Tamora Pierce! I love her series, well, the books about Alanna and that world and the characters in it. She's got several, but this one is one of my favorites. I started reading it when I was a kid, which has something to do with it, but I pick up the new editions pretty faithfully. She writes good girls -- girls who are girls, and different types, all of whom are pretty damned strong.

Yeah, it's predictable as hell, but as far as comfort stories go, there's not much better.