A cozy romance between a ghost and a human, Taproot is illustrated in gorgeous pastels. I felt the pacing of the novel could have been better. The relationship between Hamal and Blue is adorable. Taproot was wholesome, paranormal, and delightfully queer.

Queer paranormal graphic novel with cottagecore vibes. This was so wholesome and sweet and I just absolutely adored this.

*thank you to netgalley and lion forge for the arc.*

this was a really cute, quick read. the art was incredible and there was a little bit of creepiness sprinkled in there, and it had elements of mystery in there too. i loved the queer and bipoc representation. the only reason i knocked a star off was because i think there could have been a bit more world building and character development in the first half of the novel. other than that though, this was perfect. definitely got me out of my reading slump!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4822915828

Plant gays! I repeat: plant gays!!!
This was really cute and the drawings were absolutely lovely.
Hamal is a gardener who can see ghosts ever since he was a child. It made him kind of an outsider, constantly talking to himself.
He loves plants and even sings to them to make them grow and survive. He’s an absolute sweetheart.
For years the one ghost, Blue, has been with him. And of course they’re star crossed lovers!

This story was absolutely wonderful and super queer and diverse. We see all kinds of bodies, skin colours and ages.
I loved all the characters, especially the reaper! She was hilarious and made this story super funny next to our dramatic little Blue.

The only downside is that it’s super short and jumps in time so much without much explanation. You just have to kind of guess what happens in between the scenes? It’s not super hard, but I would have loved to read a more elaborate and detailed story instead of that little epilogue one year later (even though I especially loved that part).

Thank you to Oni Press for granting me an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Taproot by Keezy Young follows Hamal, a gardener who can see ghosts, and Blue, a spirit who is surprised and excited when someone can finally see him. This graphic novel shows what happens when their friendship turns to love, as well as how a reaper changes both of their lives forever.

This story was quick to read, and absolutely charming. The artwork was beautiful and captured the emotions of the characters perfectly. I think the fact that Keezy both wrote and illustrated this is definitely a factor.

Though there were a few instances where I thought a little more development and depth could be helpful in the writing, it more than got the story across with the artwork. I'm a fan of queer books in general, so that may have influenced my opinion. The second half of the story really captured me! I'm glad I was able to get a copy of this story and read about Hamal & Blue!

A gardener who can interact with ghosts and the ghost who loves him. A beautifully drawn, beautifully told romance, with cool fantasy afterworld mechanics and just the right amount of spookiness.

Everything kept me hooked from the story line to the beautiful illustratEverythingions it feels like it's straight out of a studio ghibli movie.
I also love that this book includes/shows the process of making the illustrations and how much thought the author really put in this book.

Oni Press graphic novels are excellent and this one is a sweet and well told story.
The drawings are great and the well developed plot is well done.
Another story I loved and it's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Taproot by Keezy Young followed Hamal, a gardener with the ability to see ghosts and Blue, a lonely spirit who was surprised that Hamal can see him. This was a story about their friendship that grew into love as well as the complications that arose when a reaper came to town and threatened their relationship.

This graphic novel was a sweet, short, romantic supernatural story with a tiny dash of horror into the mix. The art was beautiful overall. It was whimsical, a very nice loose style of drawing and such gorgeous palette that worked very well with the overall tone of the story. I love the landscapes and the use of foliage throughout the story. The character design of Hamal and Blue reminded me of Hunk and Lance from Voltron though.

The interactions between the two leads were adorable and I did like how their relationship turned out though I would've preferred if we had more time to see their relationship develop. I liked the Reaper and his sass and how in a sense he challenged the pre-conceived notions of what a reaper should be. The pacing was a bit all over the place and the connection of Hamal with the paranormal needed a bit more explanation.

Still, Taproot was a good, quick and fun read with charming, queer characters and a cute romantic story. I'd recommend this if one is looking for some paranormal/fantastical graphic novel with a hint of slice of life.

This would be 3.5 stars out of 5 stars for me.

Gardens and graveyards go together like haunting and lovestories (thats to say perfectly). A gorgeous graphic novel about a ghost who falls in love with the gardener who can see him. I love the juxtaposition of death and life in the illustrations and couldn't help but smile at every panel. Despite the impossibility of a ghost and living boy, the happy ending was such a sweet spot in this wild summer. I'm so glad I got tp enjoy this story.

I liked the story very much. The plot is exciting and unique. The drawings are beautiful. I really enjoyed looking at them. Unfortunately, the story was sometimes a bit confusing and not so fluid.

Lovely, thoughtful, and beautifully illustrated. Hamal can see ghosts, and has found it easier to be friends with them than to get close to living people. He is particularly close to Blue, a teenage ghost who has been dead for a year. There's something strange in the neighborhood, which brings a frightening forest and mean-spirited reaper into their lives, and forces Blue and Hamal to risk their growing romantic feelings for one another. A sweet story of queer love that, while steeped in death, does not involve tragedy. The art is soft, the narrative loving, and the characters are wonderfully alive (even the ones who are already dead).

