AudioFile
Beautifully portrayed by narrators Katherine Littrell and Sura Siu. Both performers enhanced the profiles of the characters—Littrell with her slight Southern accent and cautious demeanor, and Siu with her conviction and privileged attitude. Listeners will appreciate the blend of mystery, fantasy, and a hint of romance in this compelling audiobook.”
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
This genre-blending contemporary thriller offers a searing indictment of men who prey on women while the book’s fantasy elements offer a form of revenge and resolution…Potent, atmospheric, and wholly satisfying.”
BookPage
A cathartic portrait of two girls’ anger toward a world whose cruelty and injustice forced them to fight back. The River Has Teeth delivers ferociously good thrills.”
From the Publisher
This genre-blending contemporary thriller offers a searing indictment of men who prey on women while the book’s fantasy elements offer a form of revenge and resolution… Potent, atmospheric, and wholly satisfying.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A backwoods murder ballad of a book that draws from the old songs and legends that underpin so many areas of rural America. [The River Has Teeth] is well worth a listen.” — NPR
"Soft and seething, with an undercurrent of longing and rage, THE RIVER HAS TEETH is the perfect story for anyone who is tired of feeling helpless. This book has teeth, too." — Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf
"Waters weaves a spell on the page, seeped with dark and murky magic, both beautiful and terrifying, just as her girls are beautiful and terrifying. Set loose upon the Bend, Natasha and Della are two forces crashing into one another with a strength that makes their world tremble."
— Emma Berquist, author of Missing, Presumed Dead
"Packed with monstrous magic and a wicked bite, The River Has Teeth is the perfect read for fans of Beware the Wild and Wilder Girls. Fierce and flawless." — Kat Ellis, author of Harrow Lake
“Full of fierce women and wild magic, The River Has Teeth is a captivating story of love, grief, and the power of anger. From its eerie opening pages to its gripping finale, it kept me enthralled.” — Kate Alice Marshall, author of Rules for Vanishing
“The River Has Teeth is one of those books I could not put down—even when I knew I should. The lush, haunting story gave me the most gorgeous nightmares I’ve ever had.” — Kylie Schachte, author of You're Next
“With its witches, monsters, and missing girls, The River Has Teeth is a hypnotic, suspenseful read.” — Wendy Heard, author of She’s Too Pretty to Burn
“This horror-tinged tale from Waters (Ghost Wood Song) spotlights issues of racial and socioeconomic injustice…. [A] lushly written story.” — Publishers Weekly
“A cathartic portrait of two girls’ anger toward a world whose cruelty and injustice forced them to fight back. The River Has Teeth delivers ferociously good thrills.” — BookPage
“Waters’ southern gothic thriller cleverly uses magic as a metaphor for the ways women resist the harm that men do.” — Booklist
Praise for GHOST WOOD SONG: “What a gorgeous, creepy gem of a book, brimming with magic, mystery, music, and so much love that you’ll ache as if these characters were your actual friends. Ghost Wood Song weaves a captivating spell you won’t want to break.” — Claire Legrand, New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn and Sawkill Girls
"Ghost Wood Song sings a high and lonesome love song to family, to place, to music, and to love itself. It will make your heart dance." — Jeff Zentner, Morris Award winning author of The Serpent King and Goodbye Days
"These haunted pages are full to bursting with intricate family dynamics, a nuanced queer romance, and a crescendo of an ending readers won’t see coming. With notes of southern gothic and mystery, Ghost Wood Song will strike a chord with fans of The Raven Boys and Beautiful Creatures." — Rosiee Thor, author of Tarnished Are the Stars
"Strikes the perfect balance of atmospheric chills, dark familial secrets, and a yearning for the warm comforts of home. I could hear the cicadas' call and feel the smothering humidity, even as I shivered!" — Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author, House of Salt and Sorrows
"Ghost Wood Song is a dusky, haunting daydream of a debut that hits all the right notes." — Dahlia Adler, author of Under the Lights and editor of His Hideous Heart
“A gorgeously written debut filled with ghosts, a queer love triangle, a murder mystery, & a healthy dose of bluegrass. When you finish, you’ll want to turn back to page one and start all over again.” — Amanda Lovelace, author of The Princess Saves Herself in this One
“Waters' debut features a bisexual lead with both male and female love interests, an atmospheric southern gothic setting, and, for the musically inclined, lots of folk and bluegrass references. For teens with a penchant for eerie ghost stories, this lyrical tale will hit the spot.” — Booklist
“Debut author Waters weaves an intense and spectral atmosphere with vivid prose…Haunting and alluring.” — Kirkus Reviews
Wendy Heard
With its witches, monsters, and missing girls, The River Has Teeth is a hypnotic, suspenseful read.”
