I've long been a fan of K. O'Neill and The Moth Keeper is no exception. It is a beautifully crafted, gorgeously illustrated graphic novel about loneliness and solitude and the importance of asking for help/moving away from self-reliance. Anya lives in the night village, a cooperative society that is just so charming. She starts training for her job as the moth keeper, which is one of the most important jobs: she has to keep the lunar moths nearby so they can help the night-lily flower bloom once a year. When she overcommits and turns down help (likely stemming from the trauma of parental neglect), she ends up falling asleep, the lamp goes out, and the lunar moths are gone when she wakes up.

It is truly wonderful like all of K. O'Neill's work, and I can't wait to carry it in my little shop.

Absolutely lovely! O'Neill's art is whimsical, colorful, and a joy to look at. The desert world of The Moth Keeper is beautifully rendered in magical nightscapes, with special glimpses of the world by day. The animal people are all unique and have a variety of body types and skin tones.

I loved Anya's story and I think it's one that both children and adults can relate to! She feels out of touch with her community and world, and is working so hard to prove her worth, even as she begins to lose faith in her abilities and purpose. Thankfully she has a best friend looking out for her, and a wise mentor who steps in when needed. Together, they band together with the rest of the community and show Anya that she's valued, loved, and supported. Enchanting, kind, and heart-achingly gorgeous, The Moth Keeper is a must read.

Gorgeous illustrations and a touching story! This was my first K. O'Neill graphic novel and I was very impressed.

The Moth Keeper by K. O’Neill. Random House Children’s, 2023.
Thank you Random House Children’s for providing an e-book copy through NetGalley.

Rating: 1-5 (5 being a starred review) 4.5

Genre: Fantasy Graphic Novel

What I Liked: K. O’Neill’s work is always beautiful, atmospheric, and serene. You will not find a more peaceful graphic novel as the images lull you into a sense of calm. Their lines are never sharp or bold, and the colors either resemble the tones of an idealistic nature setting or a pleasant dream. In The Moth Keeper (as well as their other works) the character designs and general artistic world building is inventful yet simple, charming, and sweet, making this a “light” fantasy that isn’t bogged down with complex world systems, barriers of understanding, or even heavy conflict and strife. Readers can follow along and gather information at their own pace, using the descriptive comic-storytelling to picture the wider world. The story follows Anya, the new moth keeper of her night village. She must tend to the lunar moths that help the Night Lily Flower bloom once a year, which feeds the village. Anya is excited at first to travel every night with the magical creatures, but being a moth keeper is a lonely job as you do it alone, keeping watch through the dark hours of the night. And, unbeknownst to even her closest friends, Anya wants to see the sun and feel the warmth on her skin. But she knows that to do that will be betraying the moths, the village, and the moon itself who gave her people the Night Lily Tree. Follow Anya through the beautifully illustrated comic pages as she journeys every night through the desert and learns about community, responsibility, friendship, and her own heart.

What I Didn’t Like: Nothing!

Who Would I Recommend This To: Any kid who likes atmospheric and/or pretty graphic novels, where the story isn’t as important as the images (not in a bad way). Anyone who likes The Tea Dragon series by K. O’Neill, This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews, or Lightfall by Tim Probert.

Review Date: Feb 27, 2023

The Moth Keeper by Kay ONeill is an absolute delight! ONeill's works have always inspired joy and whimsy when I've read them, and The Moth Keeper is no different. With beautiful, rich artwork, ONeill weaves a fantastical story full of relatable characters and meaningful allegories. This is not one to miss!

Thank you to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review!

Clearly, I am in the minority on this, but this book didn’t work for me. I thought that the art was stunning and loved that there were a lot of panels that were just visuals and no dialogue. However, I struggled to get into the plot and could never get hooked. It didn’t help that the characters were unrelatable and I felt very disconnected from them and the plot. I loved the book's concept and get this is for younger readers, but I didn’t get excited about it.

I struggled with this book. I made it half way and just couldn't be compelled to pick it back up. I found the characters to be stiff and unrelatable. And the story was too slow paced to to keep me invested enough to plow through. The concept was interesting and had promise, I just couldn't make it through.

