A review by effingunicorns
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

4.5

It was really fun to read through this and keep going "heyyyy" when I recognized even vaguely what stories El-Mohtar was referencing, as if I didn't specifically preorder this for the fairy tale elements. The realness of the characters in comparison makes the fantastical parts seem that much nearer to reality, and then immediately following up with John Hollowback and the Witch as the preview for El-Mohtar's upcoming short story collection brings the whole thing home. (Technically I skipped it this time, since I just read it in The Book of Witches last year, but it was one of the standouts of that collection for me so I Remember.)