The art is lovely. The color palette truly captures the desert sprit. The textures are palpable. The story is sweet. K O'Neill has yet again done an amazing job at creating a tender and rich world that captivates readers eyes and hearts.

**Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

An incredibly sweet J/YA read about hope, friendship, community, nature, and personal growth. A joyful experience and one that I recommend for all readers.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

Published copy read and reviewed-borrowed from Library.

The art in the first few pages were a bit jarring for me. It was hard to decipher what is going on in the world but that quickly corrected itself a few pages after that.

Anya has been assigned to take over the care of the Moon Moths, the most important task in all the village. The moths keep the tree and it's Night Lily alive and in turn keeps the village alive. It's a lonely task and is hard on the caretaker.

The art is actually really pretty and the story was full of emotion and longing. There are actually several threads in the story and it was interesting to see how they all intertwined. It was all very beautiful and would absolutely recommend that you pick it up.

I've read everything K. O'Neill has written and I must say this is a new favorite. The story and art are just so beautiful. I loved the journey we went on with our moth keeper, and this will be a story that sticks with me for a long time, and one I will always recommend.

This was gorgeous, the art told the story and it was sunning. I loved every second of this Graphic Novel. The story is just as beautiful and touches your heart and warms you up.
I'm so grateful for an arc copy . I'd definitely be buying this when it comes out.

Cute, and I’m a mood-child so I loved everything about the Moon-Spirit and Moon-Moths, but I didn’t care for the protagonist or her friend. I think I would’ve liked this more if the story was focused on the older Moon Keeper instead, or the ghost girl, but apparently this is middle-grade (which I somehow didn’t realize until seeing the tags) so I guess that wouldn’t work for the target audience! Speaking of the artwork, it isn’t exactly my style but I loved the color palette!

K. O’Neill is a warm hug of a writer. They know how to make you feel so many feels in such a short book. Their story building and world building are amazing. I look forward to more from this author.

This story touched my soul and spread light in the dark of some of my own personal thoughts.

I absolutely loved this lovely graphic novel. If you are looking for beautiful graphic with a great narrative, look no farther. I know this book with be very popular with my middle school students. I will definitely be purchasing a copy for the library.

Beautifully graphed story, stitched together harmoniously in such a way that it flowed easily across the pages creating the world the author envisioned for the reader to become immersed in. Hard to put it down.

Though it was slow to pick up and there are some stuttering points, the overall feeling of the story had a much needed weight to it. The responsibility, the importance of somethings matters. It's a subtle message that will settle and linger long after the book is finished.

Between the characters and the amazing graphics reminiscent of my favorite Studio Ghibli films, this book will be a story that I will find myself returning to read over and over again.

** Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion **

The Moth Keeper by K. O'Neill does not disappoint! This beautiful story shows compassion, love, and friendship. Great for all readers with wonderful illustrations!

In an odd way, this is a little hard for me to review. Not because it wasn't amazing (it was) and beautifully illustrated (it is), but because I'm not even sure how to describe the feeling it gave me. Something old and familiar, like nostalgia, but still new, and promising. I saw a lot of my own fears & feelings mirrored in Anya, and I wish this had existed when I was kid - the powerful themes of loneliness, isolation, community, and learning to find ones' place would've been a great comfort back then. As it is, even as a long-grown adult, it still is. I still see pieces of myself in the story and characters. I think most people would. I wish there'd been a little more to it though. I almost feel like I've gotten a teaser, and I now I need more.

Anya is proud to finally be a Moth Keeper, but quickly learns the weight of her responsibilities. Being Moth Keeper in the night village means spending many nights alone and isolated from her friends. The threat to the moths challenges Anya to rise to the task of protecting the moths and preserving the lamps and the night village.

This is a beautifully-illustrated book. The wordless cells were used to an aesthetically pleasing and dramatic effect. I would have liked to see the supporting characters fleshed out more, however. I would recommend this to patrons looking for new fantasy titles.

I an unable to review this title, as it was archived before I had a chance to download and read it. This feedback is only to stop this title from adversely affecting my netgalley feedback rate. If in the future I have the opportunity to read this title, I will post a proper review here.

