This was a beautifully drawn short story. I loved the premise and the artwork though the story felt a little rushed at times.

I really adored this story. The only major setback for me was that it felt as though we were given glimpses of a story rather than one that was fully fleshed out. The colour palettes were stunning and the art style gave the story such a wholesome feel.

I adored one quote in particular:

"There's nothing evil about death, Ghostie, But it's a balance. You can't force life without taking it from somewhere."

There is nothing cozier than gardening and ghosts and it just so happens I love both of those things dearly. Taproot was a lovely graphic novel with a warm and comfortable art style that unravels a story of mystery and love between a gardener and a ghost. I breezed through this read and would absolutely recommend it to anyone who wants something queer, cozy, and easy to digest (Even when there's hauntings and death involved).

My only issues with the storyline are the last chunk which felt out of place after what I thought would have been a nice place to end the story. Without spoiling anything, the additional plot line at the end was quite rushed and I didn't find it added much to the plot.

It’s hard to write this review personally because I was expecting so much but was left feeling disappointed.

The premise for this sounded like it would break my heart completely and I was ready to be devastated ok. A ghost who’s in love with a living person? Devastating right? Also throw in that this an LGBTQ graphic novel, I’m SOLD! Unfortunately there’s just not much here to work with.

I will start with some positives first,I truly loved the color scheme in this book. It was very captivating and calming, the art was also really cute!

That’s as far as it goes in positives for me because we’re not really told much information about any characters. All we know about Hamal is that he’s a gardener who can see ghosts. All we know about Blue is that well,he’s a ghost. I truly would’ve loved to know more about each character even just a little. Especially Blue, like idk maybe his past life as a human and how he died (even though it was told how he did in fact die it was just jokingly mentioned not much detail).

I would’ve also loved to have seen Hamals and Blues relationship blossom. When we meet them Blue immediately let’s the reader know how he feels about Hamal. We don’t get to see how his feelings came to be or vice versa.

As stated earlier the premise was such a good idea but the execution left much to be desired.

I'm absolutely in love with this book. It's a short and easy read, like graphic novels tend to be (to me), and despite dealing with a heavy topic like death, it's a gentle read. Such a fun work, both the narrative and the art style, it caught me by surprise in many ways, though in special the fact that one of my favorite characters was the Grim Reaper, basically. I'd read so much more of this universe, about the characters, yeah, but also the Reaper narrating stories of necromancers, because I feel like a romance novel buff Grim Reaper as a narrator would SLAP. The fact that LGBTphobia isn't one of the moving points of the plot was also very refreshing to me; it's something I've been seeing more often in LGBTQ books, since I've decided to mostly read queer books by queer authors, but it still barely compares to the lifetime of media written by and for cisgender, allo heterosexuals where queer people's only problem is LGBTphobia. I'm barely awake now, to be honest, but I read this book real quick and I wanted to write those things down before forgetting them.,

[reviewed through Netgalley]

As many have already stated, the art was absolutely gorgeous, the story was short, cute, and compelling.

However, I feel as though this graphic novel, like many others, falls victim to pacing issues. The novel felt rushed at times, making it difficult to understand things like the passing of time, or even key events in the plot.

I think the magic system of the book was quite interesting, but given the story being so short it left far too many unanswered questions. For example, I didn't understand whether everyone had access to this magic, or even if everyone knew of its existence. It was simultaneously treated as normal and abnormal.

Many of the magic elements were left unexplained, and it became up to the reader to guess how things happen. I would have loved to learn more about the magic system, and I'm sure it would've increased my personal enjoyment of the story tenfold.

I also would've enjoyed to see a bit more of the romance unfolding and developing between the love interests. It felt like we were being told of their love rather than shown.

I also would've enjoyed to see the author expand on the themes of loneliness that were briefly touched upon near the beginning.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I am excited to see what more they come out with.

Taproot was such an enjoyable graphic novel! The art is gorgeous and I really loved the ensemble of characters! My only critique is that I wish it was a little longer and had more backstory/details of the characters history. But overall the plot is easy enough to follow and very creative and fun.

Oni Press is quickly becoming my favourite comic/graphic novel publisher, I have yet to read something from them I didn’t adore!

*This review contains some spoilers*

Taproot follows Hamal, a gardener who can see ghosts, and Blue, a ghost who exists between the worlds of the living and the dead. When Blue realises that Hamal’s ability to see ghosts is putting him in danger, he acts quickly to protect the person he loves.

The art is stunning, and the story is so special and unique. I particularly loved the scene where in order to restore balance, Hamal places the plant inside Blue’s chest - the art here is especially beautiful.

I really loved the concept while reading, but the impact of this story really hit me while reading the afterword. The author explains the reasoning behind giving Blue his life back was to undo the wrongs of the media queer people consumed whenever we tried to see ourselves represented and all we got was suffering and death, with very little chance of a happy ending. What a powerful message.

