It’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday. Welcome! This weeks topic is one I had to think about for a little while: top ten books about friendships. Now it isn’t because I don’t read books about friends, but more often than not, I find that the novels I pick up are about family relationships, solitary experiences, or romantic development. Friendships are usually a side plot and aren’t so much the main focus of the story. But here goes. I’ll give it a shot.
5. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater – What I love about the friendships in this series is that they are so unassuming and accepting. Friends are brought together by a natural magnetic attraction and their bonds are strengthen through unification in working towards a common cause. I love boys’ friendships. The camaraderie and the devotion that exists in these boys’ friendships is touching and adds great strength to the plot. They stick with one another through the tough times, and that makes the good times all the more sweet.
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett – With women of different races and classes brought together in a time where cross-racial friendship were not widely accepted, and friendships borne out of a desire to expose truth and to achieve freedom, The Help was full of the purest and most self-less friendships that are both touching and inspiring. I adored this novel.
3. Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares – This is such a great story of teen friendship, and more specifically, the devoted, fun-loving, open friendship of teen girls. The friendships in this series span years and great distances. The girls transition from high school to college together, experiencing some of life’s most pivotal changes together. This is a book/series that all teen girls need to read.
2. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein – One of my favourite books from my childhood, this story shares the absolute self-less love that accompanies only the purest of friendships. This beautiful story depicts the desire to give and help out those we love. The story is the absolute truth of life long friendships.
1. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See – A laotong pair share a bond that is greater than that of husband and wife. Lily and Snow Flower are laotong. Their friendship spans a lifetime, from childhood to death, surviving neglect, betrayal, and a lifetime of hardships. It is a testimony to the durability of friendship forged in life’s most crucial years and through shared experiences.
So, it’s only a top 5 this week. I wracked my brain to come up with new books (that I haven’t talked about to you before) about friendships. I could only come up with 5, but I think it’s a pretty good selection.
Worn Pages and Ink 