An adorable short comic! I loved Katie O'Neill's The tea dragon society and the style and themes are very similar. A perfect mix of fantasy, cuteness, family and romance, and a nice touch of protecting nature and traditions.

I've been in love with O'Neill's artwork since I first stumbled upon Princess Princess Ever After and Aquicorn Cove is just as gorgeous as that and The Tea Dragon Society. Aquicorn Cove is also full of the heart and fantasy that O'Neill's first two works are. I love how accessible Aquicorn Cove will be to younger children, while still being just as delightful to adults. I truly can't sing O'Neill's praises enough and will be pre-ordering Aquicorn Cove for my library's collection!

Pastel cartoons show a little girl and her dad visiting her aunt, in a place by the shore after a big storm. In between helping the community rebuild, she finds a kinda seahorse/kinda not in the ocean and brings it home in a jar.
There’s an interlude that shows her mom died and Dad moved them to the city, where in almost anime-type illustrations she’s not happy having to dress up for school and doing a lot of things adults should be doing.
A flashback shows where the little creature comes from, and a lot more. At that point the story shows it’s an environmental fable, which is nice, but most people will enjoy the art most of all. Bright colors fill every page, even more so in the underwater scenes.
Kids will think it’s cute, but it’s more than that. Whether it’s taking care of a wounded animal, healing a coral reef, or helping people pick up the pieces of a storm-ravaged village, there’s inspiration for everyone.

Such a beautiful story with equally brilliant illustrations. The characters are rich and delightful and real, and the story is so charming, readers of all ages will enjoy it.

This was such a beautiful story. I almost want to cry with how sweet it was and the import message it delivered about looking after our ecosystems, which is something I can be passionate about.
I was so excited to be back in another Katie O'Neill's world after reading and loving The Tea Dragon Society.
This story was just as captivating. I think O'Neill could make her stories into such lovely cartoon shows, with their piteresque, unique art style and moving stories. They'd reach an audience of any age and make them fall in love.
Again, diversity was amazing, with ethnicities and sexualities, and even in such a small book, its still displayed perfectly.

This was such a cute graphic novel, would recommend!
i would give this graphic novel three and a half stars put of five! which is alot for me because usually i am not a fan of graphic novels

I'll start out by saying that I'm already a huge fan of Katie O'Neill and was so excited to have the opportunity to read her upcoming book. Aquicorn Cove is the story of a small fishing village and the people who live there, who love their way of life. A young girl, Lana, comes back to visit with her Auntie Mae after a terrible storm does a lot of damage in the village. While helping her family and friends clean up, she finds a seahorse looking animal that needs help and rescues it. We learn that Lana's mother died and that her father moved them to the city. Lana misses her mother and the village she grew up in. Mae tells her the story of meeting a beautiful Aquicorn queen, how she helped their family and the message she gave her about the destruction of the ocean and coral reefs. When another big storm threatens the island and Auntie Mae, Lana seeks help from the Aquicorns to keep both the village and her Aunt safe.

A heart-warming and thoughtful story about the power of family and how, if we all care just a little bit, we can each make a big difference in the world. I couldn't imagine a better follow up to The Tea Dragon Society and Princess Princess Ever After. A beautiful book with a great message.

Beautiful book, mixing gentle, lovely fantasy with modern environmental concerns. It did feel a little overly didactic and I didn't fall quite as in love with it as I did with Tea Dragons, but still a great book and the importance of dealing with plastic in the oceans makes me forgive the teaching moment element. It is fascinating to see how changes in technology and economy have larger ripples in the world and I think that focus makes this a very unique environmental story.

*Thank you to NetGalley for early access to this title*
Aquicorn Cove is a colorful, charming story that tackles the issue of overfishing in a semi-fantastical setting. Lana, a young girl still grieving her mother's death, returns to her seaside hometown to clean up after a storm and discovers an injured seahorse-like creature called an aquicorn. One would expect the story to focus on them, but a good chunk of the story is devoted to Lana's aunt and her relationship with a sea-dwelling woman from her past, which I enjoyed a lot. The stories weave together in a mostly cohesive way, but I did wish it was a bit longer to include more about Lana and her relationship with the aquicorns. Overall, though, a beautiful and sweet story with an environmentalist message.

I always love Katie O'Neill's illustrations and gentle ways of teaching tough lessons. Aquicorn Cove is no exception.

A pleasant book, but one that felt too gentle and feminine for its own good – I may well be wrong in that, but those were first impressions. A young girl gets taken back to her family's coastal village to help repair after a bad storm hit the region. There she finds a connection with the aquatic life around her, the strength her late mother may have had – and that that strength comes from an environmentally conscious, caring side she has to nurture before she can move on. There's little in the way of edge when it comes to the artwork, either – it's a little too pastel, and the shapes and design a little too twee. But that's not to deny the importance of the moral, which does come across forcefully for the target audience. It certainly lacks some of the complexity of this creator's previous, The Tea Dragon Society, but to a smaller, younger, more feminine audience it could well prove useful. Hence four stars – I don't want to be too negative, after all, for such a well-intentioned little novel.

This is my second graphic novel by Katie O’Neill, and this one is just as special as the first. The art is stunning, and the story is sweet and meaningful. For such a short graphic novel, I’m impressed at how many topics O’Neill tackles. Although it’s categorized as children’s fiction, the content is actually quite mature, and it’s a story that readers of all ages will enjoy. The novel deals with grief, the detrimental effects we have on the environment, and changing weather patterns. There’s also an implied f/f relationship, which is great to see in a book for kids!

Lana and her dad return back to her recently deceased mothers hometown to help clean up after a big storm, and she finds what she thinks might be an injured seahorse....and a world of magic and mystery!

This graphic novel had strong Steven Universe vibes for me but the big stand out was the artwork. It was absolutely stunning and I was mesmerized by so many of the pages and little details in each picture. The story itself was charming and meaningful with an important message, which I think would be great for not only kids but everyone.

Overall absolutely adorable and would recommend to anyone.

I'm starting to think that anything Katie O'Neill writes is going to be something I automatically love. Her art style is so beautiful and whimsical and her stories have a point and a moral without hitting you over the head with it. I loved the story in this book so much. The characters had clear identities and each was an individual. It was wonderfully written and though simple at times, each graphic clearly conveyed what the story was saying. I could find no faults in this other than I wished it were longer!

[This review will be going live as part of my regular fortnightly reading round-up. Links will be added then.]

I thought <em>Aquicorn Cover</em> was really cute all-ages comic – I <em>love</em> Kate O'Neill's art, and her lineless colours make me happy. It deals with serious topics though – coping with the death of a loved one and trying to protect the environment, through the medium of a little girl trying to rescue an injured magical sea-horse after a destructive storm. I feel like it didn't quite have the space it needed for all the issues it wanted to cover – what we did get was very good, like the depiction of Lana and her father's grief, after her mother's death and the way that sometimes when everyone is trying so hard to cope, there isn't space for people (kids) to ask for the help they need. I can't tell if I feel like the way it talks about the destruction of the reef and what the humans can do to protect it felt too simple, or just right for a comic aimed at children, so your mileage may vary on that? But the core of it is the relationships between Lana, Lana's mother (who dies before the story begins, but is still an important character!), Lana's aunt, and the mermaid that helps them. It's full of love and support, even if it feels light, and I appreciated that a lot.

[Caution warnings: dead mothers, destructive storms.] [<em>This review is based off an ARC from Netgalley.</em>]

Katie O'Neill is the most perfect storyteller. This story was so beautiful and wonderful, just like the The Tea Dragon Society. These illustrations were gorgeous, the narrative was spot on. As always, these books just make me feel like I curled up in a soft warm blanket with the most delicious cup of tea. AQUICORN COVE is a bright spot in a tumultuous time and perfect for all readers.

I am in love with Katie O'Neill's works ! I've fall in love with this new story which is about loss and accepting life and how we're hurting our own planet so much. The design was amazing and super cute and I've loved the main character !

Dealing with grief and healing, fishing, sea pollution and family, this graphic novel is also a lovely work of art.

Set on a seaside town, the community and beach setting made me think of a book I read recently, Summer of Salt, and I love that I was able to read these two during summer. The young protagonist’s struggle with grief was heart breaking, but it was nice to see her so well surrounded and learning about the magic and respect of the sea.

Like in The Tea Dragon Society, we get to see how an adult in the young protagonist life met their beloved. Here, her well-muscled fisher aunt seems to be in a tender relationship of mutual respect with a magical creature of the sea. Their relationship is never defined but their love is definitely easy to notice.

Aquicorn Cove is the third book I read by Katie O’Neill and she keeps on amazing me with her gorgeous art, soft colours and magical tone.

I feel the same about this as I did about Katie O’Neill’s first book, The Tea Dragon Society: super-cute, gorgeous art, good representation, but flimsy and kind of preachy story.

The artwork is so appealing to me - the colour palettes are so soft and gorgeous, all those pinks and greens. The character design is lovely too, and I like that there’s a variety of race and body types (especially Mae, with her chunky body and muscular arms). Also a subtly implied lesbian human/sea-creature romance, which was cute.

It’s an environmental fairytale, and it did feel quite preachy, but I don’t imagine anyone reading this book would think ‘nah, fuck it, let’s just destroy the coral reefs’, so I suppose it’s preaching to the converted. No harm in reminding kids about environmental issues, I guess. The plot is flimsy with no real sense of tension or grappling with serious issues.

Overall, I liked this and found it really sweet. I read it on a hot summer day while having my morning coffee, and it made for a gentle and uplifting start to the day. If you’re looking for something meaty or satisfying, this probably won’t do the job. But if you like pretty pastel artwork and gentle tales, this won’t disappoint.

This was such a cute light hearted inspirational read. The aquicorns are so stinking cute I could scream. I also really appreciate the diversity in the cast and design of the characters. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick feel good story that they can gobble up in one sitting.