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The River Has Roots

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The River Has Roots

By: Amal El-Mohtar
Narrated by: Gem Carmella
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About this listen

This audiobook features music performed by the author and her sister, Amal; and Dounya El-Mohtar, on harp, flute, and vocals, as well as songs sung by the narrator, Gem Carmella.

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.©2025 Amal El-Mohtar (P)2025 Macmillan Audio
Editors Select Fantasy

Editorial Review

A love letter to words
I adored This Is How You Lose the Time War, which Amal El-Mohtar co-wrote with Max Gladstone, so I had my hopes up for her solo debut. If you also loved that book for its stunning use of language, you will adore The River Has Roots. Grammar is magic in this fairy tale—but it’s not the grammar you’re thinking of: the stuffy subject of our school days. In this story, grammar is the beauty and power of the way words meld together, play off one another and construe meaning. I hesitate to reveal too much lest I ruin the journey. Let Gem Carmella’s effusive, playful performance. —Sam D., Audible Editor

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