Anya, in her search to feel needed, decides to take on the important job of being a Moth Keeper for the night village. The moths help keep the Night-Lily Flower in bloom and her village thriving. She soon finds out that keeping the moths safe through the night is also a very lonely and scary job. The temptation to see the sun becomes overwhelming so one day she sneaks off to visit the sun village. What happens now if she cannot stay awake to keep the moths safe at night?

The artwork is beautiful. They story is beautiful. There is so much to love about this graphic novel.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Night Lily blooms once a year. But only if the lunar moths are alive. To protect them and keep them alive, there is a Moth Keeper.

Anya wants to be the next Moth Keeper. It's such an important job. Her people wouldn't survive without the lunar moths. She just hopes she can live up to the responsibility.

This is such a good story! I loved the magic and the artwork.

This is a delightful middle grades graphic novel with beautiful artwork. My 9 year old son and I read an advanced copy together, thanks to NetGalley.

This story reminds me a little bit of the film “Mune.” The premise is that two villages exist nearby one another. One village is nocturnal and the other operates during the day, but both communities live in the desert. By keeping a collection of magical moths, the night village is able to ensure that a special tree will flower. They use the pollen from the night flowers to create remedies, and the wind takes that pollen to nearby cacti. The blooming cacti attract bugs and animals that are eaten by the day village. So the villages and nature are living in a circular relationship together.

The main character, Anya, takes up the post of moth keeper despite her deep rooted fear of the dark. Through the narrative we discover that she’s been abandoned in the dark by her detached mother. Anya’s experience of loss allows her a deeper understanding of grief, which in turn helps her to support the grief of a phantom wandering the desert.

There are a few complex themes that develop in this short book. Anya’s head-on approach to tackling her fear of the dark, and her subsequent struggles, would be inspiring to anyone with a similar fear. The wisdom she shares with the desert phantom and the community of support that rallies around her would be inspiring to anyone struggling with loss. Anya’s big mistake and the patient reactions of those around her would be comforting to anyone struggling with overachieving or perfectionism. Altogether, I think it offers a lot of character lessons for elementary and middle grade readers.

My son’s only complaint was that sometimes there were a lot of pictures, but I think that these provided a nice glimpse into the comraderie and everyday lives of the villagers.

A true K. O'Neill masterpiece to add to our collection! Such incredible illustrations around a story about community and being true to you. The desert setting was stunning and so different from the past books, which was intriguing and exciting!

Thank you to NetGalley, K. O'Neill, and and Random House Graphic for an Arc of this in exchange for an honest review!

A entire town that thrives under moonlight. A lone watcher of the moths that pollinate a sacred tree. That secret desire to bask in the sun and to feel worthy.

Wow wow wow, this book was glorious. Absolutely glorious. The art was beautiful and the storyline was poignant without being in your face. I think a lot of people, not just middle grades, can identify with wanting to feel like they deserve to be where they are, or that they aren't an imposter wanting something else completely. The found family and the way town all works together and all pulls for one another is another strong point throughout this book. It's comforting and soft, yet magical.

This graphic novel follows the story of a night tribe member, Anya, newly in charge of watching over the moths, a gift from the moon, that keep their world alive. Anya struggles with adjusting to the solitude of being the moth keeper, though her mentor offers to stay with her she keeps a brave face and insists she can do it on her own. Her best friend can pick up on the fact that she is struggling without saying so, and often intervenes to ask for assistance for Anaya on Anaya's behalf. Through our story we learn that Anaya craves the daylight, as she is originally from the daylight tribe, and one night was abandoned by her mother, potentially accidently, before the former moth keeper, her new mentor, found her alone in the desert, and adopted her into their tribe. Anaya strays to the daylight tribe and enjoys their daylight celebrations, which causes her to accidently fall asleep while she was supposed to be watching the moths. The moths flutter away without the proper guidance. Her mentor takes up pursuit of the lost moths, to no avail. On the final night before their tree needs to be pollinated by the moths, Anaya steps up to attempt to find the moths herself, which sets her on an adventure where she meets a character earlier discussed as the girl lost to the moon. This character helps Anaya locate the moths and with the help of the moon, is able to get the moths to the tree for pollination just in time.

This story is about found family, doing your duty, and in my opinion, taking responsibility when we mess up. Anaya was the one who, even accidently, lost the moths, and she took that responsibility upon herself to try and find them, and she ended up being the only one who could actually bring them back home. O'Neill once again hits the mark with this story. The art and premise are beautiful and I highly recommend.

