The Orphan Factor

Recently I was speaking with a friend who had been listening to a great deal of YA (young adult) books with his wife. I asked for the names and although he didn't remember any of them he said that they were all about dystopian societies and most of the teens were orphans. This begs the question why do some many children's novels have dead or absent parents?

I will admit this is a flaw in some of my books. One of my more well known novels, The Railway Children, has an absent father and a mother, who although around, isn't around much and actually becomes ill so she isn't much good as a mother during that time. And really the story wouldn't really have worked if the parents were constantly there and if we look back at the time period many children had absent parents. Parenting really wasn't the thing.

But why does that theme still prevail today? It makes me wonder. Do children perhaps want to either not have parents or not want parents who are always available? Growing up as a child I remember my father not always being available because he worked odd hours at a newspaper and I didn't get to see him much. Not really my ideal childhood. Especially since I am Daddy's Little Girl or at least I want to be and I have made conscious decisions in my life to be just like my dad. So I can't really say that I want an absent parent.

Is it because more things can happen in a plot line with absent parents or dead parents? The idea of getting sent off to a place where you aren't loved as much or the fact that you can plan world domination or at least domination of the fairy world much like Artemis Fowl. Is it the sense of wanting something that makes the character more believable?

It seems to me that this is a tired story line and yet stories keep coming out with the same theme and people love them. They eat them up and can't get enough.

Do you have a favorite orphan book? Do you think the plot is used too much? What is your favorite book that doesn't have a missing/absent/dead parent? To be honest I'm having a hard time coming up with one.