The REAL Parent Problem in Young Adult Lit

In her April 1 New York Times essay, The Parent Problem in Young Adult Lit, Julie Just argues that today's YA literature is rife with bad or ineffective parents. She writes:

…the bad parent is now enjoying something of a heyday… some of the most sharply written and critically praised works reliably feature a mopey, inept, distracted or ready-for-rehab parent, suggesting that this has become a particularly resonant figure.

And:

Afflicted by anomie, sitting down to another dismal meal or rushing...