19 Reasons Why Hermione Is More Kick-Butt Than Katniss

Don't get mad. We love Katniss. But right now, we're in a mood. It's Emma Watson's 23rd birthday today (hey, girl!) and we love Hermione. We love her because she made reading cool, because she's part of one of the few major Hollywood movies that doesn't revolve entirely around a love story, and because she's a strong and powerful role model. We also love her because she made frizzy hair okay (in the books, at least). Despite the on-set stylist's best efforts, Emma Watson doesn't appear to have ever had a single non-glossy strand in her life.

Well, we love her for a lot of reasons. Here are 19 of our spoiler-filled favorites, but we could honestly go on forever. Though Katniss might be the woman of the hour, the girl on fire, and the Mockingjay, we'd be amiss if we didn't remember one of the greatest heroines of the last 20 years — a character with such depth she launched what's sure to be a great career for a great actress.

Also, a note to all those Katniss fanatics: We equally adore the bow-wielding wonder (admittedly, we are just harnessing a bias for the day). When Jennifer Lawrence's birthday rolls around, we'll probably just flip-flop this article and repost. Cheers for strong female heroines!