A review by hollyd19
The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern by Rita Zoey Chin

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The story follows the eponymous Leah Fern, an early-twenties orphan living alone in the small town where she was raised after her circus-performer mother dropped her off with a friend and never came back. Leah has decided to end her life, but then a curious delivery arrives: the ashes of her recently-deceased downstairs neighbor along with a cryptic note inviting her on a long-distance scavenger hunt. Intrigued enough to put her fatal plans on hold, Leah gets in her truck, driving north to the first of nine post offices where she will find general delivery mail under her name, offering up information about her long-absent mom. 

As Leah unspools the stories of both her mother and her neighbor, she is forced to spend time reckoning with the ways that her abandonment has impacted her life. The story dips in and out of Leah’s past, offering glimpses of her childhood being brought up in a carnival with chaotic & caring folks all around from whom she could learn and draw comfort. As she travels, Leah encounters a wide swath of characters along her road trip, each with a unique role to play in her journey. 

This book is absolutely full of whimsey, heart, and candor. I was entranced by the emotive writing and by the marvelous, vivid cast. Leah has a reluctant resiliency about her, honest but hopeful, trusting but hurt. And the people she meets & places she goes are so lovingly rendered, providing waypoints to Leah’s journey with their caring, broken selves. 

Truthfully, it felt like an amalgamation of some of my very favorite things: Big Fish, The Secret Life of Bees, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and the movie Elizabethtown. The book releases in early October and I cannot wait for others to read it.