The Chicken Sisters

Amanda Pogociello is one of the novel’s protagonists; she is Mae’s sister and Barbara’s daughter. Amanda, who got pregnant at 19, married the rival to her family’s restaurant, Mimi’s. She married into the family who runs Chicken Frannie’s, which creates strife between her and her mother. Not allowed inside Mimi’s due to her marriage to the youngest Frank of the Pogociello family, Amanda begins the novel feeling optimistic that Food Wars will “better” the relationships within her family as well as their financial situations. However, she also begins the novel with anxiety and nerves regarding the outcome of the competition, which is emphasized through the image of “[her] whole leg […] quivering” (7). In this moment, Amanda is characterized as being physically overwhelmed by trying to help both sides of her family. At the beginning of the novel, Amanda feels estranged from her mother and even her sister, whom she feels apprehensive toward due to their differing perspectives on life. By deciding to marry young and staying in her hometown, Amanda takes on the responsibility of helping Chicken Frannie’s stay afloat while also trying to navigate her mother’s hoarding problem.

After Amanda’s husband, Frank, passes away in a car crash, she spends most of her daily life serving others by “becoming the de factor art teacher for the elementary school” or helping her mother-in-law, Nancy (113).