I am weirded out by how much I adored this story.
Gentrification was such a weirdly fascinating topic to explore in a graphic novel but it was such a fun ride?
Basically, this follows a small town that is slowly being bought up by an arrogant business-type Gen-Z dude who wants to create a start-up right in the middle of this town that has been known forever as the town where you can catch a glance of a Sasquatch. Basically, we follow the daughter of one of the business owners who does everything she can to make sure her parents don't have to sell their place.
It was so fun and engaging and followed the idea of the American Dream (you can be anything) and had some really poignant commentary on such issues as passion vs. dream job and how to be happy in life without (much) money.
Definitely an errie read and visually pleasing, with some hilarious references to places and tv shows (also memes like "road work ahead? Yeah I sure hope it does") that had me giggling!

Louie's hometown of Southborough, CA is famous for sightings of the Sasquatch, but when it isn't spotted for a few years, tourism starts to dry up and business start going under. Louie's dads' business is in danger of being bought by a business that helps other people start businesses. Louie has to do some quick thinking to save her town and figure out her place in it.

This was such a ride. I absolutely loved it. All the characters are awesome and the story is funny and cute. The drawings are also great.

Martian Ghost Centaur is a comic full of humor and adventure. Talk about protecting the place you love, following your intuition and finding yourself.
The plot centers on Louie O'Connor, a firm believer in the existence of the Sasquatch. The town of Southborough used to be a major tourist destination, attracting people from all over in hopes of seeing the famous Sasquatch. But it's been years since anyone saw the 'squatch' and tourism is starting to dry up.
A tech company called Start-up.com (a start-up company that helps people start their own businesses) decides to start buying places across the city to build their tech headquarters, driving everyone outside. .
Louie and his best friend will do everything possible to reverse this situation.
It was a comic that I read nothing and it touched my heart, Louie does everything possible to save his people and it is amazing.
She is a girl who does not stop! He has an overwhelming character and does not give up on anything. Sometimes it fails but it is understandable because it has to go through a lot
If you want to read a summer novel that distracts you and makes you have a good time, it is the ideal

Fun, fresh, and adorable.
Colourful, friendly art. Diverse characters. LGBTQ rep (Louie has two Dads and they are too cute, even when they're sad. And they adore her.)
A tale of family, friendships, and community, and how these things endure even when a fundamental part of your life turns out to be a lie. All wrapped up in the drama of being a teen. And a sneaky one at that (the Airbnb, hysterical).

This was an utterly fabulous graphic novel--whimsical, sweet without being saccharine, very fun, and philosophically deep at that. The overall messages about community, passion, and how jobs (or school) don't have to define someone are wonderful for a tween/teen/young adult audience, and they're a great reminder for older readers too. The art style is really cute as well. I'll be buying a copy of this once it comes out! (Review based on an ARC from NetGalley.)

That's the cutest thing I've read recently. Super quick read and I loved the art style. It reminds me a bit of the "luberjanes" graphic novels. It talks about friendship, love, trust and to find your passion and what makes you happy. It's definitely a favourite

Southborough, a town once known for its Sasquatch sightings, is on the verge of being bought out by a guy who wants to make it a tech area. We follow Louie, our main character, as she tries to save her town.

I really enjoyed the art style. My favourite bits were the puns: Doug "the boulder" Johansson, I liked that tidbit very much. The ending was a highlight for me, I enjoyed that she ended up finding what she wanted to do as a job, which I feel is a good message to give to people, as I am well into my university degree and I still have no idea what I want to do, and the little extra Sasquatch was excellent. (also, bonus points for having 2 dads! I've never read a book with two dads).
However, I did have a few issues, a lot of things were unrealistic, such as the Airbnb in a closet without her parents knowing. Also, the obvious "plot twist" could have been funner if they weren't revealed as early on.
Overall, an enjoyable read that I think many people will like to read, especially younger teenagers.

I received this as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for giving me access.

Sasquatch story? Yes please! I loved how this one turned out. Sometimes the mystery is just in believing. A great story that shows what a girl will do for the town she loves in order to save it.

