I’m only 12% through this book

[conuly]

and I’m deeply concerned a. that the protagonist is very extremely parentified and b. that this might be a character trait rather than a central problem to be solved.

But boy howdy, this child has way too much responsibility, and not in the fun middle grade adventure way even if that’s what was intended. I may need to skip ahead to the end.

Comments

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I've seen an increasing tendency toward some things in books for young readers. Parentification is one, child soldiers another. Abuse has always been there, but at least that's usually not portrayed in a positive light. It bothers me when all the adults in a story are useless and/or horrid. >_<

Hence why I wrote "The Heart to Rejoice," because I wanted to show how a healthy family would deal with the "lost prince" scenario. They kicked the plot off the trail immediately. :D

Re: Yes ...

[conuly]

Well, the author was definitely not presenting this state of affairs in a positive light, but the moral boiled down to "ffs, don't put so much on your plate" and not "wow, your parents dropped the ball by letting you take on so much". Which... not so helpful.

Also, I'm genuinely distressed at the hanging plot thread that is the other same-aged child in that book not getting free of the spider monster people.