THE RIVER HAS TEETH BY ERICA WATERS

26/7/2021

To celebrate the launch of Erica Waters' The River Has Teeth, which is published on 27th July by HarperTeen we have a special double review of The River has Teeth and Erica's debut novel Ghost Wood Song from Tony Jones.

ERICA WATERS – THE RIVER HAS TEETH

We often hear about the second ‘difficult’ album or novel in which the creative juices which fed the debut struggle to flow, however the second release from Erica Waters completely blows this old wife’s tale from the water. The River Has Teeth is a superb second novel and considering that Ghost Wood Song (2020) was a highly accomplished debut, this is an author to watch very closely and if she continues writing dark/horror YA fiction is destined to become a major new voice in the genre. Although the plots of her two novels are completely different, they have some similarities when it comes to themes, music (bluegrass to be precise) dominated Erica’s debut and although it does not do so in her second novel, it does play a role of some significance. Also, both novels feature bi-sexual female teenage characters who financially struggle and might be described as coming from the wrong side of the tracks. Erica convincingly gives these marginalised teens a voice. If you read and enjoyed Ghost Wood Song, you will absolutely adore The River Has Teeth. It hums with its own type of magic, which is so vibrant, believable, and beautifully described you will probably end up totally emersed in it.

The action takes place in a small town in Tennessee where teenage girls have been disappearing and seventeen-year-old Della believes her mother to be the culprit. Della’s families are what we would probably term ‘hillbillies’ and live in a ramshackle house outside of town and make ends meet by selling remedies and potions to superstitious locals. Della is the youngest of a long family line of witches whose magic is connected to the area of land where they live and cultivate for the potions they create and make a living from. However, Della believes the magic has gone bad and this has turned her mother into a creature when night comes (don’t worry it’s not a vampire or werewolf) and as the police and others come snooping what can the teenager do to protect her dangerous mother? The story is told via a split first-person narrative, between Della and Natasha, whose sister is one of the disappeared girls. Natasha comes from a rich family but has her own problems from being adopted and accepting she is bisexual. After the police draw a blank Natasha comes to Della for help and after an initial personality clash the novel documents their developing friendship, secrets, and more.

The River has Teeth was convincing on several levels and although magic never dominated the novel, it had an earthy type of feel to it and within the constraints of the book and the way the family operated was excellent. The conflict between the two teenagers, and developing friendship, was also a pleasure to read, both having their own problems, issues and clashes. The way in which everything came together was top notch writing, and I enjoyed the fact that the killer was not the most obvious character (or the second most obvious) helping build a very satisfying finish. Both novels by Erica Waters have specialised in giving the reader terrific ‘outsider’ characters to root behind and I cannot wait to see what this she gives us next. AGE 13+

Tony Jones

Lush and chilling, with razor-sharp edges and an iron core of hope, this bewitching, powerhouse novel of two girls fighting back against the violence the world visits on them will stun and enchant readers.
Girls have been going missing in the woods…

When Natasha’s sister disappears, Natasha desperately turns to Della, a local girl rumored to be a witch, in the hopes that magic will bring her sister home.

But Della has her own secrets to hide. She thinks the beast who’s responsible for the disappearances is her own mother—who was turned into a terrible monster by magic gone wrong.

Natasha is angry. Della has little to lose. Both are each other’s only hope.

From the author of Ghost Wood Song, this eerie contemporary fantasy is perfect for fans of Wilder Girls and Bone Gap.

Praise for Ghost Wood Song:
“A gorgeous, creepy gem of a book.” —Claire Legrand, New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn and Sawkill Girls

"It will make your heart dance." —Jeff Zentner, Morris Award-winning author of The Serpent King and Goodbye Days
"Strikes the perfect balance of atmospheric chills, dark familial secrets, and a yearning for the warm comforts of home.” —Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows
“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.” --Booklist
“Haunting and alluring.” --Kirkus

Erica Waters – Ghost Wood Song

The debut novel from Erica Waters, Ghost Wood Song, has a unique position in YA horror; the first I have ever read which features bluegrass music as a major theme. Hell, how many mid-teens even know what bluegrass is? I just asked my fifteen-year-old daughter and she responded with “that weird hillbilly banjo music that kid from Deliverance played” so perhaps a few might! Shady Grove is named after a famous bluegrass tune and longs to follow in her late father’s footsteps by playing old school bluegrass music and part of the conflict comes from the fact that the other members of her band, including Sarah (who Shady has a thing for), want to play more modern or mainstream tunes. Although Ghost Wood Song was terrific, I doubt it will transfer to the UK teen audience easily, with the combination of bluegrass, family problems and trailer park small town American life distant from our lives on this side of the pond. However, for older teens looking for a slow-burning drama with a strong musical theme and supernatural overtones there is much escapism to be had in these pages.

Family dynamics play a key part of story after a death in the family, whilst Shady struggles to get over the death of her father, continually returning to one of his favourite songs. She believes that her father’s fiddle had the power to conjure up the dead and is set on finding it and although the supernatural story was interesting, I was more drawn to Shady’s relationships with Sarah and others. The music scenes genuinely sparkled, as they should in novels with this kind of vibe, and I thought Shady was very cool in sticking to her guns and not selling out. Ghost Wood Song also had an outstanding ending and although it will be too slow for some teens, those who enjoy a thoughtful read, with well-drawn characters are in for a treat. AGE 14+

ERICA WATERS – GHOST WOOD SONG

Sawkill Girls meets Beautiful Creatures in this lush and eerie debut, where the boundary between reality and nightmares is as thin as the veil between the living and the dead.

If I could have a fiddle made of Daddy's bones, I'd play it. I'd learn all the secrets he kept.

Shady Grove inherited her father's ability to call ghosts from the grave with his fiddle, but she also knows the fiddle's tunes bring nothing but trouble and darkness.

But when her brother is accused of murder, she can't let the dead keep their secrets.

In order to clear his name, she's going to have to make those ghosts sing.

Family secrets, a gorgeously resonant LGBTQ love triangle, and just the right amount of creepiness make this young adult debut a haunting and hopeful story about facing everything that haunts us in the dark.