The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (audiobook)

 genre: fantasy

This short novel takes us to a small town on the edge of an alternate fantasy world, a place where magical songs can connect people and keep them safe. The two sisters that live there are bonded by music and a fierce love for each other that they believe can withstand anything. But there is magic here, a magic that flows through a river and can reside in words both spoken and unspoken. Magic like this can change any kind of story.

What a unique listening experience! Lots of music and sounds, I genuinely appreciated the aural experience of this audiobook. And honestly, I liked the story a lot too. It is sparse but also powerful. I know I am a sucker for books that play with words and in my opinion, puns make any magical system better. Because I knew from the start that this would be a short story, I didn't feel like I needed more explanation, I liked the vague sense of a magic the plays with word meanings and "grammar" and the natural world. I LOVED how songs have power here and while I wasn't ready to be finished when it was over, the ending fit just fine.