Louie is a fierce, passionate high schooler who cares deeply for her struggling small town. Southborough is a tourist destination made famous by a sasquatch sighting decades ago. Businesses have depended upon the tourist income for survival, but traffic to Southborough has slowed in recent years. The town has become a target for a tech mogul who begins buying up businesses and properties as a future headquarters location. Louie’ dads own Squatch Burger, a local eatery, and the latest target of Start-up.com’s land grab. Louie makes it her mission to save her dads’ business, and her entire town, from disappearing forever.

Louie is high spirited and has a pretty short fuse. There are several narrative montages that are a little hard to follow, like one of Louie trying out many pranks in order to bring back tourism. There are some pretty big leaps narratively speaking. Many of the threads get woven together by the end, but while it’s happening, the storyline seems a bit fractured. that contribute to a disjointed plot line. Regardless, this fun story has some really appealing elements, including quite a few 90s pop culture references, wholesome LGBTQ+ representation, and a positive representation of the charm of a small town. This title would be good for fans of Lumberjanes or The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.

The publisher rates this book for ages 12+, which seems appropriate. Younger grades may still appreciate the basic storyline, but the references and allegorical jokes may be lost on them.

Sara’s Rating: 7/10
​Suitability Level: Grades 6-8

This graphic novel is hilarious, emotional and inspiring. The main character Louie sets out to save her town, famous for a sasquatch, from the greedy grasp of an upstart tech firm.

Good bits:
- Louie feisty, fierce and passionate. Her personality is infectious and you come to really feel.for her. The other characters are well thought out and have depth to them.
- The artwork is perfect and compliments the story. It's bright and flamboyant and the expressions of the characters are captured very well.
- The plot is hilarious and heartening. It makes you think about what means a lot and how to find contentment. This is a book that affirms your dreams and encourages reaching for the stars.
- The little references to pop culture in the book made me smile.

What could have been better?:
- I need more! I read this in one sitting and then read it over again. I need more Louie and Southborough in my life!

Thanks to Oni Press and Netgalley for the E-ARC copy of Martian Ghost Centaur. This was enjoyable from start to finish. This was humorous and heart-warming. I enjoyed the family dynamics between Louie and her dads. The art style was was colourful and helped enhance the story. Cannot wait to read more from this author.

Louie lives in a quirky little small town called Southborough. The town is suffering an economic downturn and lack of tourism. Tourist used to flock to Southborough to look for Sasquatch, but there haven't been any sightings in years. Louie sets out to save her town and her dads' restaurant, Squatch Burger, from a techie who is buying up properties for his start up. Maybe she can stage a sighting of a Martian Ghost Centaur and get her favorite crypid hunter television show star Para-Norma to come and see what's happening! She'll need to mend ways with her buddy Felix to pull off the stunt.

There is so much to love about this book! Expressive art that jumps off the page. Witty scenarios like Louie's scheme to make money by advertising her bedroom closet as an AirBnB spot. Relatable teen relationships with parents, friends, and employers. Suspenseful subplots including a storage building that the gas station owner tells Louie to "stay away from and don't ask what's in there."

Fans of Gravity Falls will totally get the humor of this snarky look at small town life and the unexplained.

This action-packed graphic novel about a girl hustling to save her town after a Sasquatch sighting is revealed as a prank is a fun ride! Louie O’Connor, our awesome protagonist, starts out trying to prove a paranormal prank is real in the age of cell phone skepticism to save her weird little town from an impending tech boom. But when the sighting is revealed as a prank, everything starts to unravel: her town is changing - everything is changing! They need a new cryptid to save the day! But will it be enough to scare the techies away for good? This when-pranks-are-for-good tale is all about conspiring with friends and the goodness of wonder. I love the diverse characters and relationships, and the art is awesome - it’s really expressive and full of great, bright colors, perfect for fans of Faith Erin Hicks or Noelle Stevenson.