Trust is a big part, but so is love and friendship....also not being the big man trying to take over a small town. Definitely one that can put a smile on anyones face when they read this.

Well, that was some fun entertainment over lunch. No, I actually read it while I was eating lunch.

Martian Ghost Centaur isn't my favorite book title but it fits the ridiculous story. Louie is the daughter of two guys who started a sasquatch rumor when they were younger that resulted in a spike of town tourism. Unfortunately, as it goes, people started losing interest over time. Louie spends her last Summer before college trying to find a way to bring people back to her town before the whole thing gets taken over by capitalism. It's a pretty deep plot if you think about it. 👀

My favorite bits were the throwbacks to pop culture from the 90s and early 2000s and the end lesson to 'do more of what makes you happy'. This is definitely a Graphic novel you should pick up.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for providing me with a review copy.*

Martian Ghost Centaur by Mat Heagerty is a story about a town fighting against the loss of its businesses, its people, its identity. It is also a story about unknown monsters, both fantastic and horrifyingly real. And about how an old lie can make everything cramble.

In a town where a Sasquatch siting made everything bloom, the loss of the Sasquatch and gentrification puts in peril everything its people have fought for.

Louie, our main character, tries to save her town. Her idea? To catch the Sasquatch. But... what happens if there's no creature?

I enjoyed Martian Ghost Centaur but found that it has two very distinct problems: One, it tries to do everything. At once. At the same time. We have the true-or-not Sasquatch story. We have the centrification story. We have a main character who creates an airbnb in her bedroom's closet; we have the mini-story of the Ghost-catcher girl. And so on and so forth.

And two... I couldn't stand Louie. She is rude to everybody, her evolution as a character is kind of strange, she contradicts herself and her own feelings more than once...

Sadly, I had very high hopes with this story and it kind of let me down. I enjoyed the drawing and the color (the artistic side is simply amazing) but could not enjoy the story at all.

When a tech whizzkid starts buying up Louie's hometown, she decides to cash in on the legend of the sasquatch to try and save it.

A quirky, fun tale with a strong message. The illustrations and colouring are excellent, really draw you in. I had a few issues with some aspects of the story which didn't seem very plausible and the main character acted a lot younger than she was, I thought she was about 12 for the first part of the book.
I can see this appealing to our students though, so it's worth considering for the library collection.
Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ebook to review.

I can see why teen readers will love this book but I don’t think I fall into the intended audience. For as long and slow-moving as the book is, the characters didn’t seem to have much depth and there were too many character and plot contradictions (money ruins everything but money rescues the town, lying is bad but lying rescues the town, etc) that kept me out of the story. There are a lot of good things in the book that could have been made much better but maybe it won’t be an issue for other readers.

I enjoyed reading about Louie’s love for her town. The plot reminded me of an episode of Los Espookys where the team is hired to revive a town’s tourist revenue with a fake sea monster. It’s a similar premise here, except there’s a stronger emotional connection between Louie and Southborough. She will do quite literally anything to save it. Her methods are… unconventional, but make for a really fun and humorous narrative. The art style was also great. I liked all the little details, like the signs around town and Felix’s cats.

I did think it was a longer graphic novel than I’m used to. Some character relationships felt underdeveloped since certain characters’ purpose seemed to only exist to serve the protagonist.

My favorite character was Para-Norma, who plays a similar role as Buzzfeed Unsolved. Even though she was integral to the town’s decline, she made up for it in the end. The town’s redemption at the end was satisfying, and I enjoyed seeing Leef, the antagonist, kicked out of town.

<i>arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

This graphic novel was fun but I did have a few issues with it that took away from my enjoyment.

In this story, we are set in a town that was once booming with tourists because of a Sasquatch siting but as those sitings dwindled, so did the tourists and money and now the town is on the verge of being bought out by this man who wants to make it a tech area.

Our main character is determined to find a solution and to save her dads from having to sell their restaurant and move.

I liked the whole message in this story but the main character got on my nerves. She was constantly rude to everyone around her even when they were helping her and she just never really got any admonishment for her actions. A lot of it was brushed off.

