Over the last number of years a number of books using the same ‘The Girl…’ naming convention have become successful.

It started with the Stieg Larsson trilogy of books; ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, ‘The Girl Who Played with Fire’, and ‘The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest’. That was a series so there’s nothing surprising that they all follow the same naming convention.

‘The Girl with All the Gifts’ by M.R. Carey was published in 2014. Followed in 2015 by ‘The Girl on the Train’ the publishing phenomenon from Paula Hawkins. Movies of both books are out in the next few months.

Then there are the titles that don’t follow the convention exactly but still include ‘girl’ somewhere in there. ‘Gone Girl’ by Gilliam Flynn in 2012. ‘The Girls’ by Emma Cline this year.

Is there a reason for this or has my brain convinced me there’s a pattern where none exists?