom made her pay bills, wouldn't let her pursue her dreams, and basically BLAMES Hudson for her own marriage failing.  Hey lady, you suck!!

10.  My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick- Sam's mom.  I think I give her the award for most frustrating-- she's a liar and a fake, and really only cares about herself.





What MOMS made your lists this week?

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17 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh no doubt- frustrating moms! I haven't read any of these but seems like it's such a YA thing- the parental issues. Alex Approximately and After the Woods are both on my TBR, and I want to get to both!!

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  2. Ahhh! So many horrible moms! I was so frustrated with the moms in Emmy & Oliver. OMG! Let your kid go to college! I've read a lot of these and I'm sure I was frustrated with them moms in them too...but I can't really remember lol.

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  3. I only read My Life Next Door from this list but I 100% agree that she was SUCH a frustrating mom! And I hope to read Alex, Approximately and Emmy and Oliver soon but it's sad to hear they have frustrating moms.

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  4. Oh man YA frustrating moms are endless right??? I agree with #2 & 10. The one that bothered me so much lately was from Something Real by Heather Demetrios. She was an awful mother!

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  5. Oh gosh, frustrating parents are everywhere in YA. I need to re-read Sloppy Firsts, and I want to read Emmy and Oliver.

    -lauren

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  6. YA authors love to make the mums frustrating! One mum that really frustrates me is Allyson's mum in Just One Day. She's so controlling and it bugs me! >.<

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  7. OMG yes I HATED Sam's mom! She was terrible :-(

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  8. Some of these mothers are so frustrating! A wonderful list! :-)

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  9. Why are there so many annoying moms in YA? I just finished Wanderlost last night, and the mom in that book was the worst! So overprotective and annoying. Thankfully she wasn't in very much of the book.

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  10. I have not read any of these books, but seriously.. why is is easier to come up with bad or frustrating parents. More good and involved parents, please.
    Cassi @ My Thoughts Literally

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  11. Have you read Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea? The parents in that book are really frustrating. Great list.
    My ttt
    http://hauntedgravebooks.blogspot.com/2017/05/top-ten-tuesday-mothers-day-worst-moms.html

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  12. The only one on your list that I've read is Pushing the Limits and that mom was def. frustrating. But I mostly class her as heartbreaking, given the circumstances. Sad times all around.

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  13. The only book I read was pushing the limits, but I can understand where the frustration comes in.

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  14. I haven't read any of these, but have a couple on my TBR. I think there are a lot of frustrating parental portrayals in books.

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  15. OMG YES I agree with so many of these. Along the same lines of the Dessen book you included, the mom in ALONG FOR THE RIDE annoyed me so much. She was so judgmental!

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  16. Hi! I think one reason I DNFed Bittersweet was because of the mom. I just really found her intolerable. :)
    My TTT
    Leslie

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  17. I enjoy a story centered around the struggles of mother and child, but only when the struggles are for real reasons, if that makes any sense. Don't hate on your kid because you goofed and got pregnant or something equally unfair. But if you have a strained relationship because of past events or whatever, then I'm all in.

    Here is my TTT. Thanks!

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