Review Detail

You know the Disney parent curse: If you are the mom or dad of the main hero/heroine you’re in trouble. One or more of you is going to die or is already dead. I’m looking at "The Lion King," "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," "Finding Nemo," "The Emperor’s New Groove," "Tarzan," et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. That Disney graveyard is full!

I’ve noticed recently that the Disney parent curse is seeping its way into young adult contemporary romance novels. I just finished Katie McGarry’s "Pushing the Limits" and let me tell you: dead parents.

Now, of COURSE I don’t want anyone’s parents to die whether fictional or real, but this theme really works in "Pushing." It immediately makes you sympathize with tough guy/heartthrob Noah who feels he must now be the caretaker of his two younger brothers. The problem? He’s separated from them due to his socking his first foster father in the face, leading Noah to get just-barely-there visitation rights.

Then we’ve got Echo. Sure, her parents are technically alive, but they are so distant/emotionally and psychologically wrecked that they may as well be dead. The whole book focuses on Echo’s interactions with Noah as she tries to figure out a horrible moment of betrayal from her mother that she has absolutely no memory of. The only reason she knows anything happened at all is that there are gruesome scars running up and down her arms.

Now imagine if this story had parents. First of all, Noah would be fine. He’d just be a regular ol’ teen with a loving family and no real obstacles to overcome. If Echo’s parents were loving and attentive she wouldn’t have lost her memory in the first place. McGarry does a great job of portraying how crucial the love and guidance of parents is by making said parents absent. For example of another Disney parent curse in contemporary YA romance, check out "The Beginning of After" by Jennifer Castle. If this curse keeps spreading I may second-guess ever becoming a parent.