Listen, I know we’re all about JKR on this site. And she is incredible. She did what almost no woman could ever dream of doing. She created a global phenomenon and is one of the most successful authors of either sex ever. Women frankly don’t often succeed in that regard.

However.

If we’re going to throw support to the most impressive YA/children’s author, I have to throw mine to Collins. I read the books several years ago and saw the movies as they came out, and frankly wasn’t mature enough to really “get it.” Every few years I’ve rewatched the movies and it really sank in how amazing the movies are. I didn’t remember the books super well but kind of assumed the movies were better.

Still, even if that’s the case, Collins’ achievement is more impressive than JKR’s in my opinion. JKR did two things, either strategically or not, that Collins didn’t do:

1. Wrote under a name that concealed her sex

2. Wrote a male lead with 2/3 of the main characters being men

Now, I don’t blame her. It had to be done. And the fact that men and women, boys are girls went BANANAS for HP speaks to her skill when that is unheard of.

But the fact that a book about a young GNC woman written by an obviously female author had tons of female AND MALE fans is even more impressive. Has it ever been done before? Maybe Miss Marple; I am not sure? It’s crazy. In fact, she managed to even bring “honor” to the YA genre that is typically dismissed as being love stories for teenage girls, the most hated demographic ever.

Not only that. The books and movies are constantly passing the Bechdel test, and filled with strong female characters (GNC) being ordinary and almost boring.

And guess what? I went to reread the books, and the movies are basically almost word for word from the books. Dialogue copy/pasted. Sorry, JKR can’t do that. We’ve seen her screenplays. The books are freaking incredible and also double almost exactly as screenplays. It’s insane. I’ve never seen anything like it.

EVERYONE thinks Katniss is cool. Everyone. Men, women, boys, girls.

Collins did it.

Now, you might say “Hey! Why are you pitting two female authors against each other?” Didn’t mean to pit them but I did end up doing that. I just feel like JKR gets so much credit when I think what Collins did was more impressive and her stories are WAY more feminist.

Anyway, what do you guys think of HG? Haven’t seen a ton of discussion on it here.