In the country’s most expensive rental market, everyone has a housing story. This one is a fiasco.
332 Fern Court was supposed to be home for three UC Santa Cruz students. Instead, it’s a drafty 1970s house with a dead furnace and a busted water pipe. Enter Anita Patel, a landlord who governs by her own Tenant Responsibilities 101 handbook and insists the non-functioning furnace isn’t a problem because “it’s not East Coast cold,” and that the tenants are to blame for the busted water pipe. But Anita has finally met her match in Rachel Levi. Rachel is a mother on a mission who refuses to let the damage, or any injustice, go unchallenged. As the conflict escalates, so do the consequences.
About the Book Design
Cover art and inside spot graphic by Jenny Kroik. Book cover design and typesetting by Mark Reis of Percolator Graphic Design.
Blurbs and Reviews!
“A rollicking and smart novel in which a polyphony of voices…grapple over what’s right, what’s fair, and what it means to take care of a home. Elizabeth Rynecki’s original, hilarious debut novel balances difficult truths about housing scarcity with irrepressible wit and a willingness to examine why even the most unlikable people do what they do.”
Irena Smith, author of Troika: Three Generations, Three Days, and a Very American Road Trip
“Law and Order meets The Pale King, and The Cat in the Hat in this strangely gripping tale about the housing crisis, the insurance industry, and two fiercely persistent women…With great humor and empathy for all involved, Elizabeth Rynecki reveals the absurd systems humans create and get tangled up in—but also celebrates our essential interdependence. Fern Court Fiasco is a one-of-a-kind novel that really is about all of us.”
Ann Gelder, author of Bigfoot and the Baby
9 out of 10 real estate professionals are talking about this book and you should be too.
Anonymous real estate professional
I laughed, I cried, I checked my kid’s renters insurance policy three times.
Mom of a college student
Praise for Rynecki’s work:
| “personal and impassioned” The Library Journal | “Rynecki’s yearslong search, successes, frustrations, and failures are a study in perseverance.” Kirkus starred review |
| “…the most affecting film on lost art is Elizabeth Rynecki’s …Chasing Portraits…it reveals an emotional core that is unexpectedly moving.” – The Forward | |
| “…a truly wonderful listen. It’s at once enlightening and heartbreaking, and I’m so grateful it exists.” – A podcast listener | |
FAQs
Coming in 2027