The Moth Keeper is a beautifully illustrated middle-grade graphic novel that follows Anya as she takes on the important role of Moth Keeper. Her village lives by night and Moth Keepers have to travel far from others alone in the darkness to bring the moths from their home to the Night-Lily flower which blesses the village to thrive. But being a Moth Keeper is harder than Anya imagined, despite her desire to prove her worth to herself and others. She begins to obsess about life in the sun until she takes the chance to do just that. But her actions have consequences that may impact the Lunar Moths and the village.
This graphic novel is incredibly mesmerizing and heart-warming. The found family in here is so wholesome, and Anya's self-love journey was beautiful. For such a short graphic novel with few words, I think it's pretty impactful. We even get the lore of how the village came to depend on the Night-Lily flower and the Lunar Moths. Seeing all the characters in the village doing their best to help each other out warmed my heart. I can definitely understand why K. O'Neill is such a popular graphic novel writer/illustrator!

Wonderful. Perfect. Beautiful and whimsical and full of heart. Every time I pick up a story by K. O'Neill I know I'll be enchanted.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this graphic novel.

Pros:
-great art
-relatable story

I didn't understand why the Moth Keeper needed to be solitary, so the entire conflict didn't make sense. But it was still an important story about work burnout, friendship, and letting others help you.

The art on this is beautiful. It fits the story so well! Soft and lending well to the otherworldly fantasy elements in the story.

Anya's background story made me so sad. I wonder what her mother was dealing with.

This is a story about facing fear, wanting to belong, and fighting loneliness. It's gentle and touching and will likely stay with me for a while.

5/5
thanks to random house and netgalley for the arc!

this book is beautifully drawn, just like all of K O'Neill's other works. it is about a young girl, Anya, who is going to become the new Moth Keeper - taking care of a gift that the moon left her village years ago. it is a lovely story about self-worth and community.

Honestly, I’m convinced that anything K. O’Neil has their hands on will be pure gold. The Moth Keeper is surely more proof of that!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC of this gorgeous graphic novel.

For those that are familiar with K’s work with the stunning Tea Dragon Society, Festival & Tapestry, they’ll know that going into The Moth Keeper the style to expect and sure enough K’s unique and beautiful style is there and it’s their usual wholesome and tender storytelling they’re known for. O’Neil’s work has moved me in a way that no other graphic novel author/artist has. I enjoy reading graphic novels immensely just as a whole, but something about K. O’Neil’s unique artistic wholesomeness touches me deep down into my soul.

I will admit that I still personally prefer Tea Dragon over just about anything else BUT that doesn’t take away from the beauty of this story and anyone that already loves K. O’Neil will surely enjoy this story as well. I cannot wait to see the finished result in bookstores and to be able to hold a physical copy in my hands. I’ll be recommending this for sure!

Being a moth keeper is an honor but also a lonely job. Anya is now responsible for watching over the moths in the cold desert nights. This means she is alone all night, which is something she thought she would enjoy! But after many dark, cold nights in a row, she is heading into bed when she hears the sun village having a celebration. Will her exploring in the sun cause her to question her life and responsibility to the moths? This beautiful story shows the importance of allowing yourself to rely on others and also, it’s never too late to find out who you are and what you want to be.

I'm someone who has read and enjoyed most of O'Neill's previous work. The Moth Keeper stood out to me for a number of reasons. The art does a nice job of carrying the story and characters with and without dialogue. the inhabitants of this story are visually interesting and the world feels lived in without having to overexplain itself on the details. I liked this world and the characters in it. I'd love to see more stories in the same universe

I loved this, holy cow. It was similar in tone to The Tea Dragon Society where its sort of queer coded fantasy with a mystery, but overall staying soooo cute!

Anya has been chosen as the next Moth Keeper, which is both an honor and a burden. The moths are necessary for her night village's way of life. Anya is enthusiastic at first, but then begins to wonder what life would be like under the sun.