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

Taproot, by Keezy Young
★★★☆☆
136 Pages


Sadly, for me, Taproot is another case of an award-winning, much-hyped book that just wasn't my cup of tea.

The art was lovely.
The story had potential.
The characters had potential.
But, overall, it lacked the growth of characterisation and any kind of exploration of their relationship to be anything but rushed. The blurb made the story sound far more interesting than it was, hinting that the ghost, Blue, was secretly in love with Hamal, who could see ghosts. That was a great premise, but to find they had been friends for a long time, and they both had unspoken feelings for each other, which were quickly resolved into a confession, meant it lacked the emotional draw I was looking for.

For me, I would have liked more hints of their feelings for each other, rather than Blue out-right admitting in his thoughts that he was madly in love with Hamal. I would have liked more time to see their relationship develop, to see Hamal learn to return his feelings, or more time spent exploring their characters. Everything felt so rushed that I barely knew who they were as characters before they were dating and the story seemed resolved.

Just when I was getting emotionally invested, saying goodbye to Blue, the story jumped ahead to something totally different, which pulled me right out of the emotion. Personally, I feel that would have made a far better, suspenseful ending if it had taken at least a few pages before the final revelation. Then everything that followed would have been much more interesting if it had happened while Blue was a ghost.

I really liked the art, and the concepts were clear. I was able to tell what was past from present, which characters were ghosts and which were human, which was great. The addition of a meddling reaper was interesting, but never really explained about why or how they functioned within the story. The reaper began to feel more like a guide/mentor to Hamal, and only a convenient tool to help move the story along. I also question why they were necessary, when Blue had already suggested to Hamal in a past-timeline panel that he should find a way to help ghosts. Yet, it seems he really didn't, other than talking to them and letting them hang around him.

Overall, I'm sorry to say that I felt the story didn't go anywhere. It didn't have an overall arc or purpose to reach, that was clear to me. It seemed to end halfway towards another story, whereas if it had ended with Blue's tree storyline, then I could see that being a great ending, and a much more emotionally engaging storyline. However, it didn't do that, and I was missing the development of a relationship, the character development that showed growth or who they were as people, other than just as unrequited lovers. Sadly, the impact wasn't there, but I'm giving it 3* for the potential and artwork.

Precious! It’s about time I tapped into this gem. Truly a believer in the power of graphic novels to help us work through difficult themes. Wonderful and sad at the same time.

This was just an absolute delight! It felt like a warm little hug and it made me smile through the entire quick read. The artwork was gorgeous enough that I'd love to have it printed and hung on my walls.

I would love to see more in this world, potentially a sequal and behind! I know this was originally published a few years ago, but I'll be keeping my eyes out to see if Blue and Hamal's story continues.

What makes this book different from all others? And why should anyone care?
Whenever possible, put the good things about a book or author up front.
Criticize the book, not the author, if you don’t like what you’ve read. Explain why.

I'm not quite sure this graphic novel is anything special? It tells the "love story" between a ghost and a gardener but the ghost continues to disappear. When it disappears it winds up in a dark, eerie forest where an entity is calling to him. I think this story was striving to be a queer fantastical story mixed in with some darker elements and themes of death; instead, there were minor inconveniences that ran the plot. The Characters were quite flat. We never get the opportunity to learn about their circumstances up to the point of which the story begins. Because of this, I found it difficult to sympathize with the characters. The plot also lacked any sort of substance. The stakes were not high because the resolution came quickly and the characters also felt like the problem surrounding the plot was not life threatening. The illustrations also looked like they were still in the drafting stages still. I have read countless graphic novels, mangas, and comic books and I absolutely love a sort of minimalistic design, but this felt like a first draft -both for the story and art style.

A very sweet queer love story of a necromancer gardener and ghost. The artworks are especially beautiful and I enjoyed seeing a glimpse of the tremendous work and talent that goes into making a graphic novel. Also loved that the story had a moral.

A very cute graphic novel with an original storyline and magical realism used. The relationship between the two main characters was sweet and endearing, and I enjoyed the art style. A joy to read!

Taproot was such an easy and sweet read. I really enjoyed the kind of slice of life quality to it that is later joined with a bit of adventure. I love Hamal's ease with plants and love of nature. Blue is silly and I wish I got to know more about him in this story. The ending was unexpected and kind of abrupt but I enjoyed this all the same.

Adorable graphic novel about a gardener and a ghost falling in love! The style of drawing was so cute, and I especially love the color scheme used, particularly in how it helps the reader differentiate between the real world and the paranormal ghost world. The aesthetically pleasing drawings and the delightfully paranormal romance arc make it a great choice for a short, one-sitting read that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside afterwards.