The Sorting Hat: YA Heroines Edition

Sometimes, life is a little crazy or hectic or stressful. You've got homework, or family problems, or life problems, or book blogger problems (WHO SCHEDULED ALL THE BOOKS FOR SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER? GIVE ME THEIR NAMES. I WILL HUNT THEM DOWN. AND I WILL KICK THEIR SHINS) and you just need some mindless bookish fun, you know? Well, I was lovingly stroking my Harry Potter Special Edition Boxed Set, which was sitting next to my copy of The Hunger Games, when I started wondering what houses Katniss would be sorted into (Peeta is a Hufflepuff if I ever saw one).

Which got me thinking: where would I Sort ALL my favorite literary characters? MINDLESS FUN TIME! I got Ye Olde Sorty out of the Headmaster's office and put him on the job of sorting all the YA heroines on my shelves. Obviously, you could TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH ME (I had a HECK of a time Sorting Bella Swan, let me tell you). But here's where I think they'd maybe go.

Also: Slytherin does not equal evil. J.K. said it herself, yo. Apparently, after Harry Potter SAVED THE WORLD, Slytherin House lost its reputation for pure blood and dark magic.

By Gryffindor, the bravest were 
Prized far beyond the rest; 
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest 
would always be the best; 
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were 
Most worthy of admission; 
And power-hungry Slytherin 
loved those of great ambition.

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins



Do not kill me. Like I said, Slytherins aren't evil. They're known for resourcefulness and a strong survival instinct. If that's not Katniss, then I don't know what is. She doesn't possess Slytherin's "great ambition", which makes her a strong candidate for Gryffindor (It's amazing how close the overlap was between Gryffindor and Slytherin, which makes a lot of sense. As Dumbledore would say, "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.") Katniss, in essence, is probably more Slytherin, but the choices she makes (in the arena in particular) end up more Gryffindor: brave and self-sacrificing.

Bella Swan from Twilight by Stephenie Meyer



Don't kill me again. Bella is brave and self-sacrificing to the point of recklessness and doesn't always think her plans through--signs of a true Gryffindor.

Anna Oliphant from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins



Anna is friendly, works hard on her movie reviews (and acclimating to a strange country), and tries her best to be a loyal friend. I can totally see her fitting in with the Hufflepuffs.

Elisa from The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

 

Elisa's intelligence, brilliant planning, and quick mind are what make her the hero of The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy. She is Ravenclaw all the way.

Alina from Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo



Alina, as an orphan, came from nothing and has always wanted to become somebody. She's got ambition, power, and leadership skills, and she'll need to be at her most Slytherinest to defeat the Darkling.

Celaena from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas



Celaena, to me, is probably a bit of a hatstall. At first blush, she seemed primed for Slytherin, and probably argued with the hat to get put there (and probably threated to cut it into ribbons). But ultimately, the hat prevailed, and stuck her with those who are brave and true, seeing the potential in her.

Tris from Divergent by Veronica Roth



One could argue that Gryffindor is kind of like the Hogwarts equivalent of Dauntless, and maybe that's right in theory, but the Dauntless that Tris enters is definitely operating under a different concept of "courageous", and they definitely lack the chivalry aspect. Tris is strong-willed, focused on survival, and hates to show weakness. She's an odd mix of selfish and selfless. When the selfishness wins out, she's Slytherin for sure. But she could very easily be Gryffindor, too.

Juliette from Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi



 Honestly, I had NO clue where to sort Juliette. In the end, her love for and dependence on books, coupled with her sometimes crippling inability to act, pushed her into Ravenclaw.

Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell



Hufflepuffs' defining feature is their loyalty, and Cath is nothing if not loyal to her favorite fandom, that of the Simon Snow book series. Plus, she's shy and reclusive, kind of like a badger in its den. Christina from Christina Reads YA said on Twitter, though that she might have put Cath in Ravenclaw because she reminds her of a slightly more present Luna, which I TOTALLY see and agree with!

Katsa from Graceling by Kristin Cashore



Katsa came so close to being in Slytherin because of what her Grace ACTUALLY is. But the think about Katsa is she doesn't use her Slytherin skills for Slytherin ends. She uses them to save others, which makes her, in the end, a courageous Gryffindor.

Cinder from Cinder by Marissa Meyer



Cinder is clever (I mean, she's literally part computer. BEAT THAT) and knows all kinds of clever, practical things, like how to repair androids and break out of prison. She's just the levelheaded brainiac I'd want with me to save the word.

Seraphina from Seraphina by Rachel Hartman



This girl is absolutely brilliant. She drops vocab words that would make every kid studying for the SATs cry, she's a musical genius, and she uses draconion logic with the best of the dragons. Ravenclaw all the way.

Did I Sort anybody disastrously wrong? Where would you sort your favorite YA heroines and why? Sound off!