TOP TEN TUESDAY || BOOKISH BEST FRIENDS I LOVED READING

Fictional besties are my absolute favourite to read about but funnily enough, they’re also hard characters to write about. So, this week I want to highlight some books whose authors have written beautiful and relatable friendships.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Dimitri Swinton and Fiore Murphadias from The Oremere Chronicles by Helen Scheuerer top my favourite bookish best friends because I love reading healthy male friendships. My favourite male friendships are those who are unafraid to be vulnerable and affectionate. Dimitri and Fiore have been friends for a long time and trust each other with their lives. Their relationship is more than just back and forth banters and hearty laughs. Fiore and Swinton called each other out when the other was wrong and valued honesty. 

🌺 Related Post: Review of War of Mist by Helen Scheuerer || Of Rebuilding and Moving Forward

Kiko and Hiroshi from Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman deserve a mention here even though they have more of a student-mentor relationship. Hiroshi is a wonderful mentor who understands Kiko’s anxiety and gently pushes her. I love how he doesn’t try to force her or nags her for not taking more risks, instead, he asks her thought-provoking questions which help Kiko understand her art and eventually herself. 

Tea and Likh from The Bone Witch series by Rin Chupeco are like the outcast kids who find each other. From the beginning, we know Tea and Likh are pretty much “othered” for being very different. One of the best things about their relationship is that they accept the other for who they are and yet gives them space to grow into whoever they want to be.

🌺 Related Post: THE BONE WITCH BY RIN CHUPECO: A LUSCIOUS AND DARK BOOK I DEVOURED

I could not write this post without mentioning The March sisters from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott! I grew up reading about these siblings whose bond closely resembled my siblings and me. In fact, we used to put on little shows for my mother which we would try to secretly practice in our rooms. 

🌺 Related Post: CLASSICS OR CONTEMPORARY BOOKS? || HOW I BALANCE MY READING STACK

Esmae and Rama from A Spark of White by Sangu Mandanna deserve a mention though I am so, so, so sad to talk about them! Two characters who, on the surface, seem the very opposite and yet have a strong sibling-like bond made me weak.

🌺 Related Post: Review of A SPARK OF WHITE FIRE by SANGU MANDANNA

Rudy and Liesel from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak are the most heartbreaking friends I’ve read about til today. I read this book a year ago, I think, and I still don’t have the emotional capacity to talk about it. Just know that you will get attached to the characters with their swearing and their quirks. So much so that I am not done recuperating after reading this book.

 

Who are your favourite bookish best friends? What’s your favourite friendship trope?

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