I read this graphic novel on #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book has already published but is being re-released with a brand new (and very cute) cover.

Briefly, the plot centers around a gardener, Hamal, and his best friend Blue. Unfortunately, no-one else can see Blue because he's a ghost. Unfortunately, Hamal is the only one who can see all the neighbourhood ghosts, which leads to awkward, and even dangerous situations! The story is about love, and about the balance between life and death.

Honestly, the best way I can describe the vibe of this book is "Dark & Delightful". It has a spooky forest, necromancy, and some great banter between the characters! The humour in this book was completely up my alley, I enjoyed so many of the quirky details in the story and the art. My absolute favorite thing about this book was the character of the Reaper. Imagine a creepy looking Reaper but she's sassy and strangely tech savvy and that's exactly what you get! In my opinion she absolutely steals every scene that she's in!

Some of the topics it deals with are grief, death, love, and friendship and I think it deals with these heavy topics in a charming way but the concepts could have been explored deeper. Additionally, there were a lot of unanswered questions in the end which left me a bit frustrated. Lastly, although the art style was cute and colourful, sometimes it was a bit hard to see or distinguish.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a wholesome story with a unique storyline.

This book was absolutely adorable! The art style was so beautiful and the character's were all so charming - especially loved the Reaper!! My one complaint is that it felt a little rushed around the resolution with the forest. I feel like it could have benefitted from having another couple pages of explanation. Regardless, I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a sweet, queer romance for the summer.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this graphic novel!

This is a really cute graphic novel about Hamal, a boy who works as a gardener and Blue, his ghost friend! Hamal can see and communicate with ghosts, so they become fast friends and then, so much more than that!

I thought it was really cute! I loved the romance, and the art was amazing as well. I would love to read more about their adventures!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This is a really cute and creepy graphic novel. It follows the love story between Hamal, a gardener and Blue, a ghost, which as one may imagine, is not the easiest. Queer paranormal romance is not a genre i had read before, but it was just heart warming. Their awkward day to day life is broken by the introduction of a reaper searching for a necromancer. The reaper has to be my favourite character - terrifying and sassy - what more could you want! This is a great short read.

The art style is also really great, i think i actually liked the nature pages the most.

The one slightly negative of this graphic novel is that because it is so short, i lost track of the story a little at points which took me out of the experience. But, overall, a very enjoyable read.

The story in this is the cutest! I love the illustrations and characters. I love the new cover design and addition of extra material in the back!

Taproot is a short but joyous tale of a friendship turned budding romance between Hamal and Blue. However, the course of love never runs smooth; in this case things are a little complicated owing to the fact that Blue is a ghost, who can be seen by Hamal, a necromancer-come-gardener, they are unable to make physical contact. When Blue learns Hamal may be in imminent danger, he realises he may have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the man he secretly loves and restore the balance between life and death.

Keezy Young has complimented and enhanced the raw emotion of the story with stunning graphics - the primarily blue- and green-hued pallete perfectly reflects the blending of Hamal's world (green representing nature and life) with Blue's (blue, representing the supernatural and death). There are many panels and full page illustrations that would look beautiful framed and displayed as stand alone art work.

In addition to the strong queer representation, it is worth noting the wide ethnic diversity of the characters; aside from Hamal, who appears to be of Arabic decent, and Blue, who is darker skinned, the supporting and background characters have a range of skin tones, and some are depicted wearing hair coverings or hijabs. Though this should be the norm, it still unfortunately is not, so I felt it was worth noting and celebrating - everyone deserves to see a part of themselves within popular culture!

Overall, this is a lovely, cosy read, and one I will no doubt come back to time and again when I need a little something to warm my heart.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Keezy Young and Oni Press for allowing me to read and enjoy this eARC.

This is such a lovely, melancholy story about life, love and death. The illustrations are simple, but really lively and I especially love the colour scheme the author worked with.
My only quibble is that the conflict gets resolved very quickly and the story is over too fast.

This was absolutely perfect! The artwork was beautiful, the story was beautiful, the romance was beautiful - everything was beautiful and I would love to read more.

I’d like to thank the publishers for sending me an arc through Netgalley!

This.graphic novel’s art style is absolutely gorgeous!! I loved the plus sized MC and the cute little ghosts throughout the story however it lacked any real plot and substance…a fun and quick read!

Taproot by Keezy Young as the cover states is a story about a Ghost and Gardener but is obviously so much more. The story centers around Hamal and his ability to see ghosts specifically a ghost named Blue. For whatever reason Blue hasn’t been able to cross over and he’s developed a friendship/crush on Hamal. Silly banter and talks ensues, but they’re seems to be other forces at work here and things may not be as happy and alright as one assumed. This was a fun, fast paced, cute graphic romance novel with stunning imagery and art. I was constantly enthralled with the pictures as much as the story. It also had me asking myself questions about recent deaths in my life and overall I have to say this was worth the short read, I only wish the author will continue producing more!

