The River Has Roots is a whimsical experience. If you love stories that feel like fairy and folk tales. That transport you and give you that nostalgic feel while being unique, this is for you. There's elements you can recognize and El-Mohtar breathes new life. It's a world of musical magic and I love the idea of grammar and magic - how it shapes the world. The world building and premise are enchanting.

This was beautifully written! A great fairytale and the illustrations complimented the story perfectly. The pacing was pretty good it was a good length.

An absolutely magical book. Mohtar is a literary force and one of the most talented storytellers I’ve ever read.

This was absolutely incredible. I feel like a lot of people don’t know that Amal El-Mohtar is first and foremost a poet. That is why she’s able to craft this lush, elegant, provocative prose which just happens to be perfectly suited for this kind of fairy tale.

I have such a deep respect for poets, because they understand language on a molecular level. They have to in order to make language their playground the way they do, to coax out these surprising turns of phrase and combine wordsmithing with imagery and sensory experiences to make connections that we just don’t think of on a day-to-day basis. Poetry surprises, it evokes. And I say all of that because this author’s prowess as a poet is a huge part of why I think this story is such a success.

The magic system in this story is deeply fascinating, because it’s based around grammar, which I love. And again, is something only a poet could dream of. And it’s all connected to how grammar and sentence structure inherently changes meaning, changes context. And that’s why grammar is the basis for this transformative magic. I thought that was lovely and used so brilliantly and effectively in the story.

Not only is the writing style deeply evocative and transportative, but I also love that this is very much a story about the love, loyalty, and devotion between sisters. Yes, there is a queer romance happening in the background, which is also really beautiful, but this is very much a story about two sisters putting each other first no matter what and doing whatever it takes to fight their way back to each other even as the world tries to force them apart.

I think it’s a powerful homage to the fact that even as both of them seek either love or marriage and their lives begin to diverge, that love they share as sisters—that deep platonic, familial love—deserves to be honored, because it’s the foundation upon which all their other forms and expressions of love are built.

The fact that this story is so short and yet is so incredibly beautiful and made me feel so much so deeply in a short span of time speaks volumes to Amal El-Mohtar’s talent. There’s also a sample in here from her upcoming short story collection, which I also *cannot* wait to read! This was an easy 5 stars.

“But that is not the truth of grammar. There was a time when grammar was wild— when it shifted shapes and unleashed new forms out of old. Grammar, like gramarye, like grimoire. What is magic but a change in the world? What is conjugation but a transformation, one thing into another? She runs; she ran; she will run again.”

i believe that amal el-mohtar is one of the most talented authors that i have ever had the privilege of reading. i am talking just earth shattering, heart destroying, beyond words beautiful prose. and this novella was absolutely no different.

this is a story about two sisters and their life growing up together with two willow trees on either side of the river liss. their family has always worked, and sang, with the willows, being stewards of the land, because under the right circumstances (or maybe the wrong ones) it can lead to the land of faerie.

the fae in this word are musicians, not singers, so esther and ysabel’s songs make an impact with all around the river. and esther even has a bit of a romance with a fae from arcadia. but as most tales go, a man, who can’t comprehend the word no, forced the story in a different direction. and magic ensues, and heals, and makes me cry… a lot.

you all know i am always going to be a sucker for a sibling tale with unconditional love portrayed. and this story really did feel a lot like healing magic while reading. also, if you are able to read a physical copy of this, please do so, because truly this is such a beautifully created book, and will extra immerse you into this world. i am very tempted to give this five stars, and i highly recommend it to everyone, but especially if you’re a big sister.

trigger + content warnings: assault (unwanted touching), blood, drowning / murder

A gorgeous, gorgeous story. I only wish it had been longer, but I also appreciate that El-Mohtar ended the story where it needed to be ended, preserving its beauty. I do wish I had realized one of her short stories is included at the end, only because I thought I still had a lot of novella left and it ended abruptly according to my Kindle percentage! The story was also fantastic, though, and I'll definitely be reading her story collection when it publishes.

This book was a beautiful one sitting read for me.

It was a solid follow-up to This Is How You Lose The Time War. I do love Time War a little more, but this one was still beautiful. I would have loved for it to be twice as long, just so that I had more time to love the characters and their dynamics. (also more of the beautiful writing!)

It's easy to love or hate some of the characters in this book. Others, you go back and forth in a way that felt like these characters were real, and out there in the world somewhere.

Zero Regrets. Go Read It Please and Thank You!