I wish there had been K. O'Neill books for me to read when I was a kid - it literally feels like they are drawing worlds and scenes from my dreams. Whimsical, reflective, magical, The Moth Keeper is a gorgeous meditation on loneliness and community and discovering what you are called to do. O'Neill creates a world you'll just want to climb into and explore, and I love the spreads with little text and lots of interesting scenes to look at and observe. The concepts of the flora and fauna in this desert, the lore about the moon, the day and night villages, were all really intriguing, and I love how this story has the feeling of a parable with a moral lesson without ever seeming too heavy-handed. Highly recommended and I'd love to own a physical copy and just stare at how beautiful the pages are!

K. O'Neill's work is always astounding, both in content and aesthetics, and this standalone certainly lives up to their high bar. It's beautiful, it's deeply emotionally resonant, and it highlights the importance of community, support, and working in tandem when hard things need to be done. As the editor's note said, it's also a much-needed commentary on burnout and social expectations, and its messages are so heartwarming and affirming.

Such a sweet read! I loved the art, it pulls you in and makes you feel like you are really there. I loved seeing the difference between the day and night cities and how they operated. The story wasn't long, it was a pretty quick read actually but has a story that just sticks with you. I am going to make sure this is a purchase at our library.

Another beautiful and sweet graphic novel from K. O'Neill.
Leaves you with warm fuzzies while imparting lessons.
Yes, there is LGBTQ representation but it's not a focus by any means.

A beautiful and moving story told by one of my favorite authors in the graphic novel game! So much more than just a graphic novel; recommend this to your young readers!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

What a heartwarming story! I have never read any of K. O'neill's other stories, but I'm in love with their art style! It has a soft and whimsical feeling to it, something people who enjoy Ghibli movies would also enjoy. I love the characters, and I love seeing how the animal people reflect some of the traits of their real-life animal counterparts. The world is an interesting blend of magic and reality. The story has lovely messages about finding one's purpose in the larger community, the importance of community as a whole, and figuring out what you want in life. I don't want to say too much for fear of spoiling the plot. But what a lovely read!

K. O’Neill knocks it our if the park again with their newest graphic novel.
This is a middle grade story about Anya becoming a Moth Keeper and showing her value and perseverance to the community that took her in at a young ago. She protects the moths as they are thriving to help a certain flower bloom. But what happens if the moths go missing?
It is beautifully illustrated, has delightful themes and imagery, and I just loved it. I enjoyed my time reading it and can’t wait to add a copy to my collection.
Every time a new book by O’Neill comes out I jump on the chance to read an early copy and this was no different.
Thank you so much to Oni Press and NetGalley for the early review copy!! All thoughts are my own.

This graphic novel is absolutely stunning! Anya, a member of a tribe of people who live primarily under the light of the moon, takes on the task of being the village's new Moth Keeper. The Moth Keeper is responsible for the care of the moon moths that bless a sacred gift bearing tree once a year. The task is extremely lonely and the book follows Anya as she has a difficult time not being overwhelmed by the darkness.

The art work is gorgeous, the story captivating, and the characters are pleasantly developed. I highly recommend giving this a read!

K O'Neill has once again created such a soft and whimsical story that I just can't help but falling in to. Whenever I want something nice and comforting to read, I can trust to turn to their books so I was so excited to be able to get an ARC of The Moth Keeper.

Anya is a lot like an young person just trying to find their way in the world, taking up new responsibilities. She also feels so alone even though we see her teacher and friends supporting her along the way. There's also a certain kind of melancholy that comes across so well in the writing and the art, and while it's sad, it ends in a peaceful and uplifting way that makes the sad parts worth it.

As always, the diversity in the story is great and just there, not for any kind of points, but because that's what exists in the world, even a fantasy world.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

Cute story of taking care of moths. I initially read it because I know someone who loves moths. I will be getting this for them once it comes out.