Author: Amal El-Mohtar

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.

The paperback edition features beautiful interior illustrations.

"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 Crdova - "A beautiful, musical, and loving story." --Emma Trzs

"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...

Publisher: Macmillan Publishers (MPS)
Published: 03/24/2026
Pages: 144
Binding Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781250363688

About the Author
Amal El-Mohtar is a Hugo Award-winning author of science fiction, fantasy, poetry and criticism, and the co-author of the New York Times bestseller This is How You Lose the Time War, written with Max Gladstone, which has been translated into over ten languages. Her reviews and articles have appeared in the New York Times and on NPR Books. She lives in Ottawa, Canada.