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A review by katharine_opal
Taproot: A Story About A Gardener and A Ghost by Keezy Young
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!
Taproot is the story about Blue and Hamal. Hamal is a florist who also has the ability to see ghosts, while Blue is a ghost himself. Blue has realized, that he's in love with Hamal, and Hamal just might love him back. But strange events start happening to the local ghosts and the town they live in, and it's up to Hamal and Blue to try and fix it. First off, I wanted to say how much I love the art style of this graphic novel. It feels warm and cozy and reminds me of the softness that Ghilbi films can have. I also thought the artist's style looked strangely familiar, then I realized I follow this artist on Tumblr! Had no idea they had put out a graphic novel! I also really liked the attention paid to the background of scenes; I feel like a lot of artists try to get away with never drawing backgrounds. (I don't blame them, backgrounds and perspectives are hard!) But I found myself stopping just to drink in all the little details. I also love the design of the town they are in! What a cozy town! The story itself I really liked. A florist who sees ghosts! A ghost in love with a living person! How interesting! However, the pacing felt a little...off? It felt oddly quick to me. I feel like that has a lot to do with having a certain page limit in graphic novels. The scene leading to the ending felt a bit out of place as well? I think it was supposed to be an epilogue of sorts, but it felt more like the story had already ended, but the author said "Wait we still have pages left!". Also, the relationship between Hamal and Blue is so sweet. I could honestly feel the connection between them and the resulting chemistry. I also love that even though they fight, they do reconcile and actually talk out their problems! None of the dumb misunderstandings for no reason! Thank goodness! I do like "Taproot", even though the pacing is slightly off. I'm a sucker for a good queer romance, and this is one of them!
Taproot is the story about Blue and Hamal. Hamal is a florist who also has the ability to see ghosts, while Blue is a ghost himself. Blue has realized, that he's in love with Hamal, and Hamal just might love him back. But strange events start happening to the local ghosts and the town they live in, and it's up to Hamal and Blue to try and fix it. First off, I wanted to say how much I love the art style of this graphic novel. It feels warm and cozy and reminds me of the softness that Ghilbi films can have. I also thought the artist's style looked strangely familiar, then I realized I follow this artist on Tumblr! Had no idea they had put out a graphic novel! I also really liked the attention paid to the background of scenes; I feel like a lot of artists try to get away with never drawing backgrounds. (I don't blame them, backgrounds and perspectives are hard!) But I found myself stopping just to drink in all the little details. I also love the design of the town they are in! What a cozy town! The story itself I really liked. A florist who sees ghosts! A ghost in love with a living person! How interesting! However, the pacing felt a little...off? It felt oddly quick to me. I feel like that has a lot to do with having a certain page limit in graphic novels. The scene leading to the ending felt a bit out of place as well? I think it was supposed to be an epilogue of sorts, but it felt more like the story had already ended, but the author said "Wait we still have pages left!". Also, the relationship between Hamal and Blue is so sweet. I could honestly feel the connection between them and the resulting chemistry. I also love that even though they fight, they do reconcile and actually talk out their problems! None of the dumb misunderstandings for no reason! Thank goodness! I do like "Taproot", even though the pacing is slightly off. I'm a sucker for a good queer romance, and this is one of them!