Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Taproot: A Story About A Gardener and A Ghost

light and cute. i think it’s a good story and could’ve been longer and gone into more detail. it’s a good standalone but i’d love if it was revisited later for sequels or something (maybe a cartoon 👀) because the groundwork has been laid and it leaves you wanting more. The characters are great and overall i think keezy young killed it.

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rickireadss's review against another edition

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4.0

super cute graphic novel. really good illustrations! i loved the reaper, and the permit bit had me laughing. also the BIPOC rep made me really happy :)

⚠️: death, child death, grief, car accident, terminal illness, blood

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thereaderfriend's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Warm, cozy, soulful, beautiful <3 a new favorite :)

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careinthelibrary's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I wanted to love this one but I only liked it. Cute, liked the art style and the gentle vibes. Wish there was more substantial story and that the side characters were developed more.

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literarypenguin's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Taproot is such an adorable and lovely written and drawn graphic novel! The colors and drawings are so great, especially the character designs!

Taproot is a story of a gardener named Hamal who communicates with ghosts including his best friend a ghost named Blue. Blue has trouble moving on and admitting his feelings for Hamal and Hamal has trouble accepting his powers and losing these ghosts that he has come to call his friends. All of these characters have so much sass and the interactions between them easily make this book so much more enjoyable! Though at times I did feel like we should have gotten more of the background characters and their development. I loved the relationship between Hamal and Blue and felt like it was genuine and caring. I did believe that they cared about each other and their friendship turned into something more.

I did feel like the pacing was a bit off at times, especially toward the end and towards the end, and it made it harder for me to figure out the story at the end. I felt like I didn't know where the story was headed at the end because things moved by very quickly. The drawings were so beautiful and great to look at! I loved how the Reaper was drawn and the land of the dead was also amazing too! There was just a bit of information about the land of the dead but not too much enough to help us understand the story.

I do very much recommend this sweet and touching graphic novel just for the fact of how much I loved Blue and Hamal! The drawings and story were pretty awesome as well!

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amieco's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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ezwolf's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A very lovely and sweet story about a necromancer gardener and his ghostly boyfriend and their gaggle of plants and ghostly friends. No need to worry about an unhappy ending though! A different take on necromancy and reapers from what I usually come across and I love it.

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bookishflower's review against another edition

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funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Studio Ghibli meets Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas.
I had the best time reading this listening to the Spirited Away soundtrack, I don't know why I never read graphic novels before this year?!
This was an incredibly wholesome, queer, funny and innately human graphic novel following the love story between a ghost and the gardener who can unusually see him.
(I'm in love with the reaper who is just as supportive of the ship as the reader, an icon).
If you want an easy, fast-paced read to fill that heartstopper ache, read Taproot!

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