All of this author’s books are so gentle. Safe reads even for a young and timid reader. The main character in this book seems to have some childhood trauma of abandonment but has a good guardian and a place in her village. But like any growing child would be she’s curious about the world she hasn’t seen yet. Peaceful read.

Anya is finally a Moth Keeper, the protector of the lunar moths. Lunar moths help the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year and her village uses the flower’s nectar to thrive and survive. But, the nights in the desert are cold and lonely, and Anya finds being a Moth Keeper isn’t exactly what she thought it would be. She finds herself wondering what it would be like to feel the sun’s warmth. One day, she decides to stay up during the day to experience the sun and her village and the lunar moths are left to deal with the consequences of her choice.

I absolutely adored the Tea Dragon Society series, so I knew as soon as I saw K. O’Neill had a new graphic novel coming out, so I needed to read it as soon as possible.

It wasn’t a disappointment.

This is a story about burnout and loneliness that is written alongside beautiful artwork from K. O’Neill that is done in such a way that younger audiences will be able to understand the message too.

Overall, this is a beautiful and gentle graphic novel that I can see those of all age groups loving and enjoying - both for the story and for the art.

K. O'Neill has such a gift for writing and illustrating soft, cozy stories with beautiful messages. As an adult, I love reading stories like this and imagining what it would have been like to have them as a child. I imagine my adolescence would have felt a little safer, a little brighter. The Moth Keeper is a story about leaning on the people around you when you can't do things all on your own. It's also about not being consumed by fear, doubt, and negativity. Those things are always present but they have to be balanced with their opposites. I envy the children who get to read these stories as much as my heart swells for them.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As with all of K. O'Neill's books, The Moth Keeper is just absolutely visually stunning. I love the details in the art style and how light really seems to glow on the page. In this story we follow young Anya who has agreed to become the new Nigh Village's Moth Keeper, an important but lonely task in charge of taking care of the moths that help pollinate the Night Lily which is essential to their villages survival.

It is a story filled with both whimsy and melancholy and explores themes like duty, community, family, and belonging in a way that I think will resonate with both children and adults.

Like all of K. O'Neill's work, The Moth Keeper is a sweet, beautifully illustrated graphic novel. This one follows a group of fantastical humans that live by the moon and rely on moths to maintain light in their village. We follow Araya, the new moth keeper, as they explore what it means to be loved and to be lonely. This reads like a fairy tale, with whimsical magic and creatures of all kinds. I really think this is a story about finding love and accepting it. I also think it's about community and found family, something I think lots of young readers could benefit from. It's very heartwarming and really easy to connect to.

I also need to mention the beautiful art. I mean, I want wall art of O'Neill's work so I can stare at it every day. The character designs are so unique, the desert landscapes are stunning and there is magic on every page. This book will spread joy based on the art alone. It complements the sweet story so well, and I loved looking at it.

Ultimately, I want my library to get all of O'Neill's titles. I think lots of young readers will love and connect to this work, especially my queer patrons. This book is so joyful.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever stared at the moon long enough, and start to forget what the sun looks/feels like? Yeah, me too.

The Moth Keeper by K. O'Neil is a middle grade fantasy graphic novel that Anya and her great success of finally becoming a moth keeper. Aka, like her biggest goal in life. But unfortunately, it's not quite all that she expected. I guess that's what happens when you must journey in the freezing desert, night after night to protect a bunch of moths. But the isolation and loneliness finally hits Anya, and she stays up during the day. Only to let her precious moths and village reap the consequences.

I found this graphic novel to be absolutely adorable and lovely to look at. The art style is gorgeous and easily matches the vibes the author/artist imbued into the story. I only wish that we could have better story pacing.

I received a digital advanced reading copy via Netgalley though all thoughts are my own.

This was such a beautifully illustrated story about a young girl named Anya who has trauma from losing her Mother while in the desert, has often felt very lonely and is an apprentice to becoming a Moth Keeper which is a position very much revered by the people that she lives among though often a very lonely one.

Anya soon comes to realize that she really isn't alone with her found family, the stories that surround her, the Moths that she is learning to take care of, friendship, magic and coming to terms with her fear of being alone in the dark.

I highly recommend checking out this book which is not only beautiful with the images but the story itself and illustrated by Kay

Trigger warnings: fear of the dark, loss of a parent