6 Middle School Characters You’ll Want Your Kids to Befriend

Raina (Smile and Sisters, by Raina Telgemeier)
Raina is so rad, and she doesn’t even know it, which is precisely one of the things that makes her so cool. After a freak accident in Smile lands her in dental purgatory for four years, she has to deal with the pain or orthodontia and puberty. Yet she still manages to have the confidence, self-awareness, and gumption to kick her so-called friends to the curb for making fun of her. And then in the companion book Sisters, Raina manages to mend her relationship with sister when their parents’ marriage may be on the rocks.

Francie (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith)
Eleven-year-old Francie is determined, resourceful, and self-reliant, and her story is a powerfully moving one. Ernest Hemingway said, “No subject is terrible if the story is true, if the prose is clean and honest, and if it affirms courage and grace under pressure.” And Betty Smith’s tale of Francie and her impoverished family in an early 20th-century Brooklyn fits the bill. Though she sometimes feels the shame and struggle of her status, Francie refuses to accept her presumed fate to stay in the slums, and through hard work and strength of character, she works diligently to better herself and further her education in this beautifully told coming-of-age story.

Jamie (I Funny: A Middle School Story, by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein)
Middle schooler Jamie Grimm calls himself a “sit-down comic,” meaning he’s a hilarious kid who just happens to be in a wheelchair. “But you know what they say,” he narrates, “‘If life gives you lemons, learn how to juggle.’ Or, even better, learn how to make people laugh.” Jamie has just moved in with his aunt, uncle, and mean cousin Stevie in a brand-new town, which means a brand-new school and brand-new bullies for Jamie. And, as it turns out, the bullies don’t actually read those “No bullying” signs posted around school. But with a couple of good new buddies, a great attitude, a resilient spirit, a stellar sense of humor, and The Planet’s Funniest Kid Comic contest on the horizon, things might just be looking up for Jamie. Readers will root for him, not because he’s in a wheelchair, but because he’s a really funny, awesome kid and absolutely deserves a win.

Hermione and Ron (The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling)
Kids may think that Harry is the wizard they’d want to have as a best friend, but with the Dark Lord as his archenemy, Harry may not be the safest choice for a play date. As Harry once told his main squeeze Ginny Weasley, “Voldemort uses people his enemies are close to.” Still, that won’t keep the reliable, brave, and loyal Hermione and Ron away from The Boy Who Lived. With Ron’s courage and Hermione’s intelligence, this pair makes quite the BFF team for Harry.

Miranda (When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead)
Twelve-year-old Miranda knows for certain that she loves two things: the book A Wrinkle in Time and her best friend, Sal. But one day he starts ignoring her after he’s punched in the stomach by another child. “I used to think of Sal as being a part of me: Sal and Miranda, Miranda and Sal. I knew he wasn’t really, but that’s the way it felt,” Miranda says. “We’d only had each other. It has been that way forever.” Following her best buddy’s rejection, Miranda learns not only how to branch out and make other friends but also how to be a better, more compassionate friend to both Sal and her new pals.
Which fictional middle schoolers would you want your kids to befriend?