Kate Alice Marshall
Full of fierce women and wild magic, The River Has Teeth is a captivating story of love, grief, and the power of anger. From its eerie opening pages to its gripping finale, it kept me enthralled.
Kat Ellis
"Packed with monstrous magic and a wicked bite, The River Has Teeth is the perfect read for fans of Beware the Wild and Wilder Girls. Fierce and flawless."
Kylie Schachte
The River Has Teeth is one of those books I could not put down—even when I knew I should. The lush, haunting story gave me the most gorgeous nightmares I’ve ever had.”
Hannah Whitten
"Soft and seething, with an undercurrent of longing and rage, THE RIVER HAS TEETH is the perfect story for anyone who is tired of feeling helpless. This book has teeth, too."
NPR
A backwoods murder ballad of a book that draws from the old songs and legends that underpin so many areas of rural America. [The River Has Teeth] is well worth a listen.
Emma Berquist
"Waters weaves a spell on the page, seeped with dark and murky magic, both beautiful and terrifying, just as her girls are beautiful and terrifying. Set loose upon the Bend, Natasha and Della are two forces crashing into one another with a strength that makes their world tremble."
Claire Legrand
Praise for GHOST WOOD SONG: “What a gorgeous, creepy gem of a book, brimming with magic, mystery, music, and so much love that you’ll ache as if these characters were your actual friends. Ghost Wood Song weaves a captivating spell you won’t want to break.”
Jeff Zentner
"Ghost Wood Song sings a high and lonesome love song to family, to place, to music, and to love itself. It will make your heart dance."
Rosiee Thor
"These haunted pages are full to bursting with intricate family dynamics, a nuanced queer romance, and a crescendo of an ending readers won’t see coming. With notes of southern gothic and mystery, Ghost Wood Song will strike a chord with fans of The Raven Boys and Beautiful Creatures."
Booklist
Waters’ southern gothic thriller cleverly uses magic as a metaphor for the ways women resist the harm that men do.
Dahlia Adler
"Ghost Wood Song is a dusky, haunting daydream of a debut that hits all the right notes."
Amanda Lovelace
A gorgeously written debut filled with ghosts, a queer love triangle, a murder mystery, & a healthy dose of bluegrass. When you finish, you’ll want to turn back to page one and start all over again.”
Erin A. Craig
"Strikes the perfect balance of atmospheric chills, dark familial secrets, and a yearning for the warm comforts of home. I could hear the cicadas' call and feel the smothering humidity, even as I shivered!"
Booklist
Waters’ southern gothic thriller cleverly uses magic as a metaphor for the ways women resist the harm that men do.
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2021-05-17
When girls start disappearing in a Tennessee nature park, a family of local witches worries they’ll be blamed.
The Lloyds have lived on the Bend—an area bordering a river and the nature park—for generations, and the land is imbued with their Scottish forebears’ magic. The Bend, not their bloodline, is the source of the Lloyds’ power, but lately it’s felt corrupted, making their spells go awry and frightening off all but the most desperate customers. So when Natasha Greymont asks for help finding her missing sister, Rochelle, Della Lloyd is reluctant. The Greymonts’ wealth and status should grant them access to resources Della can’t even imagine, and solving the mystery may in turn destroy Della’s own family. But Natasha isn’t what she seems, and the two girls, both White, are irresistibly drawn together. Alternating chronological perspectives map their shift from antagonism to trust. There is a familiar, genuine rapport that grounds the recurring theme of chosen family between Natasha, who’s bi, and her pansexual best friend, Georgia Greer, who is cued as Black, as well as with Rochelle’s best friend, Margo Yoon, who is Korean and pansexual. This genre-blending contemporary thriller offers a searing indictment of men who prey on women while the book’s fantasy elements offer a form of revenge and resolution. The broad narrative strokes that address the book’s intersections of race, class, sexuality, and gender will prompt important conversations by readers.
Potent, atmospheric, and wholly satisfying. (Thriller. 12-18)