Overall, a fantastic graphic novel! Thank you to Oni Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

A very sweet, charming queer graphic novel with simply the most beautiful artwork. I appreciated the cooperation as opposed to resistance storyline, and really loved seeing the body diversity in the characters - I feel like that's something we see even less in graphic novels than we do in prose fiction.

I would definitely buy myself a copy.

Thank you to NetGallery for the ARC

I love this graphic novel!! I had already read it when it first came out in 2019, and I really enjoyed rereading it (even though I was hoping for a sequel). The art is absolutely gorgeous, and the love story is adorable. I love the combination of romance with the paranormal themes, it makes such a fun story that leave you wanting more. Overall, it is a lovely read with the cutest characters, totally worth it. (Rating is more like a 4.5)

Spanish review -
Muchas gracias a NetGallery por la copia avanzada.
¡Amo esta novela gráfica!! Ya la había leído cuando salió por primera vez en 2019 y me encanto releerla (a pesar de que pensaba que iba a ser la secuela que siempre quede esperando). El arte es absolutamente precioso, y el romance es adorable. Me encanta la combinación de romance con lo paranormal, forman un balance muy divertido y te dejan con ganas de más. En general es una maravilla leerla, vale totalmente la pena. (La calificación final es un 4.5)

Taproot is a super cute LGBT+ graphic novel! I love the art style in this, the artist has done fanart for Voltron that I recognized because the characters reminded me of Hunk and Lance! But this is an original story that ends way better than Voltron did. I really liked how the Reaper was portrayed in this, although the resolution almost felt a little too easy. Big TW for bugs!

Do you like gardening, ghosts, and otherworldly adventure? This book has all of that. It has a casually witchy vibe that allows the reader to still believe in the events taking place. I loved the artwork and the intermingling of dimensions/worlds. The lack of gutter and cutting images creates a beautiful cohesion.

Such a cute story and so beautifully drawn!! I had a ton of fun reading this one and I found the characters to be relatable, sweet, and intriguing. I adore a good ghost story and this one was extra special. Overall just a fun story with compelling details - I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a lovely queer graphic novel!

People think Hamal is weird because he talks to himself so often.
They'd probably find him even weirder if they knew he is talking to ghosts.

Sweet, short, beautifully illustrated.
This was awesome, maybe too short. Could have easyly read something four times this size. And other jobs are mentioned, so I hope we'll be getting more in the future!

... zomb-bees is an amazing pun that made me laugh out loud and not many things do that.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

cute, creepy, wholesome, artistically gorgeous and delightfully queer, Taproot is a lovely, heartwarming paranormal romance. blue and hamal’s interactions are adorable and the side characters are brought to life beautifully by the gorgeous art and sharp dialogue. however, the side characters felt a bit underused and some portions of the narrative move at a too brisk pace, feeling rushed and underdeveloped but the story is simply delightful and charming nonetheless.

3.75/5 stars.

I requested this book on a whim because the cover art is gorgeous and I was pleasantly surprised that it automatically approved. NetGalley is a magical place. Taproot is a short, sweet graphic novel about Hamal, a gardener who can see ghosts. He has a stronger bond with a mischievous ghost boy named Blue, who stirs up trouble with a reaper- threatening his existence as a ghost. I thought that the plot moved really fast and that there definitely could’ve been more to it but the ending was just so warm and fuzzy and perfect that I just can’t complain. This is such a lovely book!!!

3.5 stars

A little rushed at times, but ghost found family! 🥺 Recommended for readers looking for queer fantasy graphic novels.

Wow. I can't believe I hadn't heard of this graphic novel before now. It has everything one could want - beautiful artwork, a plot that keeps things moving, and characters that make me want to read more. Blue and Hamal are fantastic, and Blue especially is a great narrator for the majority of the story. This is definitely going on my to-buy list, and I can't wait to read Young's other comic series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

Beautiful.
This delightful graphic novel is about a ghost and gardener who have known each other for a while. Strange things are happing to Blue and the other ghosts in town as they discover what the reason for that is.

This is the first story Young has written and while it might not have the tightest plot and some scene transitions are not clear enough in terms of time passed or starting/ending a new chapter, you can absolutely follow it and just enjoy the experience of two magical brown men falling in love.

The art is stunning. We have rich colours and detailed, rough backgrounds everywhere. The characters are consistent across each page, their facial expressions varied (and so funny at times!), the design choices well chosen. It is beautiful to look at and fits perfectly into a story that is about life and death without getting too serious. The setting in a flower shop worked out well, too: it showcased Young's artistic abilities and it adds another layer to Hamal's personality as a kindhearted, soft individual.

You can tell Blue and Hamal mean a lot too each other and I liked them together very much. But I think my favourite character is the meddlesome character that gets introduced half-way through, he worked as the perfect balance to round the story out.

So this might be a little rough around the edges but I cannot wait to check out more of their work as there is so much potentional in this one.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was quick, sweet, and intriguing the whole way through. The Art was gorgeous as well.