Coincidences and Connections (3)

So I'm sitting here reading a book and I come across something that seems familiar. Like I just read that in the previous book. I'm not talking about the plot or the storyline - just little similarities like the name of a character or the state where the book is set. There are just too many coincidences that I couldn't help but share them.

I recently participated in a weekend long readathon. All of these coincidences and connections were among these 6 books in a 3 day period. 

Here are the books:

Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett
Kissing Tennessee by Kathi Appelt
Forget Me Not by Carolee Dean
Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill
Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick
Love, Ghosts, & Facial Hair by Steven Herrick 

and here are the connections:

Novels in verse

Forget Me Not

Love, Ghosts, and Facial Hair

YA contemporary:

all of them except Forget Me Not is paranormal but reads like contemporary

main character is an athlete:
Confessions of an Angry Girl -runner
Meant to Be - swimmer
Nothing Like You - runner

characters are in a play or go see a play:
Forget Me Not
Meant to Be

characters go to a dance (or plan to go to a dance):
Kissing Tennessee - the collection of short stories are all about the dance
Confessions of an Angry Girl
Nothing Like You
Forget Me Not

a parent is dead:
Confessions of an Angry Girl
Meant to Be
Nothing Like You
Love, Ghosts, and Facial Hair

In Forget Me Not, the parent isn't dead, but the mom is absent.

I know the YA contemporary and the novels in verse categories are not coincidences because I choose them. And I cannot believe there was a dead parent in 4 of the 6 books I read.

So I am wondering, does anyone else pick up on these small little details 

from book to book? I'd love to read your coincidences and connections in 

the comments, but please don't leave any spoilers. Thanks!