Comment by smogcutter

I thinks there’s three main reasons for this:

1) It’s boilerplate hero’s journey and that shit works. It’s a tale as old as tales.

2) Looking for agency and power over your life is a theme adolescents connect with easily.

3) Harry Potter was a bonanza. That explains the recent spate of copycats, but the actual format way predates it. I don’t know about you, but I grew up buying Spider Man comics from the rack at the bodega. It’s the same thing.

It also certainly isn’t limited to YA media, and is probably more pernicious when it’s aimed at adults who should theoretically know better. The Matrix is a prime example, but there are plenty more where that came from.