Taproot by Keezy Young
A Story about a Gardener and a Ghost

4.5/5 ☆

Edition: Ebook, 140 pages, Second Edition

Disclaimer: I got this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity!

This beautifully drawn comic is about Hamal and Blue, both are young men. The former is a gardener who can see ghosts and the latter is... well... a ghost!
While Hamal is not sure why he's the only one who can see ghosts (we will get to know the reason throughout the story), he enjoys the company of Blue and other ghosts even though it is not without difficulties. Some ghosts are still children and act like their age while the other humans are thinking that Hamal is a but crazy for talking to himself so much (as they can't see the ghosts).
And when Blue and Hamal start developing feelings for each other Blue gets to be sucked up into a strange forest where a reaper waits for him.

This story is so soft and lovely, I absolutly adore it. I love the art style, it has a dreamlike quality and the characters are unique and easily to distinguish. The love story is there but not the prominent part of the comic and fits well into the whole plot.
I guess the second part is the new addition to this second edition and I really liked it, especially the reaper! This all feels very well built and thought through.

The comic ends with a heartfelt afterword of the author and artist Keezy Young and some process artwork with commentary.

I really need a physical copy of this!!!

This is one of the cutest graphic novels I've ever read. I was a little nervous about the ghost/human relationship, but it wasn't as weird as I was expecting honestly; it was actually pretty cute.

The artwork was beautiful as well! The color scheme and overall art style combined made the read much more enjoyable to me. The landscapes alone were gorgeous.

I'll absolutely be reading more of the author's work in the future!

This was a sweet story! I enjoyed being emerged in this story. Hamal was a wonderful perspective to follow. I did struggle a bit with the love story because it seemed to be insta love. I did love how the name of the story relates to the characters. Overall a wonderful read!

What a joyous little story! This most reminded me of Kay O'Neill's Tea Dragon series. A beautiful, queer-normative world with gorgeous illustration and a sweet, compelling story. The graphic novel didn't quite have a plot as much as I usually prefer, but it was a fun read nonetheless!

Keezy Young's TAPROOT is a little bit of a love story, a little bit of character exploration, and quite a bit supernatural. It lets the softer parts of life and death show, without compromising all its reality. It is unabashedly queer and lets a queer couple have a happy ending even if it's not realistic or uber-necessary to the plot, and what better love letter could you write to queer people than a happy ending. The author letter at the end just cemented my feelings, and I am so grateful for the story that Keezy Young has written, and for the queer people who will be able to pick this up and see a happy ending for themselves.

It's not very heavy on the plot, and almost seems like it could be just the beginning of a little series of stories with Blue and Hamal or any of the other ghosts (not that I would complain). But it absolutely serves its purpose, and I will be adding this to my list of graphic novels to read when I need to see the world in a better, more queer way.

Sweet and light, with some darker undertones.
I enjoyed it, but found it lacked just a bit more for five stars.
The art is generally pretty, but - personally - I would prefer it a bit cleaner. Some page designs are absolutely gorgeous, but some linework, yeah, could be a bit cleaner. Overall, still very impressed.
Glad I read it and would read more by this author.

That was a charming soft graphic novel. It was full of fluffy romance, beautiful art, and well developed characters. The kind of read that leaves you feeling warm and soft.

Taproot: A Story About A Gardener and A Ghost by Kerry Young

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Taproot is a MLM graphic novel about a gardener, Hamal, who can see ghosts but doesn’t know why. One day he meets a ghost, Blue, who gets attached to him and they become friends and end up falling in love. The Forest starts dying and Hamal has to figure out how to save it before the reaper takes his life as revenge.

I absolutely adored this graphic novel. The art is so beautiful, I loved the characters and it’s such a good storyline!! I’d love to see more done with this, there’s so much potential for it to be turned into a series and if that ever does happen I will definitely be supporting it! This has great representation in it including MLM; POC; Plus size; Black; Asian; & Muslim - Hijabi. I also really loved the colour palette. And I especially loved all of the extra infor about the character designs and the colour palette at the end of the book.

TWs/CWs - Ghosts; Graves; Scissors; Human remains; Bugs; Blood

Short, sweet, cozy and warm. Can't put it any other way. I wish it had been a bit longer so I could enjoy it some more.
And despite being so short, it still conveyed everything beautifuly. Really felt their affection, friendship and love.

"Taproot" is a cute story following a gardener who can see ghosts. The art is really nice and the story is also really interesting.

The story follows Hamal, who is a gardener and can see ghosts. He is always acompanied by a group of ghosts, but mainly Blue. All of a sudden, Blue and the other ghosts start to disapear from the world of the living into a giant forest of the dead, but noone knows why.

This was a really cute and quite quick comic to read. I did enjoy the story and the romance was really cute too. I think that it is quite a difficult thing to create a really good and advanced comic, but this book did a really good job with both the story and relationships.

