bestie wrap party

Thanks for joining me on this countdown — it was definitely fun. Here's a final rundown of the list, which is also available on the Projects page.

Top Ten BFFs in books:
10. Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, Stacey, Dawn, Mallory and Jessi of Ann M. Martin's Baby-sitters Club series
9. Jane Bennet of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
8. Mac, Emma, Laurel and Parker of Nora Roberts' Bride Quartet
7. Laurie of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women
6. Diana of the L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series
5. Suze of Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series
4. Charlotte of E.B. White's Charlotte's Web
3. Dill from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Hermione and Ron from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
1. Sam from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy

I set out to identify the person or people who were the best sidekicks, partners in crime and motivators to the protagonist. In some cases, such as in the Baby-sitters Club or Bride Quartet, at one point another they were the protagonist.

When I look back at the characters on this list, I'm struck by the common traits I found within them all: loyalty, dependability and selflessness when the time calls for it.

Also, in most cases, it was clear that the characters would be willing to do anything for their best friends and could count on the same treatment in return. For some of them that meant banding together against a butcher or obnoxious parent. In others, it meant facing death. No matter the situation, they could be counted on when it mattered most.

Likewise, these were the people who the protagonists most relied on and trusted. That says a lot about their value.

I may have wrapped up my top 10 favorite literary sidekicks, but that doesn't mean there aren't more out there. This time, I asked Mom, who is one of the greatest readers I know, who her favorite besties were, regardless of who I included in my list.

Mom's Top Six
•  Captain Arthur Hastings from the Poirot series by Agatha Christie•  Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley from their own series by Agatha Christie (They later married, but were BFF, first.)
•  Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
•  Lula from the Stephanie Plumb series by Janet Evanovich
•  John Sampson in the Alex Cross series by James Patterson
•  Samwise Gamgee from the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R. Tolkien

There were also some BFFs who didn't make the list, but who I still enjoy. Here are a few that were close to making my top 10:
•  Jude, Shazzar and Tom from Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
•  Charlotte Lucas from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
•  Harriet Smith from Emma by Jane Austen
•  Adam Eddington from A Ring of Endless Light and Troubling a Star by Madeline L'Engle He was a bestie before he was a boyfriend, so I figure he counts.)
•  Mary Ingalls from the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder