This is a touching graphic novel that focuses on a young child, who is yet to find her place in the world after her mother's death. The book also highlights the moral responsibility that each of us has to bear in order to preserve our environment and the need for us to limit ourselves in accordance with our need instead of greed.

The book has a colourful format that encourages younger readers and has a lot of self-explanatory panels without text which makes it easier for younger kids to understand and progress faster.

Recommended for kids of all ages. This book will go a long way in helping them develop an unbiased view of the world and their surroundings

Katie O'Neill has another charmingly whimsical children's graphic novel with Aquicorn Cove. She does such an excellent job of including diverse characters casually and addressing societal issues in a manner that children may understand. Here the focus is on the deterioration of the choral reefs and the main character comes to learn about it along with the reader.

Additionally, the art is lovely, very bright and clear and colorful.

I really enjoyed the Teadragon Society graphic novel, so was so excited to be able to get my hands on an advance copy of Aquicorn Cove! Kate O'Neill does it again, with soft visuals, diverse characters, and an enchanting story. The young main character of the story used to live by the sea with her mother and father, before her mother drowned in a storm. During a visit to her aunt, she discovers an aquicorn (a sort of sea-horse unicorn) and a whole underwater world. Alongside the fantastic elements of the book are themes of grief, loss, climate change, and conservation. One thing I love about Katie O'Neill's books, besides pretty much everything, is her depictions of the various relationships between characters. The soft fairytale image of the books can be deceiving, and the relationships are always deeper and more poignant than they appear at first glance. Her inclusion of diverse and lgbt characters also gets a big thumbs up from me. Some readers might be put off by the somewhat unexpected plot line about pollution, with a strong message for responsible use of the world around us. A must-read for fans of The Teagarden Society, fans of graphic novels, or anyone looking for a bit more depth to their fairytales.

Aquicorn Cove was a quick and enjoyable story. I kind of wished there was more, but I really loved the story we got. The artwork was cute and colourful, it reminded me a lot of Ponyo. I definitely recommend it to people who like graphic novels and prefer shorter stories and not a complete story arc.

*Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Katie O’Neill has one of the most adorable and most gorgeous illustrations. I have never loved the illustrations in anything as much as I do in this book. I loved the adorable f/f romance and all the characters. I loved that Aquicorn Cove addressed the harms in fishing sea creatures and the harm of what plastic can do to our beautiful seas. I will definitely have to check out The Tea Dragon Society.

This is an adorable graphic novel and I will likely pick up a copy to share with my niece in a couple years. She loves books and the beach, so this is perfect for her in about 2-3 years.

Young Lana and her dad visit the village they moved away from a few years ago, after her mother died. They are visiting Aunt Mae, who is a bit of a leader among the villagers and helps to keep things running smoothly. They have just experience a bad storm and are in the process of rebuilding and cleaning up. On a walk to the sea, Lana finds a sick seahorse-like creature and brings it back to Aunt Mae's house to help it heal. We then see how first Aunt Mae, then Lana, are introduced Aure and her world under the sea.

The artwork here is gorgeous. The characters are cute and cleanly drawn, making it easy for the younger children to decipher what is being depicted. While in the village, there are lots of rich, earthy tones in the art, but as we move toward the beach and sea, we see more in shades of aqua, coral, and gold, with touches of darker shades.

Given that this book is targeted to young readers, what could seem a bit preachy to someone well into adulthood, it provides kids with lessons about conservation, taking care of earth and its creatures, and taking care to not take more than you need.

One final note for parents: There is a suggestion of a romantic F/F relationship. No one is doing anything overt, and young children may not pick up on it, but I thought I'd let you know in case you're overly sensitive to your child seeing adults who care for each other.

Ms. O’Neill’s art is adorably cute, and I liked her previous graphic novel, The Tea Dragon Society, so much that I bought a signed copy, so I was excited to see she had something new coming out with equally adorable fantasy creatures.



Lana and her father have returned to their seaside hometown after it’s been hit by a big storm to help her Aunt Mae. Lana is happy to be away from the big city and back near the ocean, partly because she has so many wonderful memories of her mother there. When she discovers a hurt seahorse-like animal, she brings it home to help recuperate. As Lana helps her aunt and the other villagers recover from the storm, as well as the little fish, she discovers how intertwined the villagers are with the sea and each other – and finds strength of her own.



One of my favorite parts of this book was its depiction of Lana’s grief and how she overcame it. I thought it was handled in a very age-appropriate way that didn’t dumb-down the overwhelming feeling of grief, while still focusing on Lana’s happy memories of her mother.



The art is deceptively simple, but stunning. I especially loved the differences in color palettes between village life and the underwater realm. The author’s love for the sea really stands out, with beautiful illustrations of various marine flora and fauna. The character designs are expressive as well, from Lana to Aunt Mae to the mermaid-like Aure. I especially loved the depiction of the relationship between Aunt Mae and Aure.



I liked the basic theme of the novel – that helping and protecting others makes you stronger. I thought the emphasis on conservation was a bit heavy-handed, but then, this is a story meant for kids. Overall, though, this is an adorably fun and quick read, and I’ll definitely be buying a hard copy for my kids.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This is so very adorable and just right for my grade 6 and 7 students. I am definitely buying this for my library. I already have kids who loved The Tea Dragon Society and I know they will love this too.

Aquicorn Cove is sweet and magical and realistic, a tale of happiness and sadness, of discovery and wonder, and of the start of making things right again.

Lana is a little lonely, a little sad after the passing of her mother and her and her father's subsequent move to the city, but she's happy to be back in her little hometown by the sea. Even if they're there to help clean up after a bad storm. But she's back, back in a place that makes her happy. When she discovers a mysterious little sea creature, battered from the storm, in a tide pool, she takes it in, cares for it. And soon Lana discovers there's more to the sea that just waves and the fish her aunt and her grandmother and her grandmother before her have fished from the ocean. There's something far more serious going on.

Katie O'Neill's art style is one of my favourites. The variety of body shapes in all the characters, the little smiles during happy moments. The realistic cabins, farms, and boats against the pastel colours of the undersea palace and the Aquicorns. The wonderful juxtaposition in the first few pages of little Lana struggling to carry her little suitcase from the car to the house while her big, buff Auntie Mae just casually lifts two duffle bags onto her shoulders moments after the two have the biggest, sweetest hug. There's just a wonderful combination of realism and fantasy here.

This is a book that mixes sweetness and hope with sorrow and reality and the impact that people and industry have on the environment. It's about moving on after a loved one has passed away, continuing to live while doing things that remind you of them. It's about change and technology, understanding that making things easier doesn't always make them better for everyone. It's about the little things, young children and small creatures, and why it's so important to listen to them, to help them and care for them. A must-read for fans of Katie O'Neill's gentle fantasy stories.

A beautiful, whimsical, heartwarming story about conservation and nature. The art is colourful and adorable, and the story is simple but wholly relatable. Recommended for all ages!

Aquicorn Cove is a gentle, gorgeous reminder that conservation efforts need involvement from everyone (big, small, human, and merfolk) in a community.

A short but sweet graphic novel with some gorgeous artwork and heartfelt themes. Put simply, this book was ADORABLE and I could probably stare lovingly at this artwork forever. I am definitely interested to check out any of Katie O'Neill's other works!

This was such a cute read and the art was amazing! I especially loved how it dealt with an important topic such as climate change and how the message was that we definitely have to pay more attention to our environment and have to take care of our oceans and that even small things can already make a big difference.

This was a precious and magical graphic novel with the cutest art style. I really enjoyed the focus on the environment and the effects of climate change and especially the way the author addressed wastefulness. Seemingly small steps can go a long way, even if you might not be able to directly see their effects! I loved that we got to see different types of strong women - both the physically strong (like Mae) and women who stand up for their convictions (like Aure and Lana). The subtle f/f romance was a nice bonus as well!

"Unable to rely on the adults in her storm-ravaged seaside town, a young girl must protect a colony of magical seahorse-like creatures she discovers in the coral reef.

