Reviews with content warning for Car accident - Taproot: A Story About A Gardener and A Ghost

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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overbooked207's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

📖 Taproot by Keezy Young Book Review 📖

3rd book of July 2022 and 17th of the year:

This was such a cute, creepy, and atmospheric short graphic novel that’s great for the Halloween season! I loved the art and romance in it, and I recommend picking it up! TW for death, bugs, death of children, and mention of a car accident📚👻🪴♥️

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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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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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kaabtik's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

3.5

Life and death is a balance - a message that Taproot touched on and executed beautifully.

The art is stunning, the color palettes between life and death really driving the point home. I'm a sucker for death as a character and it's no surprise the Reaper was my favorite character. It felt rushed, though, especially the end where I felt there was barely enough time for Blue and Hamal to process the events before having to say goodbye (and hello again). The epilogue/timeskip was nice though, as it explored more on Blue's duties.

There's a lot of potential for this to be made into a series, as I feel like there's a lot more that could be explored.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing me this ARC via NetGalley. This does not in any shape or form influence my review on this book.

Content Warnings

olivia_manes's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

This was such a charming story with some of the most beautiful illustrations! I thought the color scheme really complemented the theme of life/death. As for the plot, I thought it was the perfect premise for a short read such as this one. I do wish we had seen a bit more of Blue and Hamal’s relationship and its progression. The resolution also felt a little rushed, but I really enjoyed the flash forward to what their life looks like a year after! I think I would definitely read this book again when I’m in need for a cozy, magical read.

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belarna's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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