Reader's Guide
Best Served Hot by Amanda Elliot
Discussion Questions:

1. What’s your favorite restaurant? What specifically makes it your favorite? Pretend you’re giving it a glowing review on your social media or in your paper of choice.

2. Julie and Bennett spar over the course of the book about the superior method of restaurant reviewing—traditional media versus social media—and come to the conclusion that both methods have their strengths. Do you agree? Why or why not? If you are looking for a new restaurant, where do you prefer to look?

3. Julie spends most of the book hiding her dislike of wine so that her followers won’t judge her for it. Do you agree with her decision, and with her ultimate choice to stop hiding it at the end? Why or why not? Have you ever hidden an aspect of yourself to keep from being judged?

4. Early on in the book, Julie says, “Sometimes being loved on social media meant being loved as someone who wasn’t really you.” Do you agree? Why or why not? What does social media mean to you?

5. Class, classism, and money are major themes and topics of discussion in the book. How do you feel about the way the story depicted them and the various characters in different classes?

6. Emerson Leigh’s search for fulfillment and meaning in her life ends (at least for now) with her finding work as an event planner, which was encouraged by Julie. Do you agree with Julie that this was a good move for Emerson Leigh? What do you think it means to find fulfillment in a job or in life?

7. If you could choose one character from this book to share a meal with at your favorite restaurant, who would it be and why?

8. Imagine a bonus chapter that takes place five years after the epilogue and features all of the main characters. Where do you picture the characters’ lives at this future point?