From the award-winning author of Princes Princess Ever After and The Tea Dragon Society comes Aquicorn Cove, a heartfelt story about learning to be a guardian to yourself and those you love.

When Lana and her father return to their seaside hometown to help clear the debris of a big storm, Lana remembers how much she’s missed the ocean—and the strong, reassuring presence of her aunt. As Lana explores the familiar beach, she discovers something incredible: a colony of Aquicorns, small magical seahorse-like creatures that live in the coral reef. Lana rescues an injured Aquicorn and cares for it with the help of her aunt, who may know more about these strange creatures than she's willing to admit. But when a second storm threatens to reach the town, choices made many years ago about how to coexist with the sea start to rise to the surface. Lana realizes she will need to find the strength to stand on her own, even when it means standing up to the people who she has always relied on to protect her."

Earlier this year I stumbled on Katie O'Neill's The Tea Dragon Society, and aside from now really wanting a tea dragon, I fell in love with her style. I follow her on Instagram and have to say I've been looking forward to this new book of hers! Now about that tea dragon...

Thank you to Net galley for providing me with an arc of this book!

This book was absolutely adorable with an important message about looking after our oceans.

The artwork is fantastic and the story had me hooked from the start - my o my teeny tiny gripe is that I'd have preferred more text and less text less pictures but that's just personal preference and it doesn't detract from the story at all!

This was absolutely one of the most adorable books I've read! It was fun and easy to read and the art style was one of my favorite things about this one because I love art styles like these. I will definitely be recommending this to graphic novel lovers!

3.5
ADORABLE
Aquicorn Cove is a lovely book about how even a small town can make a huge damage on the sea, but is also a book about diversity, caring for the sea, loss, caring for the people around you, romance, etc.
I loved that the story talks about caring for the sea because it's not a common topic in books but it's important to learn about this. And, I don't know if I understood well but I loved that the author included diverse characters, not only poc but lgbt.
Finally, the illustrations were soo pretty and cute and the story was very heartwarming <3.

Katie O’Neill has created another absolutely perfect in every way graphic novel with Aquicorn Cove. Much like her previous graphic novel The Tea Dragon Society this book is full of gentle sweetness, and the kind of pure goodness that is so lacking from our world today. Not only that the quiet lessons this book has to teach us are there for readers of all ages and are important beyond words.
In Aquicorn Cove we meet Lana, a young girl traveling back home to her island home to help her Aunt Mae after a severe storm (guessing hurricane) has torn apart the island and caused severe damage. Lana and her father have been gone for a while after her father wanted to leave the island when a similar storm claimed the life of his wife and Lana’s mother. During the clean up of the storm’s destruction Lana discovers a cute seahorse like creature that is very sick and injured by the storm. Over the next few day more of these creatures come to see Lana bringing her lost items from the sea. Lana then learns about a secret place under the sea where these creatures live from her Aunt, but they are dying along with the coral reef. According to their leader Mae the village has the ability to change their habits and make small changes even though they are a small village to save Aquicorn Cove. The question is will they make the small changes, or go on believing that small actions don’t have huge catastrophic consequences.
This book is beautiful in its message and in its pictures. The drawings really bring depth and beauty to a story that will really fill you with emotion. Of course the main theme of the book is taking care of our planet and even small actions can have a negative impact. Real world topics such as pollution, over fishing the seas, and global warming are not shied away from and I love that. I also love that Katie O’Neill touches on depression and what that can look like. She let’s the juvenile reader know that other people have feelings like this and it is okay to give yourself the time you need to feel whole again. I honestly don’t think I have ever read a book by any author in any format who writes in such a gentle and authentic way that Katie O’Neill does all the while giving her books elements for fantasy and whimsy. I can not wait to see what she creates next. I am already there for it! FIVE STARS.

Aquicorn Cove is a lovely, whimsical graphic novel with a vibrant art style and meaningful message about the environment and the sea and keeping them protected as well as a wonderful message about grief and moving on.

There's a wonderful and heartwarming F/F romance that I was so glad to see. And the diversity of the characters on the pages was amazing to see.

Overall I highly recommend this magical story about protecting our environment and finding strength after facing struggles.