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!

Hamal works at a plant nursery, where the boss see him as odd for talking to himself. He's in fact not talking to himself but the ghosts that visit,who are hovering around and trying to get his attention through the day. One ghost in particular appears to be a close friend, possibly a love interest—but one trying to keep enough distance between them to leave room for Hamal to develop relationships with living people. The problem is that Hamal really wants to further develop his relationship with that ghost, called Blue.

Meanwhile, there's a mysterious ghost forest, a sassy grim reaper, and unfinished business to figure out. The characters skip through the death-themed plot toward a happy romantic ending full of life.

Multiple aspects of the art and story bothered me. While most of the illustrations were lovely, the title art is no more than blobs of one color in the vague shape of letters is one. A recurring character, Chloe, is monochrome like a ghost—only with a different color—for no apparent reason. The forest's connection to Hamal and Blue was very confusing, and so was the final plot twist involving a tree. The second story within the book flowed better on its own but felt like an extra to the longer book that should have existed. I feel that the main story could be complete with 100 more pages.

However, this graphic novel was originally published in the middle of 2015. Do you remember what else happened around the same time? Among other relevant events, same-sex (and same-gender) marriage was legalized nationally in the USA. That's relevant, because this graphic book is the some of the earliest fiction I can think of that shows two men married in a contemporary setting. It's an implied details that could be overlooked by a reader not paying close enough attention, but it's there in the art. The story also offers, in my opinion, one of the best representations of a bisexual main characters in American graphic literature. Even more, much if not all of the cast are minority character types within mainstream publishing.

Readers of LGBTQ+ Fantasy have in recent years enough choices to be a little pickier than we did in the past, but even with its narrative flaws, this book is worth a look.

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.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Keezy Young and Oni Press for providing me with this graphic novel. Everything written below are my own thoughts on the novel.

I downloaded this book today, thinking that it would be a short and cute read, and I was right. This book revolves around Hamal and his life with a bunch of ghosts, one of them being Blue. I enjoyed the graphics, though I did not fully understand the context/plot because of the lack of (many) pages of the arc I downloaded via NetGalley. Despite that, the scenery and the author's illustrations were spectacular, embellished with the use of a lively palette and many species of flowers.

Taproot is a mixture of a cute and uncanny graphic novel about Hamal; a gardener who realises that he can communicate with ghosts, and Blue, who is a ghost that followed Hamal back to his home. Their relationship does not develop slowly but rather quickly. It kind of felt like this was the sequel of the first book and not the first book of a series. Which was disappointing because it had a potential.

"I didn't used to mind being dead. It was a little lonely, sure. You watch the world pass by but you're not a part of it."

(bestie, im not even dead but preach.)

It took me 40 minutes to read this graphic novel, because I love appreciating every little detail on each page but it might take shorter for others to read. I must say, the story was a little bit rushed. I have read graphic novels under 140 pages which told more of a story than this book did, so that was one less star from me. I could not connect with the characters and we didn't even have background context of some of the ghosts' lives which could've proved to be useful. We should also keep in mind that many of the pages were missing in my e-arc, hence, I cannot know for sure. Apologies if my review looks disorganised!! So is my life :')