Keynote Three: Books That Feature a Waffle House

​       Welcome back to my small corner of the blogosphere. Recently, I’ve been wanting to start up one or two new series here on my blog, and this post is the start of the first one! “Keynote Three” is going to be a series where I recommend books based on common tropes, characters, or other aspects of the stories. This one features three books where the characters visit a Waffle House at one point or another in the story. Be sure to let me know in the comments what topics I should consider in the future.

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Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
by Becky Albertalli

       Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
       With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more 

flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten​ all ​kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

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       This book is the most well-known on this list for its iconic Waffle House visits. Simon, Leah, Nick, and Abby make frequent stops here in both the book and its movie adaptation. Not only is this book a perfect read if you are craving some diner food, it is also an adorable LGBTQ+ story. Simon is a high school student who isn’t open about his sexuality, but throughout the book, we see him on his journey to self-discovery. It’s a story about love, growing up, and figuring yourself out; everyone can find a way to connect to this book.

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The Darkest Minds, by Alexandra Bracken

       When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that had killed most of America’s children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control.
       Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. She is on the 

run, desperate ​to find the only safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who have escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents. When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at having a life worth living.

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       Even though this story isn’t in the contemporary genre, it still made its way onto the list. The story takes place in the not-so-distant dystopian future in Virginia. Since this book is set in the near future, most of the society we know today is used throughout the plot (including the beloved fast food chain, Waffle House, where Ruby and her friends stop to eat in the novel). Not only does this book feature characters with special powers, it also incorporates romance and comedy into the dystopian-focused plot. I can’t wait to go see the movie adaptation!

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Let it Snow, by John Green,
​Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

          An ill-timed storm on Christmas Eve buries the residents of Gracetown under multiple feet of snow and causes quite a bit of chaos. One brave soul ventures out into the storm from her stranded train and sets off a chain of events that will change quite a few lives. Over the next three days one girl takes a risky shortcut with an adorable stranger, three friends set out to win a race to the Waffle House (and the hash brown spoils), and the fate of a teacup pig falls into the hands of a lovesick barista.

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       It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas with this recommendation. This story is one of the best collaborations I’ve ever read. Going into this book, I thought this was going to be an anthology of three seperate stories. It turns out, the characters and story in the first part end up tying into the second part, and so on to the third section as well. To this day, I still haven’t seen a plot like this one, but I hope another group of authors in the future will get together and take inspiration from this novel. For much of this holiday tale, the characters are snowed in at the Waffle House, making this story a perfect addition to this list.

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       Do you have a favorite book with a Waffle House scene? Let me know in the comments so we can discuss!

Your breakfast-loving reader,
Ashton

I love the smell of Waffle House; it's the smell of freedom, being on the open road and knowing that ninety percent of the people eating around you are also on that road. Truck driver's, road-trippers, hangovers--those who don't live that monotonous life of society slavery.

— J.A. Redmerski, The Edge of Never