The Moth Keeper was a beautiful middle grade graphic novel about friendship, community, and having the courage to pursue greater things--even when they go against the flow of the current. I really loved the art of this novel, and found both the layout and illustrations to be both captivating and enmeshed with the story beautifully. The characters were also great, and I really liked the story that was told.

Once again, K. O'Neill weaves a lyrical and unique fantasy story around picturesque illustrations. Like the Tea Dragon books, I loved how striking and original the storytelling and the art both were. They really created a world that I want to live in, while at the same time reflecting issues that are faced in the real world. I look forward to reading many more books by this author in the future.

If you want an excellent example of lunar-punk, this is it!

This fantasy graphic novel is about a tribe of people who are awake at night and sleep during the day, living by the rhythms and patterns of the desert at night. The main character is the newly appointed "moth keeper" acting as a moth herder to the very special moths that make sure certain pollination happens that will ensure the whole life cycle keeps spinning. Its a big responsibility and there are ups and downs as the characters both hold onto tradition and learn to embrace some new ideas.

And the color palette is stunning.

The night scenes deftly capture the night sky, moon glow, stars shinning, crickets chirping, cold night winds and warm crackling fires. It captures just how dark and empty a desert can be but also shows how alive it is and never muddies the reader's view.

The day scenes burn with bright desert sunshine, you can almost feel the baking heat but also appreciate the delicate petals blossoming, hear the music playing, and see how gorgeous the setting can be flooded by the sun.

Having previously enjoyed K. O’Neill’s previous work, I was very excited to see what would be waiting in these pages. I was not disappointed.

Anya is a character who you can find yourself in. She does her very best to stay composed, keep her head above water, but underneath it all is struggling with so much self doubt, anxiety and the self-imposed need to keep up appearances. We’ve all had moments like this, if not a constant stream of living in it, if, like me, you are often masking to fit in. I had a lot of empathy for her and her story, finding myself quite emotional at times.

As in O’Neill’s other works, there is a lot of representation present in this graphic novel, and the way it touches on themes like living with a disability at a young age, as this is something I could have done with seeing when reading in my early years of being sick. Estell uses a walking stick and talks at one point about the difficulties in making friends as a disabled child, and this is something which is so important, both from being represented as a disabled person, and also being encouraged to stop and think as an able bodied child, parent and / or adult.

The mythology created surrounding the moths is truly touching, and is as beautiful as the art. It carries the story as a constant theme throughout, allowing you to become fully engaged in something immediately, wanting to know more as the story progresses. As Anya starts to struggle and then searches for a way to redeem herself, the moths accompany her on her journey.

O’Neill’s art style is gorgeous, combining glimpses of the world around us and wonders of their own imagination to create something truly breathtaking, warm and inviting. It feels like the reading equivalent of drinking a mug of your favourite tea; cosy and happy.

Being the Moth Keeper is a lonely task, but Anya wants this. She had her reasons that she wants to protect the moths and prove herself to the village that adopted her. Her friend astutely notices though that Anya might be struggling, but the master Moth Keeper is thankful to spend time with his beloved again that he misses it. Anya explores the day, faces flashbacks, looses the moths, and finds that this task just might be too big for her. It's quiet and moving in the way K. O'Neill's works are and readers will find something to carry from this tale.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC!

Great title, beautiful art and story, as well as character design and artwork. The story was well told with great transitions as well.

“How could I run off and play in the sun while everyone else is working so hard? If I can’t do the job I promised I would do, what good am I to anyone?”

I was so excited to finally have a new Graphic Novel by O’Neill. The way they creat these worlds were you want to jump into and insert yourself into the story.
This beautiful village under the moon and the stars where our MC Anya has promised to be the keeper of the Moon-moths as they honor the Moon-spirit that gives them the flowers that provide the livelihood they all depend on.

But Anya struggles with the darkness and the loneliness that come with her job. She wants to do whats best for her community but as this takes a toll on her, she finds the breaking point where everyone loses.

This book has such amazing illustrations and the author knows exactly how to balance when to add text and when none is needed. The story flows slowly but you can savor as it unfolds. It has undertones that are a bit darker than her previous work, touching on parental abandonment, loneliness, burnout… but also on how as a community we can work together and support each other. On how a friend can be there and see and intervene when something isn’t going right.