This is exactly what i needed.
A nice, funny, feel-good story about a girl trying to save her town and find herself in the process with mythical creatures and a lot of burgers.
So nice and well illustrated.
I cried actual tears, i'm not joking!

What a fun story. With a name such as Martian Ghost Centaur you’d assume this to be a fantasy story, well, it is a little bit more than that. This is a story about resilience, about the importance of family and community, a tale of how a cryptic and the culture that this creates can affect a community in the best way possible, and the ramifications of this in the long run. The art and colour schemes are beautiful, the characters are so diverse! I love the amount of body types, races, sexualities that we get to see in this novel. An amazing work that I’ll definitely recommend!

(this review will be publicly published on march 1st)

A graphic novel about family, friendships, and the uncertainty of growing up.

This takes place in Southborough, a town made famous by Sasquatch sightings. Tourism has dwindled over the years, and many people are being forced to leave town due to financial issues. Louie defines herself by this town, and refuses to let it be taken over by a heartless techie.

I found myself really vibing with the art and little details in this one. For example, the late night talkshow host named “Bryan O’Conan”. There are a number of fun little nods to pop culture while also exploring small town culture.

Louie seems a little young (she is in her late teens), but I chalked that up to regressing because she is afraid of change. She alienates the people around her, and struggles to understand how other people’s passions could be different from her own. I didn’t find her totally unlikeable, however, because we see her grow. As a girl from a small area, I understand how hard it can be when your worldview grows beyond the town limits.

I’m looking forward to more from Mat Heagerty!

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for access to a digital advanced copy of Martian Ghost Centaur. Martian Ghost Centaur follows Louie, a tenacious teen who loves her small town and home of Southborough and believes in Sasquatch. When tourism declines due to waning belief in Sasquatch and a tech bro moves in and starts buying up property, Louie is determined to find a way save her family, friends, and town. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone looking to harness the passions of their youth or looking for direction.

Martian Ghost Centaus is a graphic novel about a town - Southborough - and all the misterious creatures who "lived" there, and the city became a tourist attraction.
After 20 years all the mystery seem to be an old memory and now people are losing interest even for the most famous creature of all: Sasquatch.
But - there is always a but - Louie want to save her beloved city from falling down, because someone is buying up most of the town places.

She teams up with her best friend Felix and prove that the Sasquatch is real! The "magic duo" is doing well... but Felix is thinking of leaving for college. And now Louie is mad and can't stop to think about her future.

A graphic novel about family, friendship, love for your hometown, growth, life's changing and secrets finally revealed.
I liked the art style, the colors and the characters! I couldn't stop to laugh sometimes and it gives me a moment full of happiness.

Many thanks to Netgalley and oni press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really like this graphic novel, the art and the story were good.
The town of Southborough was a blooming town, after the sightings of sasquatch 20 years ago, it became a tourist attraction. However, nowadays the world has become cynical, and no one believes in sasquatch any more.
We follow Louie, a resident of Southborough, born and bred, as she trys to help her parents thought the tough time they and town are going through.

I received an eARC of this novel in return for an honest review - thank you to NetGalley, Oni Press and Mat Heagerty.

This story follows the main character on her journey of self discovery and saving the town she’s grown up in.

Okay I adored this graphic novel, it was a quick read but super quirky, cute and a little wild. The storyline is full of twists and turns, there was a lot of development of friendships and I loved that the main character had two Dads (LGBTQ+ inclusion is always appreciated!) who were also a focal point in the story/her development. I loved the ‘monster’ ideas and how incredibly chaotic they were to the storyline, I always love the strange little traditions that come along with small town cultures. My favourite thing about this was definitely the message that it sent across at the end, encouraging people to do what they’re most passionate about in life!

I requested Martian Ghost Centaur on whim and I’m glad I received this title for review as it was not nearly as predictable as I thought it would be. Surprises are good.