Also, she ran an airbnb out of her bedroom? Which was just her closet and her dads didn’t know? That seemed so unrealistic to me and kept taking me out of the story.

The ending was nice but that’s really the only part of the story that I enjoyed.

I do think this would be loved and adored by a younger audience! My issues with this story might just be due to my age now.

2.5/5 ⭐️

This is a fun and somewhat silly graphic novel about a girl who will do anything to save her town.

I appreciated how easy this was to read. The illustrations are lovely and very clearly laid out with the text. I liked the main character, Louie, a lot - she is vibrant and plucky and the reader can really root for her. I didn't find myself sucked into the story and the rest of the characters lacked depth, so I wasn't as engaged as I had hoped to be. But it is still a fun read that I think teenagers will enjoy.

Review to come to blog/goodreads on February 2021

I received this book from Netgalley/publisher in exchange of an honest review.

A small town, a Sasquatch, a girl determined to do everything she can to save the town, and more. I really had tons of fun reading this one.

Meet Louie, a strong girl who loves her two dads and who loves her little town. I loved how Louie was determined to help her dads, her town. She never once gives up, instead just boulders on making new plans for getting money (she is already letting people sleep in her closet as an airBNB which had me laughing so much), and making sure her town is getting saved. I would have liked her to be a bit honest towards her dads in several of the pages, but given what we find out about the dads.. I can imagine that she isn't going to let that slide. Still, did she really think no one would notice? :P
I loved her plans to revive the town which, as the title already tells you WAY before it actually happens in the story, means the Martian Ghost Centaur makes its appearance. I loved that plan and I loved seeing who was involved in it and how they made it a success.
I loved seeing her try to get people away from the town (the techies) by putting signs everywhere, and doing other sneaky things to put them off from getting things.
Plus, we see her grow up and ask herself some questions. I like that this was added and I loved seeing Louie make some decisions and find answers.

I love her friendship with Felix, they make quite a pair, though I would have liked her to be a bit more OK with his plans. I get that it is no fun to have a friend move away, but not everyone wants to stay in town forever. Some people just have other dreams.

My heart broke for this small town and how hard it was for everyone to stay. How much money problems there were and how everyone was just giving up. :( My heart broke further when Louie's dads also confirmed their issues and were thinking of moving. Poor dads, poor Louie, and poor little town which looks so awesome (I definitely want to visit that bunker grocery store).

The Sasquatch stuff? I really liked that story, though my heart just broke when we found out certain things. :(

I at first wasn't too big of a fan of the Youtube star, but later on I started liking her more and more and I could see that she is a sweet girl.

The ending had me smiling so so much. I am so happy with it!

The art was fabulous as well, I like the style a lot!

I know that Leef is the villain and we are supposed to dislike him, but I so wasn't a fan of him that I didn't like the story as much as I could have. I was just frustrated that this crap was allowed. That he just could buy up left and right without anyone caring or coming between. It just seemed utter bullshit. The dude is just pure evil and doesn't have any sympathy or care for people and their lives/emotions. He just treats people like pawns. Bah. Disgusting human being.

All in all, a fun book featuring mostly great characters and a sweet town that needs to be saved. I would recommend it.

Oh my god this was funny, catchy and definitely awesome 💕

Friendship, love, trust, are always an big three in life to lean on.

This story shows what happens if a lie comes to light,
or what happens when all things take a turn for the worse.

But when you want something and you put effort to it, the sky is the limit 💕

Loved reading it

This graphic novel was so adorable. The story was awesome and the art was amazing! I like that it didn't focus so much on the importance of what your job is and instead focused on the importance of what makes you happy. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive and that was nice to see in a narrative.

Follow Lulu as she tries to save her town, her Sasquatch dreams, and figure out what she wants to do with her life. Sometimes dreams don't have to be about making it big to be successful. Sometimes its about what is important to you and what makes you happy that drives a successful and fulfilling life!

Pick up a copy as soon as you can! 10/10 Will probably read again.