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I appreciated the care you took when defining “smart heroine” for the purposes of your article, and the many branches of that definition—the “marrying of internal and external stakes” section is especially interesting, for example. “To be considered brilliant and beating the odds, the heroine in question must face greater stakes than social struggles, insecurity, or discrepancies between what is real and what could become real. She often faces real-world, external problems such as abuse, bullying, and cultural tensions.” An intriguing contrast!

I also appreciated the range of heroine examples in this article (nice reference to Matilda, one of my childhood favorites). So many more heroines could make this list, as I am certain you know…fun to consider who else could join the conversation. I thought of Anne of Green Gables and The Great Gilly Hopkins when reading.

Thanks for writing!

As a long-time Potter fan, I spent much time in various movie theaters over the years whispering into my unfortunate companions’ ears “That’s not what happened in the books.” Really love how you structured this article, allowing for the distinctions between the movies and books as a whole but also making room for minute distinctions between characters and relationships (though you probably could have broken this up into two different articles and I would have loved both!). The section on Hermione is excellent as she and Harry’s relationship is no doubt my favorite in the series—deeply complex and refreshingly platonic. I think the later movies handled their love and loyalty for one another very well, especially the final two. That dance scene in the tent in Deathly Hallows, Part 1 and Hermione’s tearful “I’ll come with you” on the stairs in Hallows, Part 2 will always stick with me—in these cases (especially the dance scene), I felt the liberties taken allegorized the depth of their friendship in a manner suitable to the screen (and all its sometimes-necessary embellishments). Again, lots to love with this article! Will re-read.

An intriguing essay. I especially liked the section about Suzanne Collins—“I don’t write about adolescence,” Collins insists. “I write about war. For adolescents.” I appreciate the nuance of that distinction and feel it applies to many writers of young adult fiction (an often misunderstood genre for this very reason, I believe). I spent a good deal of time researching Collins and her perspectives on necessary/unnecessary war after reading this. Fascinating to follow the thread. Thanks for writing!