Sanne, one of my favorite YouTubers, made a video over the summer about which female book characters she’d pick for her own “bookish girl squad.” She came up with certain characteristics to follow when picking girls, which I decided to list below and use to build my own bookish squad!

Honestly, the idea behind squads kind of intimidates me (blame Taylor Swift’s ever-growing posse), but because imagining book characters were real is the best thing ever, I had no issue putting together this fun group!

Someone who will force you to go out when you want to stay in – Louisa Clark (Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes)

I seriously need a friend like this, but anyone who tries can never manage to break my very tough aversion to the “going out” scene. Lou would be the ideal person for the job because, as seen with persuading Will to do things, she can make things happen when she really wants them to. She’ll go to the ends of the earth to make sure you’re having a good time, even if it creates some awkward moments at the horse races, as the book shows.

Someone who will have your back – Anne Shirley (Anne series, by L.M Montgomery)

Anne Shirley talks up the concept of the “bosom friend,” but she’s someone who totally follows up on all that the name entails. She’s incredibly faithful to all of her friends, even those she may have drifted away from but who still need her support, like Ruby Gillis did in Anne of the Island. Anne is just so good to the people she loves and will defend them relentlessly, as she does for Marilla and Avonlea folk overall throughout the series.

Someone who will help you move – Alice McKinley (Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor)

Like Anne, Alice is a steadfast friend and is there for all of the important moments of her friends. I’ve always admired Alice for being there for her closest friends even if she didn’t fully understand or approve what was going on with them. I reread the older books constantly throughout middle and high school, but it’s been awhile so I don’t have specific events down; however, I know Alice always dealt moments like Elizabeth’s religious celebrations and Pamela struggling with her parents’ divorce at full force.

Someone who you can share your problems with, a listening ear – Marmee (Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Every squad needs a mom, and Marmee checks that box off literally and figuratively. This answer may be me cheating a little because I recently watched the 1994 movie for the first time in forever and Marmee is written amazingly there. To have a mother figure that is so unashamedly a feminist would make this friend group insanely empowered.

Someone to gossip with – Mia Thermopolis (The Princess Diaries series, by Meg Cabot)

I have a theory that Mia’s Top Ten pop culture-related lists may have influenced the entertainment nerd in me. This girl knows her junk food and TV, but is also known for observing people and recording things in her journal, so she’d have all the dirt -probably even more so on world leaders and public figures than kids from high school.

Someone to go on holiday with – Hermione Granger (Harry Potter series, by J.K Rowling)

Hermione proved in Deathly Hallows that she is an efficient and tidy traveler, fitting all of the essentials in a magical carpet bag. I’m also a pretty sufficient packer, and I’m used to planning just about everything in great detail. Traveling with Hermione would mean that she’s the organized one so I don’t have to be for once, and unlike what I do with most people, I could trust that she will get plans in order and still have them be amazing.

Someone to hang out with quietly – Cath Avery (Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell)

I wouldn’t say I totally related to Cath because she acted way more reclusive than I’ve ever been, but having written fan fiction in the past and now writing for work-related things on a daily basis, I think Cath would be the perfect person to hang out with when you need to write. How cool is it to be one of those writers that has writer friends that you meet in coffee shops and sit at the same table with but ignore because you’re on your own laptops?

What about you? Who would be in your fictional bookish girl squad?