Close Menu
www.crackingthecover.com
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • Picture
      • Ages 0-3
      • Ages 2 and up
      • Ages 3 and up
      • Ages 4 and up
      • Ages 5 and up
      • Ages 6 and up
      • Ages 8 and up
      • Author Interviews
      • Bedtime Stories
      • Gift Guide
    • Middle Grade
      • Author Interviews
      • Ages 6 and up
      • Ages 7 and up
      • Ages 8-12
      • Ages 9-12
      • Ages 10 and up
      • Gift Guide
    • YA
      • Author Interviews
      • Reviews
      • Adult Crossover
      • Gift Guide
    • Seasonal
      • Back to School
      • Christmas
      • Earth Day
      • Easter
      • Fall
      • Father’s Day
      • Mother’s Day
      • Gift Guide
      • Halloween
      • Spring
      • Valentine’s Day
      • Winter
    • Diversity
      • AANHPI Heritage
      • Autism Month
      • Black Experience
      • Chinese New Year
      • Hispanic Heritage
      • Pride Month
      • Women’s History
    • Crossover
    • About
      • Review/interview policy
      • About our reviewers
    www.crackingthecover.com

    Ryan K. Sager’s World’s Greatest Chocolate-Covered Pork Chops is a tasty read

    1
    By Jessica on June 27, 2017 ages 8 & up, Middle Grade, middle grade review
    World’s Greatest Chocolate-covered Pork ChopsTHE WORLD’S GREATEST CHOCOLATE-COVERED PORK CHOPS, by Ryan K. Sager, Disney-Hyperion, June 20, 2017, Hardcover, $16.99 (ages 8-12)

    The World’s Greatest Chocolate-Covered Pork Chops is a delicious choice for young fans of shows like MasterChef Junior.

    The book opens with 12-year-old Zoey setting out to get a loan to open her own restaurant. She doesn’t think it should be too hard given that she serves throngs of people delectable eats out of her house on a regular basis. It takes a little finagling, but Zoey’s able to secure the money — and the support of her parents.

    If only getting a loan was the most difficult part of owning a restaurant. Zoey quickly learns the costs — both monetary and otherwise start to add up. The restaurant industry turns out to be harsher than Zoey thought. There are people who find a young talent as a threat, and they won’t let her talent (no matter what her age) get in their way, even if that means crushing her dreams in the process.

    The World’s Greatest Chocolate-Covered Pork Chops is written for young foodies, and it works fairly well. Author Ryan K. Sager asks readers to suspend at least some belief — it’s highly unlikely a 12-year-old chef would be able to open a successful, sold-out restaurant in a refurbished trolley.

    Zoey is the driving force behind The World’s Greatest Chocolate-Covered Pork Chops. She is bold, precocious and unwilling to take no for an answer. Her passion for food almost drips off the page. Her personality makes her over-the-top goals seem feasible.

    If only the food and cooking descriptions weren’t so technical. I love cooking shows and experimenting in the kitchen, but I found myself getting mired in the details. This could be off-putting for younger less experienced readers. I don’t know many 8-year-olds that would understand some of this. If nothing else, it seems to limit the book’s audience.

    The World’s Greatest Chocolate-Covered Pork Chops is a fast read. Zoey is likeable and the writing — minus the cooking technicalities — is accessible. This would be a good choice to read as a family while integrating it into meal prep.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Jessica
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • X (Twitter)

    Jessica Harrison is the reviewer behind Cracking the Cover. She loves books and worked as the in-house book critic at a daily newspaper, writing reviews and interviewing authors for two years. When the company cut back, she lost her position covering books, but that doesn't mean she stopped reading. If anything, the whole experience made her more passionate about reading and giving people the tools to make informed decisions in their own book choices. She has been featured on NetGalley's Blogger Spotlight and is on Kindleprenuer's Ultimate List of the Best Book Review Blogs. Contact her at jessica(at)crackingthecover(dot)com and follow Cracking the Cover on Bluesky, Instagram,  Facebook and Twitter (X) @crackingthecovr. You can also read scaled down reviews on Jessica's Goodreads review page. Jessica is also a reviewer on Amazon.

    Related Posts

    The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks is MG gold

    Sports Superstars from Black History tells stories of 10 athletes

    Learn about paleontologist Mary Anning in Jurassic Girl

    1 Comment

    1. Jayne Peters on January 8, 2019 2:22 pm

      I enjoyed the book. It had a Robert Munch feel to me except in a chapter book.

      Reply
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    • bluesky
    • twitter
    • instagram
    • facebook
    • goodreads
    • amazon
    • bloglovin
    • mail
    Subscribe by email
    Follow
    Recent Posts
    July 1, 2025

    The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks is MG gold

    July 1, 2025

    E.L Starling’s Bound by Stars is fast-moving sci-fi romance

    June 30, 2025

    Return to Neverland with Wendy’s Ever After, by Julie Wright

    June 29, 2025

    Sports Superstars from Black History tells stories of 10 athletes

    June 29, 2025

    Learn about paleontologist Mary Anning in Jurassic Girl

    Archives
    Categories
    On Writing

    “The dance with words and the way the hair on the back of my neck raises when it works right is what I live for.”

    —Gary Paulsen

    “I write because I exist. Because I read. Because I breathe.”

    —Lindsay Eager

    “Books are kind of like the sense of smell: inhale one page and memories come rushing back.”

    —Keir Graff

    Cracking the Cover is a website dedicated to picture, middle-grade and young adult books. It features reviews, author interviews and other book news. PLEASE NOTE: We are not currently accepting self published books for review.

    Copyright © 2010-2022 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.

    Reviews Published Professional Reader 2016 NetGalley Challenge 100 Book Reviews

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.