Publishers Weekly
11/20/2023
Hartong’s snark-filled debut mixes a laugh-out-loud lampooning of small-town Southern life with a coming-of-age queer romance. It’s earthy, irreverent, and a hint mean-spirited, and the plot, while not quite an afterthought, is a lightly sketched bundle of implausibilities: PJ Spoon, 26, returns home to Pennywhistle, Tenn., to support her newly widowed mother after her father’s sudden death, abandoning her doctoral studies and an out-and-proud social life in the far more liberal Nashville. She distracts herself from grief with a job cooking at a chain eatery, the Chickie Shak, which has only two other employees: a redhead who calls herself Boof and has “a disposition so sunny it calls for SPF,” and an older woman named Linda who “can be a little testy,” PJ muses, “but I reckon most Lindas are. Every now and then she’ll call somebody sweetheart in a way that makes you want to piss yourself and die.” Chemistry instantly sizzles between PJ and Boof, but a shadow looms over their budding romance: mandatory participation in the franchise’s first ever beauty pageant. The absurd competition for the Chickie Shak Hot Chicken Crown exasperates PJ and Boof, animates Linda (who joyfully experiments with rhinestones), and fosters resentments that forestall conversations all three need to have if they’re going to grow beyond their Chickie Shak lives. The emotional beats are somewhat sporadic, but the one-liners are relentless. Hartong’s genuine comedic gift makes PJ’s story well placed to become a beach-read hit. Agent: Deidre Knight, Knight Agency. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
“Hartong’s genuine comedic gift makes PJ’s story well placed to become a beach-read hit.” — Publishers Weekly
"An uproarious and understated story of family, friendship, and romance set in the neon-lit haze of a Southern chicken shack. By turns hilarious, sad, and introspective, this cross between Steel Magnolias and Gilmore Girls will appeal to anyone who has searched for answers about life and how to live it in a plate of fried chicken." — Kirkus Reviews
"Looking for some southern comfort? Looking no further...It’s the perfect heartwarming story." — Dallas Voice
"Delightful! This novel will open your heart and preach to your funny bone." — Jill Conner Browne, New York Times bestselling author of The Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love
“With a large helping of Southern humor, this debut is a heartfelt but not maudlin look at moving on in grief. Throw in charming secondary characters, a quirky small town, a lovely slow-burn romance, and an endearing main character and you have the perfect recipe for fans of Fannie Flagg and Mary Kay Andrews.” — Booklist
FEBRUARY 2024 - AudioFile
It's no exaggeration to call narrator Dorothy Dillingham Blue's performance of this audiobook a Southern charmer. Putting her Vanderbilt PhD on hold, PJ Spoon becomes Pennywhistle, Tennessee's, Chickie Shak chef. She competes with her co-workers--the button-cute Boof and the frighteningly efficient Linda--in a no-holds-barred chicken pageant. Blue's voice weaves and dips through the constant hilarity of Tennessee-culture-based humor and PJ's experiences with same-sex dating in a small Southern town. Blue's softer tone matches PJ's grief over her father's death and becomes sugar sweet for PJ's love interest, Boof. She has additional unique voices for Linda, PJ's mom, and her friend, Lee Ray. The mix of soul-searching and snort-inducing Tennessee traditions is worth the listen. C.A. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2024-01-05
An uproarious and understated story of family, friendship, and romance set in the neon-lit haze of a Southern chicken shack.
When PJ Spoon’s father dies unexpectedly, she leaves her Ph.D. program at Vanderbilt University to return to her tiny hometown of Pennywhistle, the “pesky pebble wedged into the shoe of Tennessee.” Unable to afford (or unwilling to buy) an urn, she and her mother stow his ashes in a Mr. Potato Head, toting him to important events. Unmoored by grief, PJ stays in town, abandoning her studies for a job as a cook at a hot chicken franchise, the Chickie Shak. When the owner shows up and informs the employees that the company is throwing a beauty pageant and participation is mandatory, PJ has no choice but to compete. Plus, the $1 million prize money and promise of free Chickie Shak for life could convince even the most unwilling participant to take a shot at this “boot scootin’ opportunity.” With the help of her determined mother, her best friend Lee Ray, and a Kirstie Alley Sparkle ’n’ Shine 3,000 rhinestone gun, PJ is ready for the spotlight. However, all the change inspired by the contest and the arrival of a new co-worker pushes PJ to grapple with life after her father’s death. Would he even recognize her as a “Hot Chicken contestant shimmying into a bathing suit and rubbing Vaseline on [her] thighs”? A mystery, a romance, and a whole lot of fried food help PJ find her footing in a world without her daddy. By turns hilarious, sad, and introspective, this cross between Steel Magnolias and Gilmore Girls will appeal to anyone who has searched for answers about life and how to live it in a plate of fried chicken.
A clever, heartfelt meditation on grief.
