Taproot is a beautiful graphic novel with a story that is at times wholesome, spooky, cute, and funny, and sometimes all At once. A ghost and a necromancer seem the perfect match, and even though it seems like the world wants to keep them apart they find a way. It’s got Cemetery Boy vibes (or maybe that’s the other way around?) and is definitely a cozy read.

This delivered all the creepy cute vibes, I loved it. It was a really quick read that felt even shorter because I was so into it! Ghosts and plants you really can’t ask for much more then that. I really liked the color scheme of the world being one color and the underworld being darker shades of those colors, and the living and ghosts’ word bubbles being different colors that brought a really great contrast between them. The bonus story was really nice and brought the whole thing to a nice close.

*a copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Okay, i was super delighted when there was an lgbtq+ graphic novel i could just read! So i pretty much digged right in and i wasn't disappointed.

The story about Hamal who can see ghosts who pretty much are around all the time and even are somewhat his friends – is just so so sweet, Hamal is someone you pretty much like instantly, he has such a big heart, a big softie, loving flowers, being nice to basically everyone.
And then there's Blue, a ghost. Some kind of talkactive troublemaker in a way and gosh i dig some cute romance – especially in that character constellation.
Blue was definitely my favorite! Could relate to him pretty much, loved his design! (also Hamal's) and i had a blast reading through the story.
The art style is very cute and very unique in the best of ways and i loved how the story developed <3 will definitely recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for giving me this eARC to review.

I adore this book so much. It is sweet, queer and involves ghosts- what more could I ask for? The art is superb and while parts of the story are a little fast/slightly underdeveloped, I still truly adored this book. I want a physical copy of this that I can just read over and over again. In an odd way, even though there is some sadness (see, Ghosts), this book was incredibly heartwarming.

Thank you Oni Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this story. This review is my own opinions, freely given.

Let me start by saying that the cover of this book and the artwork within is phenomenal. It's so rich and layered.

The idea of queer love between a ghost and a human made me excited to read this story and see how their relationship developed.

Blue the ghost and Hamal the gardener are both intriguing and sweet characters, each in their own way. I enjoyed that Hamal could see ghosts and communicate with them. However I felt like the growth of Blue and Hamal's relationship wasn't given enough attention and detail. Especially for them to be so in love at the end.

Also, Blue coming back to life was a bit unbelievable for me. Is Blue now supposed to tell his family he's alive again or is the relationship with Hamal enough that Blue doesn't need anyone else? If the relationship is sufficient I would have needed more growth and story to believe that.

This was a quick read and a beautiful visual story. I recommend this to those who enjoy graphic novels and don't necessarily need all the extra details.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is certainly marvelous. It evoked such warm feelings for me and I truly loved it. The tones and the emotions were all so wonderful that it would make you wish you were there to join the characters in their journey.

Thank you so much!

I really enjoyed this comic. The artwork and colours were soft and reminded me of a Ghibli film. I enjoyed the story but in moments it felt rushed. It would have benefited from being longer and extending some of the plot points, especially around the climax, even if there was another volume. But overall very enjoyable and something I will be reading again..

Loved this! I wish it was longer or had more in the series. I really enjoyed the story and relationship between the two protagonists. The artwork is beautiful and really captured the emotional beats.

This is such a WHOLESOME and SWEET story. It's also incredibly queer and we love to see that! The story follows Hamal, a gardener and accidental necromancer, who can see and speak to ghosts. One of these ghosts happen to be Blue, a ghost who has a little crush on Hamal and who, when finding out a reaper is looking for Hamal, tries to protect him.

The story isn't anything new, nor is the idea of love growing between a ghost and a human, but queer people rarely get to have complete wholesome stories with happy endings so I absolutely love this story for giving us that. We aren't given any super in-depth background stories to any of the characters beyond maybe a few comments, but I actually think that's completely fine for a story like this. The simplicity of the art and the story makes it work.

I think this story would be perfect for a younger audience, whether they identify as queer or not, as it allows for queer kids to see themselves in a happy story but also for non-queer kids to know that this kinda love is completely normal. Taproot also has, what I think is, a positive approach to death which I think could benefit a lot of kids who may be interested in the topic. Despite recommending this to a younger audience I think, regardless of age, that everyone should read this if they're in need of a cute queer story with a happy ending (I know for one I really needed it!)

A very gentle, tender, wholesome love story about death and bugs and necromancy.

No, really! Subtitled "A Story About a Gardener and a Ghost," Taproot portrays the blossoming young love between Hamal, a gardener who can see ghosts, and Blue, who is, well, a ghost. Through expressive lines in a soft, earthy color palette, the art and dialogue are effective and emotional. Though the second part of the story felt oddly tacked on, like a bonus chapter or something, I would happily read a longer series about these two and their adventures through life, death, and gardening.

Thank you Oni Press for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

I spent almost a year hoping to find a way to read this graphic novel, and I was ecstatic to see it on Netgalley. "Taproot" did not disappoint in delivering a unique and funny story focusing on a ghost and a human who can see him. The characters were enjoyable, and hilarious and goodness, the graphic was great!

However, I did feel it was too short and I would not mind a continuation of the graphic novel in order to give the characters more personality and space to evolve.

I loved the ideas of this comic, and the colours... but I found the illustrations a little clumsy and I wasn't engaged very much. While the background stories for each character seemed interesting, I didn't really get attached to any of them, maybe because it didn't go in deapth or seemed a little cliche. It is very cute, but this might just not have been for me. In the same genre I adored Snapdragon, and the feelings it evoked was amazing. I was looking forward to a story about adults - sadly it felt less... well mature.

