Find Your Perfect BFF Among the Heroines of Classic YA

If you want to veg out and order pizza…
Bridget, Tibby, Lena, and Carmen from The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, by Ann Brashares. This foursome might be the very best set of best friends since the original members of The Baby-Sitter’s Club. They’re supportive and loving, always ready to listen and give you the hug you need after your heart has been broken. They’ve been friends for so long they can finish each other’s sentences and laugh at inside jokes. They know each other inside and out, and with friends like that, you don’t always need to do anything—just being together is enough to pass the time. These four girls were friends long before they found the pants that magically fit all of them perfectly, and it’s hard to imagine anything could tear them apart.

If you want to rough it in the wilderness…
Obviously, Katniss from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (though Tris from Veronica Roth’s Divergent series is probably a close second). I’ll be honest, I’m not much of an outdoorswoman myself. Camping does not sound like my idea of an idyllic vacation. But if I ever found myself spending the night in the wilderness, I’m pretty sure I’d want Katniss Everdeen sleeping in the next tent. Sure, the odds that things might go terribly awry (you know, kids hunting kids, that kind of thing) are slim, but if the worst did happen, I’d want a true survivor on my side. Katniss has faced it all: hunting for food in District 12 before volunteering for the hunger games to save her sister, surviving in the wilderness (even when there are more than a dozen tributes hoping to kill her), leading the charge against a corrupt leader, and fighting for her life and the lives of the people she loves. It seems like she can overcome just about anything.

If you want to paint the town red…
Blair Waldorf and Serena Van der Woodson from Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar. Gossip Girl is a delicious series about love, hate, and everything in between set in Manhattan’s oh-so-elite Upper East Side, and Blair and Serena’s best-frenemy-ship is the heart of the series. Their relationship might be complicated (Backstabbing?  Boyfriend-stealing?  Rumor-spreading?), but I’m pretty sure there’s no one whose closets I’d rather raid before a night out on the town. (And borrowing clothes is definitely built into the BFF contract.) These ladies know who’s throwing the cool parties, and they’re always on the list. If you’re looking for a quiet night at home, these might not be the best friends for you, but if you’re looking for high society (and even higher stakes), look no further.

If you want a study-buddy…
Like you don’t already know the world’s greatest study buddy/BFF is Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series by the great J.K. Rowling. Where would Harry and Ron be without Hermione? She won’t do your homework for you (unless circumstances are particularly dire), but she will double-check your work, and if you’re looking for just the right source for your latest paper, she’s sure to come through.  Whether you’re pulling an all-nighter in the library or working on a project that requires a hands-on investigation, Hermione is the very best partner in crime you could hope to find. She reads books like Hogwarts, A History for fun! And Hermione is more than the cleverest witch around—when push comes to shove, she can fends off a dangerous foe and will fight to protect those less fortunate (like the Hogwarts house elves). What more could you ask for?

If you want to talk about boys…
Maddy from Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon is the girl for you. Maddy suffers from SCID—severe combined immunodeficiency, more commonly called “bubble baby disease.” Which means she’s spent most of her life trapped inside. Her mother, her nurse, and her books are pretty much her only company. But when a family—including a cute boy named Olly—moves into the house across the street, everything changes. But poor Maddy doesn’t really have any friends to talk to about her new crush! You could be the friend who helps her analyze Olly’s every move and word. And we can only imagine she would be more than happy to hear all about your latest crush in return.

If you want to talk about books (and if you’re reading this post, you probably do)…
This is a tie between Hazel Grace Lancaster from John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. The Fault in Our Stars is many things—love-story, tear-jerker, laugh-out-loud funny—but it’s also a story about reading, about how books can bring us together and send us on adventures. As Hazel and Gus, both terminally ill with cancer, start falling for each other, one of the things that brings them together is their shared love for Hazel’s favorite book, An Imperial Affliction. It’s that book that sends them on an exciting journey that changes their lives—however long their lives may turn out to be. In Fangirl, Cath and her twin sister Wren are fans of a fantasy series starring a boy-wizard named Simon Snow (think Harry Potter). They spent much of high school writing fanfic together, but things are different now that they’re in college. Cath doesn’t want to stop writing her fic, but she also has to figure out how to write her own story—with or without Wren at her side.