Overall, an excellent contemporary fairy tale with language, time, and family as its key themes. I appreciate how brilliantly El-Mohtar uses her own beautiful language to demonstrate how language can, in turns, be seductive and dangerous, cunning and sheltering, and beautiful and bonding. I imagine some might wish the characters were a little more developed, but their relative sketchiness lends itself to the fairy tale atmosphere, in which every event always already belongs to tradition, to nature, to eternity. I also appreciate the brevity of the book, more novella than novel.

A gorgeous, elegant story steeped in folklore and myth. I read it in one night, and finished in tears at the sheer beauty of the writing, the world, and the love stories. The River Has Roots immediately became one of my favorite books of the year, and quite possibly of all time.

When I saw that one of the co-authors of This is How You Lose the Time War (an absolutely amazing book, go read it now if you haven't) was releasing a new book, I jumped at the chance to read it. And boy, did it not disappoint.

This story had a very old folktale vibe - the kind you'd find in a large volume of them in a dusty corner of the library. The woodblock illustrations only added to the authenticity. The prose was beautifully written without being overly purple, adn the plot was engaging. As short as it was, you still really felt like you got to know the characters pretty well, which is a testament to the author's writing abilities.

Overall, this book has definitely been one of my favroites of 2025 so far, and I look forward to seeing more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Slayed the house boots down Houston I'm deceased.

I was going to write a longer review, but you know what? Fuck it. That sentence captures my entire thoughts. No notes, just perfection.

This will be a top read of 2025 for me.

I received an ARC from the publisher

This is a really lovely, dreamlike novella with a unique, magical setting. The world is very intriguing but as it is a novella there isn't a lot of world building done. Much of the magic is left unexplained and because of that it has a magical realism feel to it. Everyone accepts the magic for what it is. The family dynamics and quirky village setting contribute to this as well. Overall I really enjoyed it.

Spectacular in every sense of the word, this novella sucked me in immediately and before I knew it I had finished the last page… WOW!

A very beautifully written fable, easy to devour in a single sitting. It did leave me wanting, I wished we had just a little bit more time in this world and with these sisters. I eagerly look forward to Amal’s next project.

3.25 stars

Amal El-Mohtar has crafted a rich story in a small number of pages. The fairytale-folktale essence was evident, but the story was unique. Beautifully done. I only wish that it was longer - the story and characters could have been realized even further. The beginning was confusing with talk of Grammar, but I eventually understood this to be a kind of magical and literal manifestation of a story, a sort of metaphor for the fact that all stories that are written down are composed of language, composed of words which are arranged in a grammatical structure. Not a surface-level concept, and not an easy one to establish in such a short book. But I enjoyed this book very much and thought it very beautiful.

Such a stunning story! Very fairytale-like and read in one sitting. Made me tear up on the plane and thought about it for days after!! Thank you NetGalley!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC.

The description doesn't give it away, but this is a retelling, or at least inspired by, a popular folk murder ballad called "The Two Sisters", or "The Twa Sisters", or "Wind and Rain" with some contemporary covers of the song. El-Mohtar takes this traditional story of jealousy and greed between two women, and turns it into a story of sisterly love despite their differences and the lengths we'll go to reassure our loved ones. Also, it's got a queer romance with faeries. Just like the prose in This is How You Lose the Time War, her writing style is exquisite, romantic, and lyrical to match the influences. There was also a sneak peak at her upcoming short story collection, another queer folk story. I ate this all up, I can't wait for more from El-Mohtar.

This was a weird but delightful little fantasy book.

The story follows two sisters and their stories and also veers into a small romance while primarily being about the magic system called Grammar. The way conjugations were used to describe the magic and its intentions and how it can be changed from person to person was unique and fascinating.

I supplemented this with the audio once the book officially came out because I was so curious how they were going to integrate the singing portions, and I'm happy to report that this is the only audiobook with singing I have ever listened to that did not make me viscerally cringe.

After this solo debut, I'm incredibly interested to see what Amal El-Mohtar comes up with next.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and Tordotcom for this magnificent arc

5/5 stars

This was such a beautiful, lyrical, haunting book about sisters, love, music, and magic. I cried a few times in this short but stunning book, and it's stuck with me for weeks since I've finished it. Such an impactful story in such a smol package! Just, no words. So gooood 😭😭😭

This book is beautifully written. I liked the idea of a slow transition from a more mundane world into a more magical one as the river flows. The author clearly loves to play with words. The idea of "grammar" as related to magic "grimoire", for example, was neat. But she didn't really do anything with her wordplay that mattered to the story.

The story itself wasn't much. It's a basic retelling of a fairy tale that might be familiar to you. I didn't get anything original from it, although again, it was prettily told.

This book seems to be all about the vibes and atmosphere, not the plot. YMMV.