The River Has Roots

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.

'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...

The River Has Roots is the hugely anticipated solo debut of the New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award winning author Amal El-Mohtar.

Features beautiful interior illustrations.

Review

Half delicious murder ballad, half beguiling love story, Amal El-Mohtar transports us to Faerieland so seamlessly it seems as though she just stepped out of it ― Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of The Cruel Prince

When it comes to storytelling, Amal El-Mohtar is like one of the grammarians of Thistleford, a magician capable of deftly transforming the familiar into the unfamiliar and the numinous into the humane. The River Has Roots is an utterly enchanting tale of love and longing, language and song, and the unbreakable bond of sisterhood ― Fonda Lee, author of the Green Bone Saga

Gorgeous and glorious! Every sentence sings! Amal El-Mohtar weaves a lovely and poignant fairy tale that will linger in your heart ― Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop

This book is lyrical, elegant, and above all, kind. I devoured it in one sitting. This story feels like the smell of rain. This is a fairy tale wrapped in brilliant language. An absolute must-read. Amal El-Mohtar is quite simply one of the best writers on the scene in ages ― T. Kingfisher, New York Times bestselling author of A Sorceress Comes To Call

The River Has Roots is the perfect fable: both bright and brutal, very old and brand new. It's a story that outlasts itself, lingering like a song; I adored it ― Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Starling House

About the Author

Amal El-Mohtar is an author, editor and critic. Her short story 'Seasons of Glass and Iron' won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards and was a finalist for the World Fantasy, Sturgeon, Aurora, and Eugie Foster awards. She is the author of The Honey Month, a collection of poetry and prose written to the taste of twenty-eight different kinds of honey, and contributes criticism to NPR Books and The New York Times. Her fiction has most recently appeared on Tor.com and Uncanny Magazine, and in anthologies such as The Djinn Falls in Love & Other Stories and The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales. She is currently pursuing a PhD at Carleton University and teaches Creative Writing at the University of Ottawa.