The River Has Roots

By: Amal El-Mohtar

Narrated by: Gem Carmella

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.

This program features music performed by the author and her sister, Dounya El-Mohtar with Amal and Dounya on harp, flute, and vocals; and songs sung by the narrator, Gem Carmella. It also includes the short story "John Hollowback and the Witch," from the author's upcoming collection.

"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…

“Musical effects combine with Carmella’s singing at key moments…A stunning performance.”—AudioFile (Earphones Award Winner)

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor.com.

©2025 Amal El-Mohtar (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"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, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"El-Mohtar’s solo debut (after cowriting This Is How You Lose the Time War with Max Gladstone) is a heart-wrenching fairy tale about the bonds of love and family. It’s a murder ballad in book form that will linger long after the final page is turned."—Library Journal, starred review

"El-Mohtar’s ethereal prose paints a clear picture of the unbreakable bond between her worthy heroines."—Publisher's Weekly

Fantastic production!

Great narration, music, background noises. Overall one of the best audiobooks ever, congrats to the narrator!

Excellent!!!

Fast paced, sisterly bonds and mysterious places. The performance for this novella was *chefs kiss*

Poetic and Lyrical Fairy Tale

I loved “The River Has Roots” by Amal El-Mohtar.

It’s a very short novella (133 pages in print or 3 hours and 53 minutes in audio) and is written by the author of one of my favorite books, “This is How You Lose the Time War” (Amal El-Mohtar co-wrote it with Max Gladstone). Her new book has the same ethereal writing style as Time War.

It’s a fairy tale about two sisters who care for and harvest enchanted willow trees and they thank the trees for their magic by singing to them. One of the sisters is a lesbian who falls for a non binary fae, but the story is centered more about the connections between sisters.

“The River Has Roots” is a poetic and lyrical fairy tale wrapped in folk songs. What makes the audio version special though is that it’s a book whose themes are sisterly bonds and the audiobook has background music which is performed by the author and her sister. The narrator, Gem Carmella also sings the songs.

“The River Has Roots” is a beautifully written fairy tale and I do recommend listening to the audio version. The narration is excellent.

truly beautiful

the persistent play on words and their meanings and the way the story was woven together with song is amazing

Absolutely gorgeous writing and audiobook support

The songs being sung, the sounds of the rivers, the magical quality of the storytelling made this the most beautiful novella.

The audiobook is beautiful.

I’m not a huge music person but I loooooved the music that accompanies this story. It’s cute and short and I feel like everyone should listen to it.

Rich and lush and ode to language and love

An astonishingly beautiful piece of work. The audiobook in particular is spectacular because of the inclusion of singing. This is murder ballad. It’s also a fairy tale, and a riddle song. It contains multitudes. The language pulls you in with its intimacy. It is the story of two sisters and their unshakable love and bond. There is murder, there is also justice, and in the end a happiness of sorts. This is a book that should be remembered forever. Do stick around to short story at the end, it is poignant and for me at least painful. Amal El-Mohtar has a gift with words and I can’t wait to see what she writes next. Do not hesitate to buy this. As final praise I cannot help but love a story that has a pun as an essential part of its story.

Poetry and murder

These stories were beautiful and strange like new age fables. I look forward to the next one.

Wow

Wow this book is so lovely. The story so sweet and so well written. The audio production was excellent. It added so much to it. Highly recommended.

A balm for the soul

A truly lovely novella, and the audio performance makes it markedly better. I’m grateful to have listened to this.