What I enjoyed the most was the community of Southborough, the friendship and caring among the different businesses and generations within the town was portrayed well. Southborough is a small town, the kind you see in Hallmark films but this one felt more emotionally more convincing, mainly because the characters didn’t come across as fake.

Our “hero” Louie is somewhat of a handful but does have character development throughout the story. I didn’t particularly take to her, but I also understood her behaviour. Personally, I liked the rest of the characters much more.

Overall Martian Ghost Centaur is a quick and entertaining read, to avoid it being flippant there are some solid emotional foundations.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. This graphic novel was so cute! I loved our main character and her entire small town was so fun to learn about. This is graphic novel sets place in a small town that is known for being the home of Sasquatch and tourism has been dying down (since cellphones came into play). Then a really irritating Silicon Valley Bro comes in buying out all the businesses to build his company headquarters. We follow the adventures of Louise and friends while they try to save their town. This was adorable. and so funny. I really loved the underlying theme of figuring out your passions in life beyond a job/school.

I recommend this to everyone. You'll fly through it!

Utterly delightful and heartwarming, this graphic novel of a girl’s attempt to save her cryptid-famous small town from gentrification by an odious techie is sure to inspire readers of all ages. I loved the focus on finding your niche based on what brings you joy and personal satisfaction, rather than what job you can do, and the other inclusive, positive messages throughout help make this such a smile-inducing read. I also enjoyed the adorable, dynamic illustrations throughout. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy!

The main character is extremely obnoxious and self-centered, getting mad at her own “best friend” for wanting a life outside of their small town, but everything works out because she’s white and pretty I guess?? I loved her dads though.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very sweet and whimsical sweet graphic novel about a 17-year-old girl in a small town famous for it's Sasquatch sightings. The artwork really appealed to me; it's clean and fun, easy to follow, and with a nice steady pace this GN is a quick and enjoyable read.

I recommend this for anybody who wants a light GN for a single sitting. The story doesn't have a whole lot of depth, but enough happens to keep your interest.

3.5 stars.

Martian Ghost Centaur is a sweet story about a teenage girl’s attempt to save her small town from hipster techies. Southborough has long been known as the home of a Sasquatch, but tourism has dried up and when a popular MeTube show completely debunks the existence of the Squatch, the whole town is I’m danger. As businesses shutter and folks leave town, seventeen-year-old Louie is determined to make things right. With the help of her friends and family, she goes to extraordinary (and mysterious) lengths to save Southborough. Overall, a sweet and silly take on small towns and the power of community.

Martian Ghost Centaur had a cool premise: Southborough, famous for its monster sightings struggles to attract the tourists that used to flow to their small town for the chance to get a glimpse of the Sasquatch. To help her town and fathers (who struggle to keep the diner they are running afloat with the lack of custumers) out stories protagonist, Louie, sets out for a quest to proof the existence of her favorite monster.
I really enjoyed how Louie found herself on this quest and that sometimes it takes time to figure out ones true passions and purpose in life. She stays true to her roots in her small town and while she did not choose to go off to college and have a job in the 'big town' she grew and ended up respecting her friends choice to take this path.
The art style is great with very distinctive scenes and expressive characters. Lot's of little references to pop-culture throughout the book had me grinning.
I had a hard time liking Louie for most of the first half of the book, supposedly she is seventeen but acts as if she is thirteen at best.

This was cute, but a couple of things kept me from really enjoying it. The artwork is a little inconsistent, especially for proportions and the myriad ways each character is drawn for the 3/4 from behind view. There are also a few instances where the detail is just lacking. Near the end of the story, a large purple blob is used to indicate a crowd of people. The character designs are unique and the coloring is nice though.

The story and message are super cute, but Louie as a character is bizarre. I honestly thought she was around 14 until her friend brings up that they're going to college next year. She is very immature and pretty annoying through most of the story. The artwork really gives this a middle-grade book vibe, but the age of the characters and overall themes are more Young Adult so I'm not really sure who the target audience is. It is an enjoyable and funny story that made me laugh out loud a few times.