I love stories centered around adults having to take care of/protect a child that suddenly comes into their life and stories about older kids looking after younger kids, especially in some gritty environment. Basically, the Badass & Child Duo and Promotion to Parent tropes. In action, fantasy, or drama, I live for hardened adults with a soft spot for some kid in peril and orphans raising orphans. I've got quite a few examples from things I've seen. Movies: 10 jours en or Leon: The Professional Safe True Grit Logan The Man From Nowhere (kinda) Hard Tide Ultraviolet Life With Mikey TV Shows: Shameless Believe Hit or Miss Usagi Drop Video Games: Telltale's The Walking Dead: Season 1 (Lee and Clementine) The Last of Us God of War (Kratos and Atreus) I heard The Witcher has that element in there, too. And there was this 90s movie about a mute girl who witnessed a murder in like Amsterdam or something and some petty crook ended up looking out for her as they ran around the city evading bad guys. I watched that movie just about every time it came on TV, but for the freakin' life of me I can't remember the name of it. Anyways, I'm looking for books in those wheelhouses. It can be action-oriented with some larger plot at play or just a character drama. Also, the recs for the Badass & Child Duo don't have to be specifically "man and little girl." Grown woman protecting male or female kid and grown man protecting a boy also welcome. So if anyone has read or come across books like these, drop me a title please.
These are more odd ball movie suggestions. A lot of the adults, though, feel put upon shouldering the responsibility of the child. Hey Babe -- it's about a runaway in NY who wants to become famous and shacks up with an old homeless man. P.K. and the Kid -- another runaway hitches a ride with a man off to an arm wrestling competition while her crazy stepfather is in hot pursuit Spacehunter Adventures in the forbidden zone -- a goofy sci-fi about a man on a distant planet hooking up with a young girl to help him track some kidnapped earthers. Blind Fury -- blind guy with a sword (Rutger Hauer) takes young boy across country to his father while bad guys try to snatch the kid. Wanda Nevada -- Guy wins young Brooke Shields in a card game and takes her prospecting. The Earthling -- Kids parents die in an accident in the wilderness and the kid is left there and if found by an old eccentric hermit.
