Rainwood House Sings: A Social Justice Mystery

Rainwood House, a ramshackle post-Civil War dwelling lightly haunted by old civil rights struggles and musical plumbing, is home to beleaguered University of Maryland groundskeeper Marlie Mendíval and her bat- and book-loving granddaughter Samantha. Marlie rents a room to Demetrius, an affable radical horticulturist, unaware that prior to knocking on her front door Demetrius has been hiding from the police in her basement.

Marlie battles mounting bills, bellowing pipes, a lecherous boss, her ex's scheme to evict her from Rainwood House, isolation and self-doubt, as Samantha becomes embroiled in playground culture wars. Demetrius pokes around Rainwood House's shuttered rooms wondering how to beat accusations of cop-shooting and terrorism while remaining incognito under Samantha's friendly but sharp-eyed gaze. Increasingly entangled in each others' lives, the characters join forces with glamorous union shop steward Laranda Moss and a lively crew of supporters to launch, in the words of Labor Notes editor Jane Slaughter, "a cascade of idyllic solutions to very real-world problems," including a friendship club, a people's history museum and a present-day Underground Railroad stop.

Written and illustrated by Juliana Barnet with her daughter, co-author/co-illustrator Sophia Barnet-Higgins, Rainwood House Sings paints a true-to-life yet mildly magical picture of activists tackling mysteries great and small with creativity, humor and collective action.

Rainwood House Sings is published by Life in the Liberated Zone. LLZ's purpose is to further understanding of activist culture through truthful fiction for youth and adults focused on the lives and adventures of folks living in the belly of the beast while struggling to change it.