Over all, I really enjoyed the book and it made me really happy to read it. It was a very easy read and once you've started it, it's difficult to stop reading. I would definately recommend this book for younger people, since the story is quite simple, but still so fun to read.

I absolutely adore this graphic novel. The characters are so fascinating, the spooky, mystical elements are so fun, and the little romance is so so so freaking sweet. I'd love to read a more in-depth version of this book. It's only 130ish pages, so I can definitely see the story as a more fleshed out graphic novel. I'm really excited to read more from Keezy Young. I love the art style, colors, and story.

A beautifully drawn comic book about life, death, and, of course, love. I found the story of Hama and Blue to be cute and entertaining, if not a little rushed at times. The pacing of the comic felt off at times, moving from one concept to another rather quickly, but I'm not a huge reader of comics so it could be a norm that I am not aware of. Despite that, I can't deny the art is gorgeous and had me hovering over several pages just to soak in the beautiful cool tones and intricate details.
If you are looking for a cute little LGBTQIA+ comic, check this one out for sure.

This was a sweet graphic novel with some rather beautiful artwork. It kind of reminds me a little of Mooncakes so if you enjoyed that then I'd definitely recommend this! At times I felt like I was missing bits cause it would skip from one thing to another without development but overall it flowed quite nicely!

What a cute little novel! The artwork is gorgeous and the storyline is wholesome. There is found family, characters that are easy to love, plants (always a bonus), and queer, paranormal romance.

Can I just say here that the Reaper is the best and needs a spin-off.

This is a quick read, but unfortunately I feel, too quick. There were little gaps that I found a bit jarring, and the reason that I knocked off one star. This story deserved to be longer.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy.

This was the warmest and loveliest story I could imagine, and I loved this so much! There was so much loveliness packed into this, I only wish it was longer!

Taproot is a story about Hamal and Blue. Hamal is a sweet, kind gardener, who cares about his plants and is just the loveliest person ever. Hamal can also see ghosts - like Blue. Blue is a ghost, or an in-betweener, who is friends with other ghosts, and also in love with Hamal. While their relationship can't be what a "normal" relationship is, they're so lovely together. But their peace is disrupted by a reaper, who's looking for a necromancer who's making things unbalanced. As balanced must be restored, the characters might have to face some truths they don't want to face.

Now, don't let me scare you - this story feels like a ray of sunshine right when you need it. This is not a sad story per se, but it is emotional. The art in this novel is amazing - I loved it so much. The cover is what initially pulled me to this book, and I'm so glad it did. The landscapes are so magical, there are a lot of plants and nature, and it all seems so whimsical, so alive. It feels very soft and delicate, the color palette is mostly warm and it feels like a sweet, familiar dream in a way.

The characters are also lovely, and they are the focal point of the story. Besides Hamal and Blue, there are a few other characters, and while we see less of them, that doesn't make them less good. I enjoyed reading about all of them. The interactions between the characters are also great, and I loved learning about their connections and relationships. I only wish this was a little bit longer, because I wanted more, more of the side characters, more of Hamal and Blue's relationship.

I cannot say much without spoilers, but this book left me feeling warm and fuzzy and just overjoyed. This is definitely going to turn into a new comfort read for me, I already see I'm going to be coming back to this book a lot, and I would highly recommend it!!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very cute but (without spoilers) slightly confusing graphic novel at the end of it with the mystery girl.
It reminded me a lot of Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune, so if you enjoyed that book, then you should definitely check this one. I was not a super fan of the illustrations but it was a quick and cozy read and it is nice to have some queer representation for teens and young adults so a big plus for that!


Thank you to Netgalley and Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group for this e-copy!

A really wholesome story about love, acceptance, death and friendship, also kinda creepy at times. Really enjoyed it and will be looking into the author more

This has been one of my most anticipated reads in a long while, so I'm thrilled to have been able to check it out! Beautiful art style and sweet story, this did not disappoint! A lovely little book!

I was so happy to get a chance to finally read this graphic novel, it's been on my TBR for quite a while, and it was worth the wait! The artwork and atmosphere really set the tone for such a cozy and heartfelt story. The reaper character was a really fun inclusion, as well as the twist I won't spoil here. Both main characters are likable and you root for their them, their dynamic is so cute! It's a fun little ride to take with a happy ending that I thoroughly enjoy.

I don’t typically read this style of book but I really enjoyed it! It was a quick, fun, wholesome story with beautiful artwork! While fairly short, I quickly connected to the characters and would love to read more about their adventures!

Taproot is a short, queer, paranormal comic that follows a gardener and part time necromancer named Hamal, and a ghost named Blue.

I really enjoyed the concept of this story and the art was seriously stunning and so aesthetically pleasing, but i do wish that it had been a little more fleshed out. I would have loved for it to have been a little longer and gone into a bit more depth with the story and characters because it definitely has tons of potential.

This comic was incredibly wholesome, queer and such a fast read. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to read something short and sweet!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this eARC.