Graphic Novel Review: The Tea Dragon Tapestry by K. O’Neill
The Details
Media Type: Graphic Novel
Title: The Tea Dragon Tapestry
Series: The Tea Dragon Series
Author(s): K. O’Neill
Publisher: Oni Press
Pages/Length: Hardcover; 135
Release Date: June 21, 2021
Source: Publisher
Add it on: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Oni Press
Join Greta and Minette once more for the heartwarming conclusion of the award-winning Tea Dragon series!
Over a year since being entrusted with Ginseng’s care, Greta still can’t chase away the cloud of mourning that hangs over the timid Tea Dragon. As she struggles to create something spectacular enough to impress a master blacksmith in search of an apprentice, she questions the true meaning of crafting, and the true meaning of caring for someone in grief. Meanwhile, Minette receives a surprise package from the monastery where she was once training to be a prophetess. Thrown into confusion about her path in life, the shy and reserved Minette finds that the more she opens her heart to others, the more clearly she can see what was always inside.
The Review
I am now fully convinced that K. O’Neill is magical, and is just channeling that into beautiful graphic novels that we can all enjoy. Every time I think that there is not possible way that the next in the series can be better than the last, I am proven wrong. It is the most wonderful thing in the world! I am smitten friends. Absolutely head over heels in love. Everything about The Tea Dragon Society series, from cover to cover, is a work of art.
In The Tea Dragon Tapestry we get the final (*sob* I know) installment of this series. Back with Greta and Minette, it’s easy to see how much the two of them have grown since we first met them. Greta is still pursuing her blacksmithing, and looking forward to a possible apprenticeship with a renowned master. Minette is adapting to her new life, although you can see the little doubts she has about feeling comfortable yet. This is what I love most about these books. It’s the little nuances, the unsure facial expressions, the worry lines, the raw emotion that swirls into these pages and makes every single one of the characters feel like home. It made me happy to see that Greta and Minette were growing, and that their growth included just that little bit of doubt and uncertainty.
In truth, this volume really has a big focus on grief. On the grief that we feel for our past selves, when we learn and grow. On the grief that we feel for our old lives, when things change drastically and unexpectedly. On the grief of losing a loved one, of losing a friend, of losing your passion. O’Neill explores this gently, and with so much grace. Reminding us all that grief looks different on everyone, and that everyone handles it in their own time. That there is no right way to grieve, and sometimes having someone else to share a bit of that with is the best way to begin to slowly move forward. On a personal level, this spoke to me so much. This was the perfect time for me to see this message, and honestly it might be the right time for you too.
However there are also celebrations of joy, and friendship here too. There are reunions, and new friends to be made. Connections forged, and new lives started. I don’t know how these stories always manage that perfect balance between the bittersweet parts of life and the joyous ones, but they do. I can’t express enough how impressed I always am with the amount of emotion and growth poured into these pages. These aren’t long stories, but they’re perfect.
I could gush on and on, but you already know my overall thoughts. The illustrations, so lovingly drawn. The characters, so full and vibrant. The story, somehow always perfectly what I needed to read right at that moment. The Tea Dragon Tapestry is something special, and the absolute perfect finale to a stellar series. There is no way I could be more pleased. Thank you so much K. O’Neill for sharing your magic with me. It’s a little piece of my heart now.
Oni Press has been kind enough to offer up a copy of The Dragon Tapestry to one lucky winner!
