This is so thoughtful and considered as usual. I guess we do have a responsibility to really look at an author's body of work if we are going to say anything in general about the way they write, and of course I think it's always useful to look at what something has to OFFER even if it's not perfect.

Regarding the prop thing...I mean is it just like saying the girls are supporting characters? I remember thinking recently that I tend to like books where you might say the boys are mostly props or supporting characters, and feeling a bit bad about it. I'm probably not deep enough for this conversation.