The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

 

Reviewed by Kristin

The Hawthorn family live in the town of Thistleford on the edge of a mystical land called Faerie. For many generations, the Hawthorns have planted, tended, and harvested the willows. Sisters Esther and Ysabel are following in the family tradition of tending the willow trees along the River Liss, singing to them as a way of honoring their magical power.

When a neighbor attempts to coerce Esther into marriage in order to consolidate their lands, she resists, partly due to her distaste for him, but partly due to the fact that she is already in love with someone from Faerie. However, her refusal has dire consequences.

Amal El-Mohtar makes every word count in this short novella. The woodcut style black and white illustrations wind their way through the pages and complement the writing perfectly. While under 100 pages (plus a sneak peek at one of her upcoming short stories), I found this a relaxing and enjoyable reading experience.

I first heard of Amal El-Mohtar as the co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War along with Max Gladstone. This beautifully written book is a tale of adversarial time agents plotting their moves for centuries, and eventually falling in love. The writing was stunning with alternating chapters by each of the authors. The River Has Roots is El-Mohtar’s first solo novel, although she has published a story collection entitled The Honey Month (now on my list to attain) and has another upcoming collection.