Anya lives in the night-village, where moths gifted by the Moon Spirit help make life easier in the harsh desert. By learning from the current keeper, Yeolen, Anya hopes to become the next Moth-Keeper. She knows how important the job is, and Anya loves taking care of the Moon-Moths. Her friend Estell, who’s training to be an apothecary, has even learned to make moth food. Working together is a vital part of life in the night-village. But as she spends cold nights alone, glimpsing the lives of others during the day, Anya starts to dream of living under the sun.

A chance meeting with folks from the neighboring village shows Anya that yes, life in the sun is warm and easy at times, but heat and light entail their own challenges. Though she pushes herself to keep going, one night, Anya’s lantern goes out and the moths slip away. Anya wants to be a light for others, but to help her village, she’ll have to remember that she sometimes needs help too. A mysterious light above the desert sands could offer a clue...and perhaps what it means to be the Moth-Keeper needs to change. Wonderful art and a moving tale of friendship and community will remind readers that caring for people includes caring for yourself.

Thank you to Random House Graphic and TBRBeyondTours for letting me join the tour and a physical ARC in exchange for an honest review.

From the Eisner Award-Winning Author of the Tea Dragon Society Series comes a poignant and whimsical middle grade graphic novel about a girl named Anya, the new guardian of the luminous Moon-Moths that pollinate the Night-Flower trees. Anya's village relies on the trees to thrive, and she fulfills her nightly duties of taking the creatures outside to bloom the flowers. But what happens when every night takes a toll and she longs for something more?

O'Neill's illustrations do not disappoint. Desert landscapes are filled with flowers, fauna, and mountain ranges to set the enchanting mood of the narrative, with a touch of the Moon-Moth's glow to entrance readers in a dreamy reading experience. The lush shades of warm and cool color palettes are effective to show the different atmospheres and customs between the night and day villages, who have their own unique ways of being there for their communities.

The balance of text and textless page spreads capture the villages' folktales, daily apothocary routines, and the depth of Anya's childhood past of abandonment as she yearns to discover more about other communities in the present moment. Readers will learn about how burning out is not the answer to prove their worth to anyone and that they're always enough.

o'neill's stories are gentle medicine. they always make me feel like the world is a warmer, softer, kinder place than it seems.

this is a sweet, ambient, wintery graphic novel that starts slow. it's about a community that has a symbiotic relationship with sacred moths who pollinate their tree, and about the pensive mothkeeper who guides the moths through the darkness each night.

this story has much of o'neill's classic cozy comforting community, but its warmth is contrasted with a deep, cold loneliness. our protagonist self-isolates, doing her dutiful mothkeeping job alone each night, rarely allowing herself to rest with her loved ones. can the deepness of the night be balanced with the light of the day?

while o'neill's work often contains notes of melancholy, this story is darker than their others. the quiet, solitary sadness often reminded me of the little prince. there is so much empathy and mutual care.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I am obsessed with the Tea Dragon society so I knew I had to read this when I saw it! I was not disappointed at all! First the illustrations were just so beautiful. The story was so calm and peaceful. I loved every bit of it. It was sweet and great for all ages. I highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the arc of this in exchange for my honest review.

Very lovely graphic novel. A few wordless stretches that made me slow down and appreciate the art (I rush through things!). I was fascinated by the backmatter, which included a brief note on real-life moths that served as inspiration, and of course lovely process sketches.

Anything K. O'Neill writes and illustrates is amazing. They have built such beautiful and creative worlds that are inclusive and welcoming of all creatures and ideas. The Moth Keeper is a wonderful story of a person who doesn't feel they know their place, hoping to find their role and their skills in the world. Through determination, kindness, and community, they are able to find a loving balance of keeping the moths and caring for their community.

This was beautiful. The artwork was stunning and really helped to portray the appropriate emotions as the story unfolded. I don’t read a lot of graphic novels but seem to gravitate towards beautiful color schemes when I do. This one did not disappoint and I found myself just taking every frame in.

I thought the story itself was beautiful. We always wonder if the grass is greener on the other side and when we decide to take a leap to discover the answer to that question we often learn a lot about ourselves and those that live with or around us. Anya lives under the moon and dreams of what it’s like to live under the sun. When she decides to take an opportunity to find out she soon finds that although being a Moth Keeper is a lonely task, the community as a whole relies on her to keep them safe and abundant. She realizes that she may spend a lot of time alone but her community is always with her as she walks the moonlit desert.