Rating: 3.5/ 5 stars (rounded up to 4/5 for this review)

If you like beautiful illustrations, a low-stakes plot, nature/gardening, diverse characters, ghosts, and an adorable queer couple then this is the perfect cosy-read for you!

I hear a lot of people talking about cosy fantasy stories, as they can really act as a pallet-cleanser after reading something with heavy subject-matter which is often seen in fantasy literature. This story not only helped me unwind from a few high-stress reads, it was also quite healing both through the beauty these characters bring and the illustrated environments in which this story takes place.

Plants are near and dear to my heart, and the theme of love, life, death, balance and processing was so wonderfully tied into this story.

Even though this story is short (I think it was >1 hour read for myself), there were many parts I cherished and favoured. The characters are so lovely and it’s wonderful that they get to have a happy ending for the readers to enjoy. I appreciate that the author created a story to fill the void they felt in their youth (as a fellow reader) with vibrant characters that happen to be queer, but are not used as a plot-device for suffering and loss.

The pacing of this story is pretty quick and I can see some readers becoming confused during certain moments just with the narration approach, though I was overall very pleased with my reading experience.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an arc of this book.

2.5 stars.
This was very fast paced, a bit too fast paced in my opinion... It made it a bit difficult to fully connect to the characters. When sad moments happened, I didn't really feel much... Which would have been different if it wasn't so fast paced and short.
Still very cute tho! The art was pretty nice as well. The plot was a bit hard to follow at times, but I got the gist of it.

I've had Taproot by Keezy Young on my TBR list for so long and i'm very thankful i finally got to read it!
It was as heartwarming and lovely as i had hoped, I love queer stories that don't necessarily revolve around the characters' queerness, but rather have it very casually and naturally be a part of the story and i think this graphic novel did that very well. I loved seeing Blue and Hamal's relationship blossom, it was super cute and i appreciate how they were already so familiar with each other.
The art style is gorgeous and right up my alley, the color themes made the book feel very cosy in a way and i absolutely adore the scenery in the forest and especially the design of the reaper's scythe.
One thing i really appreciate is that even though there were some more serious topics of discussion at hand, the book didn't take itself too seriously and had some very fun scenes in it. The epilogue is probably my favorite part of the book, i neeed more of Blue and Hamal going on fun paranormal investigations.
My one wish probably is that this was a bit longer and we had more time with these characters, hopefully this isn't the last we'll be seeing of them!

Taproot is a YA graphic novel about Blue, a ghost who is in love with his still living best grind Hamal. The storyline is sweet. The artwork is beautiful. It's amazing to see these stories being so accessible to young people, encouraging love, and expressing personal goals and beliefs.

4.5 stars | CW/TW: death
This was so cute! A queer, green thumb, necromancer graphic novel with a funny and sassy reaper…say less

I loved how this story dealt with the cycle of life and death, and how death wasn’t this big scary thing. The story wasn’t super intricate but the art style was; this had the perfect ratio of writing to art. You could just get lost in the details (it’s truly beautiful drawings), I loved the nature and colour palette used to play off the story, it was a very cozy read with an adorable queer romance, blue and Hamel were so sweet and adorable

Reading this book felt like getting cozy in a hammock with some nice tea or something in the forest, in the best way possible!

Blue is a ghost and he is in love with his best friend, Hamal, a gardener who can see ghosts. But the sudden appearance of a dark forest unsettles the local ghostly population. When Blue realises that Hamal’s unique ability is putting him in danger, he must find a way to protect Hamal, even if it means saying goodbye.

This is a new edition of “Taproot” that was originally published in 2017. Taproot is an adorable graphic novel by Keezy Young about 2 queer characters who fall in love with each other, but it is also about life and death.

The story felt rushed at times and could have been better developed if there was more space. The relationship between Blue and Hamal is delightful, but like, how did they fall in love?

There was also no background for the characters. How did Blue die? What was his life like before? For Hamal too. How and when did he come to be able to see ghosts? Or was it an ability he’s had all his life?

Some of the scenes felt a little disjointed and the flow could have been better. I had to do a bit of guessing and put things together.

The artwork, however, is absolutely gorgeous! I love the use of earthy and muted colours, which made me feel very comfortable and charmed. While I really enjoyed that plot twist at the end, I also felt that it was a little too abrupt and could have been more drawn out. But I loved that there was an “epilogue” of sorts that gave a wonderful closure to the story. Despite the rushed plot, this was still a very cute queer paranormal romance with enchanting illustrations. 3.75/5 ⭐️

Thank you Oni Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

Rating 2.5 Honestly, this was all over the place for me. It started out interesting but the plot moved way too fast and everything was over in a few pages. Not a fan
I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was gifted a copy to NetGallery, but my spoiler-free review is my own.

This edition of Taproot is a re-release from the original story back in 2017. My friend mentioned this graphic novel a few times, but I just never got around reading it until I got this edition of the arc, and oh boy, was I missing a LOT. The art style, the story itself, I might have dug around the internet looking for photos to make my wallpapers because I needed Young's art in my life. It's absolutely beautiful.

I really love this book. Not even halfway in, I added it to my wish list because I knew it would be a book that would have to be on my forever shelf. Honestly, if you are the type to forget about books, and just never get around to them, give this one a solid chance, because within the first five pages I believe you would love it.

It has Hamal whose a queer man whose a gardener and a dead queer boy who is a ghost and is completely in love with him, what more could you want?