INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK “A charming, hilarious, feel-good story about the kind of bonds & rivalries only sisters can share. Also, a great present for your sister for the holidays!!”–Reese WitherspoonThree generations. Two chicken shacks. One recipe for disaster.In tiny Merinac, Kansas, Chicken Mimi’s and Chicken Frannie’s have spent a century vying to serve … Chicken Frannie’s have spent a century vying to serve up the best fried chicken in the state–and the legendary feud between their respective owners, the Moores and the Pogociellos, has lasted just as long. No one feels the impact more than thirty-five-year-old widow Amanda Moore, who grew up working for her mom at Mimi’s before scandalously marrying Frank Pogociello and changing sides to work at Frannie’s. Tired of being caught in the middle, Amanda sends an SOS to Food Wars, the reality TV restaurant competition that promises $100,000 to the winner. But in doing so, she launches both families out of the frying pan and directly into the fire. . .
The last thing Brooklyn-based organizational guru Mae Moore, Amanda’s sister, wants is to go home to Kansas. But when her career implodes, helping the fading Mimi’s look good on Food Wars becomes Mae’s best chance to reclaim the limelight–even if doing so pits her against Amanda and Frannie’s. Yet when family secrets become public knowledge, the sisters must choose: Will they fight with each other, or for their heritage?
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Did I stay up way too late reading this with tears streaming down my face? Yeah, I did!
I was impressed by how the titular sisters moved from sketched-as-opposites conflict generators to throughly realized women, so you totally get why they grew apart and get invested in whether they’ll get through their war and to a place of love and community.
Who would think of building a book around competition between two Midwest fast food fried chicken restaurants? But that’s the story, and the author paints a thoughtful and entertaining picture of the family conflicts that underlie these two restaurants. Estranged sisters find their way through the family lore To discover what means the most to each of them.
Oh, I do love a book about siblings, and a book about food, and books set in the Midwest, so imagine my delight at finding this wonderful book that combines all of that. Fun and full of heart, THE CHICKEN SISTERS explores what happens when two chicken restaurants are set against one another for a reality show. I switched my allegiances so many times back and forth while listening to this one. A great read!
I have a lot of sisters and I love fried chicken, so when I read about the synopsis of this book, I knew it was the perfect book for me. Great characters, sibling rivalries, and a “friendly” family business competition on live reality TV, throw in some budding romance and family drama and you have a recipe for a perfect read.
The Chicken Sisters is a tale of two estranged sisters competing against each other to win $ 100,000 for those they love.
Overall I enjoyed the book. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of each sister, Amanda, or Mae. I really liked that as it let me get to know each sister more intimately. It was easy to keep track of whose viewpoint we were getting as the chapter is titled with the name of the sister. We get to really understand how a situation can be seen and understood in many different ways. How our past experiences play a role in our reaction to the situation.
I had a strong reaction to one scene with Mae’s children. The goldfish scene caused me to fume in frustration. Such little brats.
The Chicken Sisters read at an easy pace. There is very mild cursing and no detailed scenes (a heavy petting/kissing scene). I would recommend it to any reader who enjoys fiction, contemporary women fiction, and romance. Although the romance was a very small part of the book.
Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “The Chicken Sisters” by KJ Dell ‘Antonia, Putnam, 2020
KJ Dell’Antonia, the author of “The Chicken Sisters” has written a thought-provoking, intriguing and entertaining novel. The genres for this story are Women’s Domestic Life Fiction, Family Life Fiction and Fiction. There is also a touch of satire. The timeline for this story is set in the present but goes to the past when it pertains to the characters and events. The story takes place around a family feud that has gone on for over a century between the Moores and the Pogociellos, and their fried chicken establishments. When the daughter of one family marries the son of the other, things get more intense. The author describes her colorful characters as complicated, and complex. If you bring in the modern component of reality TV and media and “Food Wars” you have the ingredients for a blown-up disaster.
Amanda and Mae are two sisters as opposite as can be in every way. When Amanda sends a letter to the Reality show, Food Wars, she has no idea what is going to happen. Mae, on the other hand, has experience with media and has an idea what can happen, unless it is too close to home. Mae returns home, after a disappointment to help her mother while the sisters are feuding on “Food Wars” Is there any chance that the sisters can work together instead of against each other?
I appreciate that the author discusses the issues of hoarding and mental illness. Also m enticed is the importance of family, sisters, friends, forgiveness, second chances, love and hope.
I recommend this thought-provoking book for other readers.
Such a fun read! A heart-warming, fast-paced story about sibling rivalry, love and fried chicken. Amanda and Mae are like any sisters, they have their differences; Amanda has stayed in her hometown, married, then lost her husband, while Mae has left to become a TV star in the big city, with her own marital issues.
When Amanda succeeds in getting the competing chicken restaurants in their small hometown accepted onto Food Wars, a reality TV show, Mae comes back home to help her mom’s restaurant Mimi’s to compete, while Amanda takes the side of her mother-in-law’s restaurant: Frannie’s.
I loved how well Dell’Antonia captured the sibling relationship, throughout. Each word of dialog is weighted with personal history and sibling rivalry, but also simultaneous affection.
However, although the sisters clearly love each other, as the reality competition heats up, both make decisions they aren’t proud of. The showdown starts with one one sister telling the show about the criminal faux pas of frozen mozzarella sticks and biscuits at the other restaurant, but rapidly escalates with equally bad, then worse behavior. As a reader I enjoyed that delicious guilty pleasure of reality show voyeurism with several aghast “oh no she didn’t moments.
As the sisters make increasingly bad decisions, as a reader I was still rooting for them to work it out. And I loved that I was always aware that their sisterly love and longing for each other’s support was just as strong as their rivalry.
A fabulously enjoyable book filled with sister dynamics, family, fried chicken, and tenderness.
A small town in Kansas. Two fried-chicken restaurants founded by sisters over a century ago. Two present-day sisters. A great set-up for a century-old sibling rivalry story.
Amanda Pogociello grew up working at Chicken Mimi’s. But then she married the son of their rival family at Chicken Frannie’s and is no longer allowed to step into Mimi’s. She is tired of the daily struggle of running Frannie’s and escapes into her sketchbook. Then one day she contacts Food Wars, a reality TV show that sets up restaurant competitions with $100,000 going to the winner.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn-based sister Mae Moore is a social media influencer with her organizational skills. Mae loves to declutter and organize her client’s spaces. But one day her career implodes. Once again seeking the limelight, she sees the Food Wars competition as the avenue to get her back into the public eye.
Family drama and misunderstandings. Family secrets now made public by a conniving producer. The perfect recipe for an enjoyable read. I found I could really relate to the sisters Mae and Amanda. It made me laugh (Mae, you go girl!). The sisters were vastly different and, unsurprisingly, had different goals in life. Or did they…
The author is a brilliant storyteller and has created truly relatable characters who portray real emotions and reactions.
I received this book from the publisher/author with no expectation of a positive review.