From School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up-Seventeen-year-old Louie O'Connor loves her hometown, the once thriving, now dying tourist destination of Southborough, CA. Before Louie was born, a Sasquatch sighting attracted visitors, but enthusiasm has waned, and techie Leef Smith swoops in, eager to take advantage of the cheap land to build his start-up headquarters. Louie fears for her community, especially her parents' restaurant, Squatch Burger, where she works, so she and her best friend, Felix, team up to introduce a new creature that's sure to draw attention; along the way, she learns important lessons as she feuds and then makes up with Felix and realizes that her Squatch Burger job doesn't define her. Louie is white, Felix is Latinx, and there are numerous BIPOC secondary characters; the story also offers queer representation via multiple same-sex couples, including Louie's fathers. Time lapses are generally conveyed through text boxes, but some transitions are unlabeled and rushed, and pacing can be uneven. Still, the distractions don't detract from the narrative, and clever jokes and cultural references from the past two decades are sprinkled throughout. Basic color block backgrounds focus on the highly expressive and comedic character reactions, giving the tale a playful feel as it leads to the reveal of the titular character. VERDICT Readers will appreciate this campy adventure that has touches of "Scott Pilgrim" and "Lumberjanes" and ends on a valuable message about maintaining boundaries between work and identity.-Alea Perez, Elmhurst P.L., ILα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review
"Martian Ghost Centaur makes me want to visit Southborough, grab a meal at Squatch Burger and hang out with all the characters because it's so charming and heart-warming." -- Yehudi Mercado (Sci-Fu)
"Readers will appreciate this campy adventure that has touches of Scott Pilgrim and Lumberjanes and ends on a valuable message about maintaining boundaries between work and identity." ― School Library Journal
"[...] This fun story has something for everyone, including thinly veiled '90s pop-culture references, matter-of-fact LGBTQ+ representation, and small town heart, and high-spirited, passionate Loui, who's angry about the opportunistic take-over of her town, is a lively protagonist. Hand to fans of Lumberjanes or The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl." ― Booklist
About the Author
Mat Heagerty lives in the Bay Area with his wife, daughter, son and black lab. For over a decade he’s bartended at a really special bar in San Francisco called El Rio. Mat’s dyslexic, and struggled a bunch in school, but now he writes rad comics like ‘Unplugged and Unpopular’ and this one! You can find him on twitter @matheagerty or on his website matheagerty.com.
Stephanie Mided is a comic artist and illustrator from Chicago, IL who loves all things comedic, cute, and colorful. When she isn’t working on comics, she spends her time collecting records and stopping her two cats from spilling drinks all over her desk. For more of her work visit Stephmided.com.
