With beautiful artwork and a cozy story, I really enjoyed reading this ARC from NetGalley and Oni Press. I really enjoyed the balance of life and death through the story. The little extras at the end in the design progress was really neat to see as a fellow artist.

A story about new beginnings and second chances. Sweet and profound with extremely loveable characters. Beautiful writing and gorgeous illustrations. 10/10 would recommend for a nice rainy evening with a cup of tea. 🌼🌱

Taproot is a queer, feel good, beautiful work of art. I instantly fell in love with Blue and Hamal. Hamal works at a garden shop and can talk to/see ghosts, Blue is a ghost and is Hamal's best friend. I felt instantly drawn into the world.

Taproot was just a breath of fresh air to read. Everything from the art style, colour choices to that ending!

I'd happily recommend Taproot to anyone looking for an adorable comic to read while snuggled up under a blanket with hot tea.

TW/CW: Death, Grief, Child Death, Car Accident, Blood, Bugs

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Taproot is a short and sweet graphic novel about Hamal, a gardner with the ability to see ghosts, and his relationship with Blue, a ghost.
Although the plot is quite simple, ultimately Taproot is a story about life, love and loss.
The artwork is absolutely stunning and captivating, with bright colors and incredible scenery.
It is the perfect book to go back to and enjoy over and over.

The story follows Hamal a Gardner and Blue a ghost, I initially decided to read this graphic novel because of the art style. . Overall the book was good, however, I wish it was longer. Often it felt rushed and sometimes segmented. I think the flow could've been better, but the story as well as the artwork made it so cute and a quick, easy read.

3.5 stars!

this was such a cute, wholesome graphic novel! i have to say i requested it on a whim because the cover is gorgeous. the art style is so aesthetically pleasing – it’s very soft, in a way. the landscapes and the way the artist drew nature left me completely in awe. the plot itself was cute – a love story between a gardener and a ghost. there’s also a grim reaper that appears at some point and i think that’s my favourite character, he’s just so sassy. hamal and blue were very interesting as main characters, especially hamal – he can see ghosts! they were just so loveable together. this graphic novel is simply amazing. my only critique would be that i wished the book was a bit longer and the story felt a bit rushed – especially the way they resolve the main conflict.

Very cute story about a gardener and his ghost boy! Lovely art style with a touching short story. Was a little confusing towards the middle, but easy to look past. 4.5 stars

4 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
The synopsis:
Blue has been living as a ghost for a year when he meets Hamal, a beautiful and sweet gardener who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. Together, their friendship develops into something more, but being a ghost, Blue can never truly be connected with Hamal.
My review:
I really liked the explorations thea author makes in this book. Although it was sad in some part it made me feel really cozy and relaxed in others.
The characters being queer and the easiness in it all, made me very happy. It was lovely graphic novel and I think if the author releases another book I will definitely check it out.
My only critique was that the book felt a little short because of the pacing but maybe it was because I really enjoy slow to middle paced stories.

A queer (mlm) story about a Ghost, a Gardener and a mystery.

This graphic novel was uber cute and wholesome and the art is amazing.

Halfway through I was sure I was going to give it 5 stars, but then things started happening a bit too fast. The conflict was resolved within a blink of an eye and I had to check that I hadn't accidentally skipped a few pages.

Maybe don't read this for the mystery element, but if you love queer love and paranormal wholesomeness, this is the graphic novel for you!

This graphic novel knitted every piece of my heart back together.

I actually got this for my brother a while back but had never read it myself. I’m so glad I finally did. This book is so wholesome, so queer and heartwarming and the illustration is an absolute joy to go through.

The storyline is unique and only grows stronger throughout, if you like cute ghosts and gardening with a side of spooky this is probably for you.

The colour pallets are so gorgeous and vivid, with a similar vibrancy to The Tea Dragon Society .

Just go read this, it’s a wholesome warm hug with a cup of tea in graphic novel form.

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

TW’s listed below (skip if you don’t want vague spoilers)



Tw// mentions of death, grief.

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!!!

3.5

GAY PANIC!!!

Taproot follows the story of Hamal, a gardener and Blue, a ghost. We see their relationship blossom amidst a mystery that might end them both.
The artwork here is wonderful. It's saturated with vibrant colours. Most of the characters are likable with relatable mannerisms.
My only critique here is that the story feels as little rushed.

A Huge thank you to Netgalley and Oni press for providing me with this book.

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.