Published by Tor Publishing Group on March 4, 2025
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / General
Pages: 144
Format: eBook
Source: Libby
The River Has Roots is the hugely anticipated solo debut of the New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award winning author Amal El-Mohtar. Follow the river Liss to the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, and meet two sisters who cannot be separated, even in death.
The paperback edition features beautiful interior illustrations.
"Half delicious murder ballad, half beguiling love story." —Holly Black • "An absolute must-read." —T. Kingfisher • "Every sentence sings!" —Sarah Beth Durst • "Utterly enchanting." —Fonda Lee • "A story that outlasts itself." —Alix E. Harrow • "Truly exquisite." —Zoraida Córdova • "A beautiful, musical, and loving story." —Emma Törzs
“Oh what is stronger than a death? Two sisters singing with one breath.”
In the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, dwells the mysterious Hawthorn family.
There, they tend and harvest the enchanted willows and honour an ancient compact to sing to them in thanks for their magic. None more devotedly than the family’s latest daughters, Esther and Ysabel, who cherish each other as much as they cherish the ancient trees.
But when Esther rejects a forceful suitor in favor of a lover from the land of Faerie, not only the sisters’ bond but also their lives will be at risk...
My Review
I read this book because it was the April pick in a book club I participate in, and I have to say it just was not for me. I know many people have loved this short little book and found it to be very poetic, but for me, I just thought it tried too hard. I know some of the people in the Discord group I am in had a hard time understanding what was happening in the story, whereas others loved it. It is funny how you can have so many different views from a book so small, but that is what has happened with this one in the Discord group I am a part of. So, Reader, I will do my best to share my feelings about this book, and be warned, there will be spoilers.
I was excited to dive into this book. Come on, it is a fantasy story about two singing sisters in a little village who tend to the trees. All of this sounded like such a great read to me, but it did not take me long to become confused by it. I know it sounds silly, but I was confused about this book. I am someone who reads a lot of fantasy and epic fantasy, so how could a little book confuse me so much? This is where I think that the story was trying too hard, and I may be completely wrong in thinking this way. *SPOILER AHEAD* The magic system for me just didn’t work, or maybe it was the name of the magic system, I am not really sure. Reader, I will say it now, I am no English Major, so the idea of calling the “magic system” (if that is what it was) grammar really threw me off. These are some of the lines from the book that I was like what?
Willows are great grammarians.
The river may conjugate everything it touches, but the willows translate its grammar into their growth, and hold it slow and steady in their bark.
“Still? It’s been thirteen years, how…” She shook her head. “Grammar.”
The lines I have just shared are ones from the first thirty pages of the book and as you can imagine I had no freakin idea what was going on. I had to Google what grammar was to even get any meaning out of what I was reading. At this point, Reader, I was just annoyed with the story. I get wanting to make your story different and memorable for the person reading it, but for me, at least, without a Google search, I would have had no idea what was going on.
Now that you have heard my annoyance with the book, I will tell you some things that I did enjoy. I really loved the relationship between the two sisters and their love of singing to the trees. I enjoyed their commitment to one another (even after something big happened) throughout the book. I enjoyed the scene at the farmers market; to me, it just came across as cozy, which I really appreciated. The love interest was interesting, and I wanted to know what would happen. I also loved that the book included pictures. It isn’t often that I read an adult book with pictures in it, and I just thought that it was a really nice touch.
I think that if I had understood the grammar from the beginning of the book without having to Google it, I may have enjoyed the story a bit more than I did. Reader, if you are looking for a quick read, this could be the book for you. If you enjoy fantasy and sisterhood, then maybe give this one a go. Just because it was not a book for me does not mean it is a bad book. Who knows, maybe a heads up about the grammar will help you to enjoy it from the beginning. If you decide to pick this one up, I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Until Next Time, Reader, Happy Reading.
Trigger Warnings:
- Death
- Violence
- Racism
- Stalking
- Abandonment