I’m never disappointed with this author’s stories.
A heartfelt tale about a young person doing their best to find their place in the world. This story focuses on self doubt, and burn out. It’s gorgeously illustrated, unsurprisingly, but it also is melancholy in a way none of their other books seem to be. All of their books have this utter stillness that pulls you in and tackles big feelings but this one in particular hit differently. It mentions in the notes at the beginning that quarantine played a big role in the feelings and themes and I definitely see that.
All in all another lovely story.

A lovely story with soft and vibrant art which introduces readers to world where moths must be carefully tended during the night in order to help provide for a village of people dependent on them pollinating a special tree.

A very nice story, well worth picking up and sharing in a children's collection.

This was very sweet, similar in tone to Aquicorn Cove and the Tea Dragon series. If you like K. O’Neill’s other graphic novels for kids, you are sure to enjoy this one as well.

The Moth Keeper is a lovely book, and I adore O’Neill’s art. This is wonderful fantasy for upper elementary and middle grade readers. I’ve already recommended it to my school library.

3.75 stars
A solid middle grade graphic novel read. Anya lives in a nocturnal village that depends on the moon moths keeping a tree strong. She is taking over a new job - to watch over the moths and get them to safety before the sunrises every morning. It is very lonely and she starts to yearn to be a part of the neighboring sun village, where everyone stays up all day and sleeps at night.
While I am not a big video game player, my younger brother played hours of final fantasy when we were kids, and the characters reminded me of that game. The story is sweet and simple, there is some light LGBT rep (the characters aren't entirely human, but two "male" mentors are in a relationship), and the illustrations are beautiful. A soft, soothing story for graphic novel fans.
Ages 8-11

"Magic's a wild thing. It only flows when life is left to exist in its own natural way."

The Moth Keeper focuses on Anya, a small fox-girl who takes over as the primary carer for the moths who have kept the Night Village alive and thriving through the years. It's a solitary and lonely job and Anya realizes quickly that while caring for the moths, she also needs to care for herself.

This was an absolutely wonderful graphic novel! K. O'Neill hit it out of the park again with their art and beautiful story. The Moth Keeper was so much about isolation, mental health, and burnout - as much as it's focus was on a magical pairing of two villages, one who lives in the light and the other who lives in the dark. The ending gave me chills and I thoroughly enjoyed this read!

The Moth Keeper is an easy five stars to give. With beautiful art, a heart-warming story, and a lasting magic, I can see this being a great graphic novel for all ages to read and experience!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Graphics for providing me with a copy for an honest review.

A sweet story that echoes feelings of responsibility and burnout in a way that will be legible to young readers.

I SCREAMED WHEN I GOT APPROVED FLR THIS CAUSE I LOVED THE TEA DRAGON SERIESSS!!! the art style is so beautiful and the story telling is so cute and heartfelt!!!

I deeply enjoyed all the Tea Dragon book so was quick to request this ARC. The comic tells the story of Anya as she takes care of the night moths. This was a lovely story but not as vivid or immersive as the tea dragon society to me. Some of the decisions such as why the moth position was set up as it was or why the day and night societies were separate made no sense to me. I get why some individuals went from day to night, but not why both weren’t more connected. Middle school age readers may be less concerned with this and are likely to be taken in by the world building and the moral of needing support and friends. The art was soft and lovely, and the desert was very well done.

A lovely, luminous, heartwarming story, with gorgeously soft, expressive art and a delicately heartfelt story. Quintessential K. O'Neill - I adore their Tea Dragon books, and The Moth Keeper is perfectly in keeping with what makes those books so great, with a wholesome sweetness that is earnest and earned. Also, I just love moths? And Joshua trees?? And reminders that you can't do everything alone and we can all support each other better and not burn ourselves out trying to be perfect?? So... just a fantastic book all round, really.

K. O'Neill delivers us yet another exquisitely illustrated and hauntingly told graphic novel.

In a fantastical landscape with owl-people and moon moths and cultures intensely tuned into each other and their environments, young Anya wants to be the next moth keeper so that she can finally be sure she's worthy of her place in the village. But she's also consumed with restlessness and wonders if things would be different if she lived in the sun village and lived her life in the daytime instead of in the cool, quiet of the night village. Just when it seems that the desires pulling her in different directions will unravel her precarious life, disaster strikes, and Anya must find it in her herself to help the moon moths -- and a lonely lost spirit -- find their way home.

Filled with complex emotions and themes, the deftness of visual characterization and worldbuilding is simply astonishing. While both the sun and moon villages are built firmly on kindness and interdependency, the storyline doesn't shy away from the realities of depression, trauma, and burn out. The ultimate message of social connection and inherent worth in each individual is deeply comforting in times like these.

If you have read the tea dragon series of books by K. O’Neill, then you have experienced the sort of stories that they write. Full of wit, and beauty, and a quiet sadness. These are world where fox girls keep track of moths, so that their moon village can survive. It is a world where sun villages are whole different places. And it is a world where being the moth keeper is solitary job, where you are alone under a sea of stars, with only your lantern to light the way and guide the moths.

Anya loves being out in the desert, but she wants to be so perfect, that it is eating away at her.

I love seeing into the world that the author has built. I love the care they have taken to build this world, so much so that they based it on the Joshua tree, that can only be pollinated by one particular moth.

The pictures are so fantastic, you almost feel as though you were out in this desert with Anya.
A full five stars.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

I'm a big fan of Kay O'Neill's work and this one met all my expectations. The dreamy illustrations and storyline, gorgeous setting and endearing characters make such an enjoyable read for kids and adults alike. You just want to live in this nocturnal community, watched over by the Moon-Spirit and sustained by the Night Flower tree. The story follows the apprentice Moth Keeper, Anya. She has friends, but is a lonely soul. Her solitude with only the moths for company encourages philosophical musings. "If my lantern went out right now . . . would I even exist anymore?" There's a gentle sadness in this book, but also joy and the feeling of finding home.

This was a simply adorable story! Anya's journey was something I will remember for quite sometime. I adore most if not all of O'Neill's work but this takes the cake. This was a wondrous and fantastical journey that was only enhanced by the illustrations. It's easy to win me over with graphic novels this gorgeous Overall I rate this a 5/5.

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Lovely and meaningful. I adore all of O'Neill's work, and The Moth Keeper is just as soft and magical as the rest.

TW: child abandonment

A beautifully drawn and plotted graphic novel that managed to inter splice strong thematic elements and keep up great entertainment value.

I just didn’t care for this story. I couldn’t make myself finish it. I didn’t care for the illustrations, wasn’t crazy about the characters, and had trouble connecting to the story. I know others love everything this author publishes, but I just couldn’t seem to “get in” to this world. Sorry.