Literary BFFs

In a perfect world, where the people on the pages are flesh and blood, I would put so many into my contacts on my phone, friend so many on facebook and drink copious amounts of coffee with them all. But if I had to boil it down to just 10 besties from the world of fiction, as mandated over at The Broke & The Bookish the list would look a little something like this...

1. Lyra Belaqua  - His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman).
Completely massacred in the really horrific film version, this chick is so awesome. Impulsive and inquisitive and generally arse kicking across multiple dimensions. I guess if I got to be real life friends with her I would also get to hang out with Pantalaimon too, her much more sensible but equally awesome daemon companion. If you haven't read these books, get your arse into gear.

2. Bridget Jones - Bridget Jones' Diary (Helen Fielding)
Sure she is completely neurotic, sure she has some social retardations and some serious hang ups about her body image. But I love the way she finds herself drowning in self-analysis - just like me and my real-life friends do. Three pages in to this book, I have already taken on her vertnacular and internation.

3. Eliza Bennett - Pride & Prejudice (Jane Austen) and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies (Seth Graeme-Smith)
Lizzie B appears quite a  bit in the lists from the site. She is honest and flawed and three dimensional and logical and friendly and not the shrinking violet leading lady of most classic novels.Austen drew her with detail and brilliance, and Graeme-Smith coloured her in with a modern brush. He explains with a little more depth why Mr Darcy is attracted to the kick-arse zombie slayer. But I already explained this.

4. Katniss Everdeen - Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
She really isn't the kind of girl to readily be friends with just anybody. But she is fierce and determined and loyal. She is a bit of an emotional amputee, but there is a number of them in my real-life. Plus I do have a bit of a superman complex.

5. Ron Weasley & Hermione Granger - Harry Potter (JK Rowling)
I probably would only be friends with Harry through these other two. Ron is funny, and Hermione is way too clever. Harry is just a wee bit moany and self-centred to be totally my tribe.

6. Leslie Burke - The Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Paterson)
This was my go to book of my teenage angst. Far too young for me at that age, but the magic of the friendship between Leslie & Jesse was something that I really wanted to be a part of. I'm beginning to see the pattern here of fearless and gutsy chicks who defy a stereotype and don't mind getting dirty. Leslie fits this again, and she is a pretty awesome girl.

7. Ellie Linton - Tomorrow When The War Began (John Marsden)
When faced with horrors and struggles, it is always the natural leaders that you want to be with. But even without the pressures of war, and the difficulties of having almost everyone you love held in prisoner of war camps, Ellie would be a great gal to have around. She is a little bit country, and a little bit rock and roll. I know girls who come from this life, this small town rural existence. And some of these girls are my real life besties.

8. The BFG - The BFG (Roald Dahl)
My dad used to call this book, and this character, Bloody Good Friend. Despite the dyslexia in interpreting the acronym, he was right. The Big Friendly Giant is indeed a bloody good friend. And who wouldn't want a friend like this? This was deadset my favourite book in the world when I was a kid. So it seems totally fitting that he appear on a list like this.

9. D'Artagnan - The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas)
A lover, and a fighter. Can wield a sword, and undoubtedly a loyal friend. Plus his ability to drink and kick arse would undoubtedly be useful.

10. The Bunyip - The Bunyip at Berkley's Creek (Jenny Wagner)
He is a lost soul - but aren't we all? In the midst of a total identity crisis. This picturebook is pretty seminal in my growing up, and his hunt for self-discovery is pretty much a clear metaphor for everyone's self-doubt and uncertainty. But despite his odd looks, he is friendly and welcoming and I reckon would make a pretty good BFF.