I read this to my daughter for bedtime and it was so fun seeing her reaction to the pictures, even if she didn’t fully understand the story. I definitely recommend this to any graphic novel lover. It’s a sweet story of finding yourself and where you belong.

I loved this story a lot : it is beautiful, emotional, and poetic. The main character goes through strong doubts about her capacities to handle being a moth keeper, a huge responsibility among the inhabitants of the Moon village.

The Moth keeper is full of hope, dream, magic, friendship, love. It is a story about work dedication : being a moth keeper is a lonely job as you spend hours alone in the dark, far from the village. And it isn’t what Anya thought it would be when she accepted the challenge.

I loved the folklore ! The story is rooted in the legend of the Moon Spirit, and that mythological character watches over the villagers. The art is mesmerizing and the characters are very touching. It is definitely a graphic novel to discover !

4.5/5 stars

This was a super cute and cozy read! The MC, Anya, learns a valuable lesson (that made me tear up in the end). The story doesn't really pick up until over halfway but I kind of enjoyed this because you really get a feel for this world. There are moments where it's just pictures depicting the character's everyday lives and it was really nice to have an understanding of how things work and without just being told through dialogue.
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The end did wrap up a bit quickly and I was left with a few questions so I'm wondering/hoping that means we will see more of these characters in the future. The art style was cute, not my usual cup of tea, but I can appreciate it.
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I would love to finally read K. O'Neill's Tea Dragon series. After reading this and enjoying it I think I could like those books even more!

Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours and Oni Press for the e arc of this book!

When Anya is finally able to be The Moth Keeper, she works hard at her solitary task because she knows it is for the good of her village. But down in her bones, she craves the sun, and it makes it hard for her to continue her job of being the Moths' guiding light.


This was so cute! The art style is amazing and I love the world building so much. K O'Neill does an incredible job telling stories with pictures, and I feel like I got so much out of the art alone in this one! I really love Anya and her mentor and her friends. The job of Moth Keeper itself is so interesting and I would read more stories in this world! I love Anya's journey and what she learns. Great story!

K. O’Neill originally hooked me with The Tea Dragon Society and they did it again with The Moth Keeper! The Moth Keeper is a middle grade graphic novel about Anya, a new Moth Keeper and protector of the precious lunar moths that her village depends upon. While Anya is initially eager to prove her worth, she also realizes that her new role is a lonely one.

Both the story and the illustrations in this graphic novel are gorgeous! I enjoyed the way that the relevant backstory was woven in through various methods such as reflection and storytelling. The author utilizes the pictures to tell the story just as much (maybe even more so) as the words with full-page spreads containing minimal or even no text. I loved reading about Anya’s journey to find her true worth and I enjoyed the involvement of numerous side characters. This is a book that I will be recommending to middle grade and up readers.

Note: I used Numbers based on the CAWPLIE System, so the numbers will be out of ten as opposed to five.

Rating: 4.5

Characters: 8

The Mothkeeper had wonderful characters. Anya had a mother, but she had found a family in the village, and the found family moments were wonderful. Besides Anya, my favorite character was Estell, Anya’s friend who she really cared for, and they both helped each other. Aimoss is another character in the story that I loved. He was the Moth Keeper before Anya, and they had some wonderful scenes together.

Plot: 8

As someone who loves stories with celestial elements, this story is wonderful. I loved how the moths were weaved into the lives of the village, and how the villagers like Anya and Aimoss helped them. The Mothkeeper had a wonderful story about finding yourself. This Graphic Novel is a journey, and I loved the journey that Anya went on.

Writing: 10

The Moth Keeper was first read by K.O’Neil and I loved the writing so much. When it comes to a graphic novel for me, you need to have a book that matches the tone of the story, and I felt like The Moth Keeper had that. There were scenes that were lighter in tone, and I just loved how you could tell the characters were having fun. Some scenes in this graphic novel were heavy, and you could tell by the tonal shift between these scenes, and the ones that were might lighter in tone.

Art style:10

The art style of The Moth Keeper is so cute. I love the warm colors and pallets used in this book. The more intense scenes, or scenes in the night, were colored with dark blues, black, and light yellow due to the months. I love how the color pallets matched what was going on in the scene. Overall, this was a lovely art style, and I loved how it helped set the story of the book.

