Sisters in All Tenses

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

Pages: 133 Genre: fantasy

Rating: 5 Star

Kindle Notes & Highlights

The Hawthorn family lives in the small town of Thistleford where they tend to enchanted willow trees known as The Professors. The family's job is to take care of the willow trees, and none are more devoted than sisters Esther and Ysabel. They adore each other, but when Esther rejects the advances of a powerful suitor, their bond is tested.

The first important thing to know is that a not-insignificant amount of the page count is another short story (I believe it's a sneak peak for an upcoming book, but I've already returned my library book and cannot check). That story was good, but I'm not really reviewing it, and it feels worth calling out.

This story is short but very powerful. I thought it did a really good job of making the most of its limited word count, successfully creating an impactful and unique story. Of course, I loved This is How You Lose the Time War, so it's not a huge surprise.

My favorite part about this book was the way it played with language. The author demonstrated a real mastery of writing with the ways she would use it and manipulate it to tell this story. Also, I really loved the writing style and narration choices. I was constantly finding myself impressed by the writing, with so many beautiful and interesting phrases.

The story itself was also very sweet. Esther and Ysabel's bond was so well written, and I like that their relationship was able to coexist with others without feeling unbalanced. And while the book wasn't that long, I thought we got to know them well enough, and I was sufficiently engaged in their story.

This was a very quick read, but it's absolutely worth reading. It's a very sweet story packed with a lot of heart and fascinating writing.