Merinac, Kansas, is known for one thing: fried chicken. Well, actually it’s known for two things: Chicken Mimi’s and Chicken Frannie’s, two restaurants on opposite ends of town started in the late 19th century by sisters who, according to local and family lore, never saw eye-to-eye on anything. More than a hundred years later, Mimi’s and Frannie’s are still thriving, more or less, and the feud continues.

Amanda Moore grew up helping out at Mimi’s, which mom Barbara inherited from her own mother. But even though Amanda never left Merinac, she might as well be a million miles away now. Nearly 20 years after she married Frank, scion of the Chicken Frannie’s dynasty, she still isn’t welcome back through the doors of Chicken Mimi’s. Ever since Frank’s death in a car accident and her beloved mother-in-law Nancy’s attempts to keep Chicken Frannie’s going, Amanda has been looking for a way to shake things up and make a change for herself and her two teenaged kids.

"THE CHICKEN SISTERS is a diverting tale of a family coming to terms with the many ways in which they have grown apart and struggling to understand why."

And she thinks she may have found it when she happens upon a call for pitches for “Food Wars,” a reality competition show that pits feuding food businesses against one another. Amanda is more than a little surprised when the network producers seem interested but is sure she can convince everyone --- her mother-in-law, her mother and her own sister --- that this opportunity is just what both restaurants (not to mention Merinac itself) need to get back on the map.

Amanda’s sister, Mae, knows a little something about reality television --- or at least she thinks she does. After an attempt to turn her lifestyle influencer Instagram presence into a Marie Kondo-esque home organization show falls flat, Mae finds herself out of a job. When she gets a frantic call from Amanda, she sees “Food Wars” as an opportunity not only to help her mom but also to reinvigorate her own brand. It doesn’t hurt that Mae and her husband, Jay, are having some marital tensions of late. Almost before she realizes what she has done, Mae packs up her two kids and their nanny, relocating from Brooklyn to Merinac for what she thinks will be a long weekend.

Amanda and Mae embark on their project with some hidden resentments, but no real animosity. All that is about to change when, unbeknownst to both women, the producers start to pit them against one another, dredging up personal and family secrets that soon incite them to sabotage, betrayals and outright theft.

THE CHICKEN SISTERS is a diverting tale of a family coming to terms with the many ways in which they have grown apart and struggling to understand why. Although the reality TV premise offers plenty of opportunities for crazy shenanigans and other broadly humorous moments, the book also deals with issues of aging, physical and mental illness, grief, financial insecurity and other more serious topics.

The large cast of characters and the increasingly complicated nature of their feuds and revenge plots create a lot of loose ends to tie up. At times, it can feel like the resolution is more drawn out than it needs to be, and readers may come away from the story wondering if each character’s moment of self-awareness and desire for dramatic change is really going to stick after their few days of filming.

That said, readers will enjoy spending time with the residents of Merinac. More than a few will come away from KJ Dell’Antonia’s debut novel wondering where they can get a down-home dinner that sounds half as delicious as the ones at Chicken Mimi’s and Chicken Frannie’s.