This book was the absolute cutest thing ever. The art style is so pretty and the colours were so beautiful. The story is about a ghost blue and a gardener how can see ghost. Their chemistry was so good and I really enjoyed their story. But then I also loved the glimpses you get off the side characters one in particular that I really liked. Blue is really protective over Hamal in the story so when danger is looming over them Blue hopes to keep it from him. Their interactions where so cute as nobody else can see Blue and the other ghost around so Hamal is seen as the “weird” guy that talks to himself which the other ghost make more fun by acting up and throwing things off shelves when he is at work. The book is also written by a queer author and I just love the cutest queer story’s. So if you’re looking for one this is definitely one I recommend.

"There's nothing evil about death, Ghostie."

This is such a cute, warm-hearted story!!!!

What more could you ask for with a sweet, queer, friends to lovers' story!!! Honesty, this is perfect for lovers of Heartstopper!

The illustrations were so beautiful and definitely added to the story. I was mesmerised and just itching to read more!

This paranormal, queer romance should definitely be the next graphic novel that you pick up!

This was about the coziest thing I could imagine reading about ghosts and necromancy. I absolutely love this and will definitely be picking up more from this author/artist!

Disclaimer: I work for a bookstore, all thoughts and opinions are my own and not affiliated with the store or company.
Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for providing me with a digital version of this manga.

A heartwarming story about plants, queer love, and necromancy; what more could you want? This story will remain with me for a long time. I flew through this story and was devastated when it ended as I could read endless stories about the adventures of the main character. The middle of the book definitely had my heart in knots with the plot twist.

While queerness isn't discussed directly in the story, I think that is one of the elements that made this so beautiful. There is no trauma (aside from being dead) revolving around this relationship, which provided for a wholesome story of a queer couple. It felt normalized and the type of happy representation we had more of in the media, as opposed to focusing on pain.

I can understand why some felt that it was a little rushed at times, however, this was not an element that bothered me as it meant that we got the wholesome plot line at the end.

I would also recommend that readers read the afterword by the author. It adds some amazing insight into the creation of the story and how it was created. It also briefly goes into the queer elements of the story and how the author sees themself represented in the characters, Blue specifically. It was amazing to also see a part of the artwork process at the end with the storyboards for the characters. This solidified all of the love that I have for the novel.

Overall, I loved and adored this graphic novel filled with gothic sunshine. I would recommend this to readers of any age for a cute fast read.

Taproot was an absolute joy to read! It's so warm and cute and cozy! I love it so much! I couldn't even wait until I finished it to gush about it to my friend and try to convince her to read it herself. The art is simple and sweet. I adore the colors and composition. The backgrounds and flowers were drawn so beautifully. The panel composition is pretty simple but it reads very fluidly. The formatting kind of reminded me of a web comic with large panels.
The story is very atmospheric and cozy. I would say Taproot is more character driven than plot driven- really it's more vibes than story in the best way! Taproot was amazing and I highly recommend it! I'm definitely going to pick up a physical copy!

This book was so sweet, with the most gorgeous illustrations. The story of Hamal and Blue is touching, and I was hooked immediately into Blue's plight of being in love with Hamal. The second part of the book featuring the dead child felt a little disjointed from the rest of the plot, and the climax was kind of stilted with the reaper letting Blue live and Hamal help them. I wish the two storylines were a bit more intermingled!

4.5 stars.
I thought this was a really good graphic novel. The colours were absolutely exquisite and I kept turning the page to more and more beautiful artwork. The characters were great and, while some of them weren’t fully fleshed out, I loved them all. The reaper was really cool, and I loved how they became a good friend to Blue and Hamal.
I did find the climax a little confusing, and it felt like things weren’t said to the reader when they should have been. I don’t know how it was Hamal’s fault for the dark forest place, and I don’t know how putting a plant in Blue’s chest made it all better. But the good thing about it was, I didn’t mind. Maybe that’s the point, Maybe the point is in the not knowing, and just watching it unfold.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I honestly think it could be a good movie or animated series.

Wow, this is such a cute read!! I really enjoyed the scratchy art style, the colors, the plants, and just, the characters gave me life! If I could read cozy little things like this for the rest of my life, I would be delighted, that said, I feel like this book could have benefitted from a few extra pages focusing on worldbuilding. For example, I think more details on the Necromancy business would have made understanding the conflict easier (I'm still confused). More details on how they fixed the problem would also be very helpful (again, I didn't really understand). I also feel like the timing (passage of time) was something that could have been worked on as well, but it wasn't a huge problem. Honestly, even with these "complaints" I just want more of these two being cute and expanding the business!

This was such a cute warm story about a boy (man?) and a ghost, but it was so much more. Told with the use of graphics, this was a splendid graphical novel, with themes of love, loss and life. It tells the story of a gardener who can see ghosts. I adored the characters. Though it was a quick read, the characters will stay with me for a long time. And the art, what magnificent art. I hope it gets a sequel too. I need to explore the author's other works.
Reread value: 100/100

Thank you to NetGalley, Oni Press, and the author for the ARC.

I've been quietly lusting after this book for a few years, swearing I would read it eventually, and the time is now! I'm so happy it was on "Read Now" because YES, it's every bit as magical and cottagecore-y as I had hoped! Necromancers. Flowers, Boys in love. A Ghibli vibe that is only enhanced by the queerness and plants. What's not to like?? And it's a profound enough to tug at the heart but light and cheerful enough to warm you inside. All in all a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. I'm looking forward to seeing what else the author has to offer, too.