December 2020
Now a New York Times bestseller!
In tiny Merinac, Kansas, Chicken Mimi's and 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 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, Food Wars becomes her chance to step back into the limelight. Mae is certain she can make the fading Mimi's look good-even if that pits her against Amanda and Frannie's. With a greedy producer stoking the flames, their friendly rivalry quickly turns into a game of chicken. When family secrets become public, the sisters must choose: will they fight with each other, or for their heritage?
Expect picture-perfect lives that fall apart away from the camera, an all-chicken recreation of Stephen King's Carrie and a manipulative host who really needs a donut-and expect to come away thinking about your own choices, too.
"A charming first novel about family, regrets, and second chances. Dell'Antonia deftly deals with issues of mental illness, marriage troubles, and dreams deferred, all the while telling a funny satire of reality TV. An utter delight from start to finish."
-Booklist
"Dell'Antonia writes convincingly and sympathetically about complicated family relationships, giving Mae and Amanda each relatable flaws. The Food Wars scenes are a fun peek behind the curtain of the reality TV world, and the small-town warmth of Merinac is comfortingly quirky. A charming and satisfying story about family bonds that will make meat eaters everywhere crave fried chicken."
-Kirkus Reviews
"Nobody knows the humor and pathos of complicated family relationships better than K.J. Dell'Antonia, which is why this story about sisters and fried chicken and reality TV is such a satisfying read. It's like the comfort-food of novels: warm, memorable, and wholly original. I loved it."
-Laura Zigman, author of Separation Anxiety
“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 Witherspoon
I write what I like to read--so if you like my books, fill your #tbr with my weekly update, #AmReading and never miss a chance to find a book you'll love.
KJ Dell’Antonia is a New York Times best-selling author whose novels The Chicken Sisters and In Her Boots explore the same themes she once explored as a journalist: the importance of finding joy in our families, the challenge of figuring out what makes us happy and the need to value the life we’re living more than the one in our phones and laptops, every single time. Her third novel, Playing the Witch Card, throws magic into the mix, but witchcraft, like reality TV and literary fraud, rarely really solves anyone’s problems. She is also the former editor of the New York Times’ Motherlode blog, the co-host of the #AmWriting podcast, and a passionate bookstagrammer (@kjda). She lives in Lyme, New Hampshire, with her husband, children and assorted dogs, cats, chickens and horses.
