Book Title: Taproot
Author: Keezy Young
Release Date: July 5th, 2022
Genres: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, LGTBQ+
My rating: 4/5 Stars
Synopsis:
“It’s a pleasure to lose yourself in the beautiful artwork, and one of the loveliest queer romances I’ve ever read.” — K. O’Neil, author of The Tea Dragon Society
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.
When Blue realizes Hamal’s strange ability may be putting him in danger, Blue has to find a way to protect him–even if it means leaving him.
My Review:
Taproot is a magical story that completely sucks you in. Since it’s a graphic novel, and a short one at that, it’s incredibly easy to read the entire thing in one sitting, which is what I did. From start to finish, I was completely enraptured with the story and stunning artwork. I kept turning and turning the pages until the next thing I knew, I’d finished all of it.
While I enjoyed every aspect of Taproot, my favorite part was definitely the artwork. I love graphic novels for several reasons, but seeing stories told in different styles of art is so neat to me. Since this one took place in a garden store, there were tons of plants illustrated throughout, and I was so impressed with the amount of detail in each greenery. There were times when I swore I could smell what was happening on the page, or if I just reached out and touched it, I’d be able to feel the texture. The forest was also incredible. I won’t say much about that part cause of spoilers, but it was perfectly creepy and atmospheric.
Watching Hamal and Blue’s relationship develop was very sweet. It was so obvious how much Blue cared for Hamal and vice versa, though it was also tinged in sadness since Blue is a ghost. I thought it was neat the way their past was explained, and their present explored, without taking away too much from the overall plot of the story.
My only wish is that Taproot had been a little longer. I would’ve liked a little more development on certain aspects of the world and the different friendships. Since it was so short, though, I do feel that the development we were given was entirely satisfactory. I do hope we get a sequel at some point, though, cause I’d love to see Hamal and Blue working together like they were at the end!
So, even though I wish it had been longer, I overall really loved this graphic novel and would definitely recommend it!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Preorder it at: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million
Check out my last blog post: A Little Bit Country (ARC Review)
Sounds cute. Thanks for sharing!
It was super cute! I definitely recommend it
This seems like a fun read! Great review!
Thank you! It was really fun!