Enjoyment: 9 &Recommend for

I really enjoyed this story. I had a blast reading this and the story was so sweet. I loved the characters, and how they were all connected. I recommend this if you enjoy Middle-Grade Graphic Novels.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have read a few of K. O’Neill’s previous books and really enjoyed them, so I was interested to read another book by them. Readers who have read any of their previous works will find similar themes in this one, as well as their beautiful art style. This was a really touching story about Anya, a little fox girl, who takes on a huge responsibility by caring for the moths that help her community. I really liked Anya as a character and found her desire to prove her worth very relatable. I especially enjoyed her friendship with Estelle, a healer in training. There were many beautiful pages throughout, and I really enjoyed seining the beauty of the desert setting, something I have not seen much before. This was an excellent graphic novel, and I would highly recommend it.

K O'Neill does it again!
This is a story about a young girl trying to find her place in her community. This is a story about light in the darkness, loneliness, friendship, and hope.

K O'Neill's illustrations are breathtaking and will suck you into the world they have created. As always, K includes representation for all communities in a way perfect for children (and adults).

If you are a fan of The Tea Dragon Society then this is a must read!

Well what can I say K O'Neill has done it again with a very different feel than her other graphic novels which i have adored. This time the story is about Anya who becomes the moth keeper and through her character K shows such topics as Depression and Burn Out.

I liked Anya as a character but would of liked to see more of a back story as well as maybe more about the girl who was obsessed by the moon. I found these drawings particularly stunning they actually took my breath away. The Art style is muted throughout which in my view suited the story.

This is all I am going to say about this wonderful book as I believe it is a kind of book which each persons reads has a very different experience while reading and that is what I love about books in general. For all these reasons I am giving The Moth Keeper 4 Stars and can't wait to see what is next.

I’ve been slowly dipping my toes into the the graphic novel genre, and I think I’ve finally found the book that has made me fall in love with it. This book is absolutely stunning. From the illustrations to the story line I was absolutely mesmerized. The story it’s self was beautiful, the characters were so much fun and I loved the setting. What really struck me was how powerful the message in this book was. I found myself getting a little teary eyes at the end as I reflected on it as a whole. I loved this so much that I now have a copy proudly displayed on my shelf.

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel. I got confused at times as to what was going on since there were wordless multiple panels. Good message but it got a bit muddled for me.

The owl woman’s feathered library is one of the most conceptually satisfying things I have ever seen.

Also, the whole story is just as pretty and soft and inclusive and nice and comfortable as anything you might expect from this author. Totally a must read. Depression, burnout, and struggles with self esteem are often big ugly topics, but here they are softened by love and friends and kindness

This was a very cozy story with themes that I think are relatable for many.

The Moth Keeper follows Anya, who is to become the next keeper of the moths. This is a crucial job for her community, as the moths pollinate the important Night-Lily flower, which has many uses to ease the challenges of being a nocturnal community. Anya is honored to serve this role, but on long nights with just the moths to keep her company, she begins to dream of what it might be like to live in the sun. This causes problems both for her job and ultimately the community as a whole.

I definitely understand why K. O'Neill is a beloved author and illustrator. This story (specifically the plot) didn't do a lot for me personally, but I could resonate with themes of burnout and community, and I can see how those are relevant topics that would be useful and healing for many others. I think it is also important to recognize that I am not the target audience for this story. This may resonate more with a middle-grade population. I could especially see this being true for kids who have had to live through the COVID-19 pandemic - burnout is a common feeling right now, especially among students, and community is one way to alleviate that feeling.

Personally, I didn't love the art. It felt a little dull to look at. I almost wish it were crisper, but I think it was meant to reflect the softer, cozy tones. Given how many rave reviews I've heard about K. O'Neill's other works, I imagine I will be in the minority for this anyway. Additionally, there are a few minor grammatical/text errors that I noticed, but I anticipate those have been caught and corrected prior to publication.

Ultimately, I would not hesitate to recommend this to fans of graphic novels, especially those looking for a quiet, low stakes, and even heartwarming read.

I am no stranger to the beautiful storytelling of K O'Neill, but I have to thank NetGalley and Random House Children's for a chance to read an ARC prior to release.

The Moth Keeper is a gorgeously illustrated story of finding one's way, even in the midst of doubt and uncertainty. As I mentioned, the illustrations of this graphic novel weren't just gorgeous, but the colors and tones matched the overall story in such a way it amplified the storytelling. O'Neill is a master of graphic novels, an author I will continue to return to time and time again. If you are looking for a rich story with characters you cannot help but love alongside beautiful art work, you will not be disappointed in this story.