Article

“Babies Taking Care of Babies”: Parental Absence and Adolescent Identity in Irish Young Adult Literature

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Abstract

This article investigates familial life in Irish Young Adult (YA) novels, exploring how parental absence influences the development of adolescent identity. Through close analysis of two standalone novels, A Swift Pure Cry (2006) by Siobhan Dowd and The Gone Book (2020) by Helena Close, and one series, The Boys of Tommen (2018-present) by Chloe Walsh, set between 1984 and 2019, this study explores how Irish writers portray the emotional and developmental consequences of familial disruption. By situating these narratives within broader contexts of social conflict in Ireland, the study considers the use of silence as a narrative strategy and examines themes of found family and adolescent friendship as ways of reimagining the traditional nuclear family model.

Keywords: Young and adult literature, parental absence, found family, generational trauma, cultural science, adolescent identity

How to Cite:

Fischer, Rebecca. “Babies Taking Care of Babies”: Parental Absence and Adolescent Identity in Irish Young Adult Literature. Policeman’s Helmet Soup [Dublin, Ireland], vol. 1, no. 1, 2026, pp. 101–17, https://phsjournal.ie/article/pubid/54/.