An exemplary teen graphic novel that will cross interests of sci-fi, queer romance, adventure, and anti–big tech readers, gorgeously accessible." — School Library Journal (starred review) Ren Mittal’s last memory in the year 1996 is getting on a bus to visit his mystery pen pal Georgia. When he wakes up in 2122, he thinks he might be hallucinating… he’s not! Tech conglomerate Chronotech sponsors a time-travel program to help students in 2122 learn what history was really like…from real-life subjects who’ve been transported into the future…and Ren is one of them.” Tech conglomerate Chronotech sponsors a time-travel program to help students in 2122 learn what history was really like...from real-life subjects who've been transported into the future...and Ren is one of them. A New Zealand teen is dragged from 1996 into the future by a shady company in this work that expands on a popular webcomic. Oh this one was so cute, I really enjoyed this one. Project Nought is an adorable debut with beautiful art that can put a smile on anyone's face, plus lovable characters as a bonus. This review will be spoiler free, but I will still try to go in depth.

The first thing you need to know about Project Nought is that the characters are all queer and diverse. I will never get tired of stories like this, where queer people are able to thrive in a queer-normative world. Where everything just fits. Project Nought is set 100 years in the future, and I hope we are headed towards a similar society. The world-building was incredible. The art felt futuristic, and I think the author did a great job making everything look as realistic as possible. I would love to take a step out of this timeline and jump into a new one, but based on everything that happened in Project Nought, I’m not sure if I really do. Thank you to Harper360YA for sending me an ARC of this graphic novel in exchange of an honest review. Project Nought is excellent at building up a the story and giving each plot beat its due. I feel like its a recurring issue (albeit an understandable one, given the time it takes to make them) with graphic novels that they often move way too fast and don't give you a chance to get invested in what's going on and the people it's happening to. Here, we have a clear understanding of all four of our leads and their wants and desires, as well as their relationship with the world they exist within. Characters: I adored all of the main characters, especially Mars, Jia and Tāne. I loved the casual representation and varying personalities of each character and all of them were a delight. Stunning character designs and expressive drawings made the characters pop and implicitly gave exposition to their personalities well (Jia and Mars' character designs are so cute, they were my favorites by far). While I found aspects of Ren and Mars' character development too fast, Jia and Phoebe were paced well. I bought this book since I thought a graphic novel would help me get out of my reading slump, which I think it may do that now.

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Project Nought is about a boy from the 1990s being brought to the future to participate in a time travel exchange program... Except is it really an exchange program when the kids from the past are just going to get their minds wiped at the end of the ordeal? The story was great. Mysterious and dangerous and interesting and twisty. I was confused about some things in the beginning, but it made sense eventually, so just hang in there. It was fairly calm for most of the book, the characters spending time together, doing things with the time travel project, trying to uncover secrets and whatnot, but it got a little more action-filled near the end. There were some heavier things, but they weren’t overly dwelled on, so the mood never got dark. The characters were so lovable and easy to root for. Ren was sort of shy and anxious. Mars was excitable and eager. Jia was withdrawn and jaded. Phoebe was friendly and fun. Phoebe was especially great and sort of hilarious sometimes. There were a couple other characters too with smaller parts. And they all had good hearts. I liked them all. And the author REALLY doesn't pull her punches when it comes to putting these characters in Situations and defying her own status quo. And everything that happens makes you question everything that ALREADY happened while exposing the secrets of this world in the best possible way.

A solidly queer addition to the sci-fi canon that interrogates how the pursuit of science can sometimes overshadow a commitment to ethics.” — Publishers Weekly Project Nought is a middle-grade to young YA graphic novel. As an adult who has read more dystopian comic books than is healthy, I struggled to suspend my disbelief. A lot of what happens doesn’t make sense – and not in the conspiracy way. Plotlines are jettisoned or resolved too fast. The teenagers of 2122 are using the exact same slang as the teens of 2021.Furthermore, we got to see a great friend group, who were always ready to help and be there for each other. Another thing I really loved was the blossoming romance between Ren and Mars. Here I really liked seeing them getting to know each other, and slowly forming their bond. Ren, running away to meet his pen pal, falls over in 1996 and wakes up in 2122. Along with his host Mars, fellow time traveller Phoebe and ex-member of the time travel education programme Jira, Ren finds himself at the centre of a mission to uncover the truth. It seems like time travel might be too good to be true. Ren and Mars are gay, Phoebe is bisexual, Jira is non-binary. Even the baddies are lesbians. It’s a wonderful contrast to hypermasculine superhero comics. My tweenage test reader found the storyline and especially the characters, “extremely relatable, other than the time travel bits.” read it all in one sitting over the course of like 4? 5? hours (ignoring the three other books without pictures that i’m ostensibly reading right now) needed this so bad … like it hit! i needed to see a cute gay couple get together and have an adventure and it delivered. more than delivered. a lot of queer and trans characters which always heals me a little and was especially nice rn because i’ve been pissed off at cis people treating me badly this week. it got darker than i expected which wasn’t a bad thing at all like it was really good and i teared up multiple times (although never quite enough to let tears fall). i got the fluttering feeling in my chest that i am literally always chasing from stories and in life so that made me feel like a person again. i also laughed out loud a couple times which is impressive i don’t often laugh from books!! and beautiful beautiful art like it transmitted the action so well. facial expressions felt very real and during the emotional scenes they were honestly kind of brutal in a good way. loved the plot twist too 😼 i’m excited for the next book (there’s gotta be one … ) Project Nought is a very fast-paced adventure that’s perfect if you’re currently in a reading slump and want to try something different. The romance element is incredibly sweet, and the plot is really original and fresh. I also appreciated how authentic the representation was throughout. Furedi has created a diverse and loveable cast of characters accompanied by some fantastic artwork and original ideas.

Overall, I really liked the mysterious sci-fi story, the lovable characters, the cute romance and friendships, the beautiful art, and really just everything about this graphic novel! And when he crosses paths with the absolute last person he expected to see in the future, he has a bigger problem on his hands: What if Chronotech isn't the benevolent organization they claim to be, and he and his fellow subjects are in great danger?This was set in a future society that was queernormative and accepting, and there was lots of queer rep. Multiple characters were nonbinary. There was a m/m romance in the story. There were more characters of different sexualities. Ren has been through it, you guys. First he finds out his mother is going to send him away, so he runs away from home to meet his longtime pen pal, and then, out of nowhere, he’s sent to the future?! Not only is he a subject who is evaluated from all sides, but his time travel program partner is a guy named Mars, who Ren starts to have feelings for. And on top of that, like that isn’t enough, he runs into a person who shouldn’t be there in 2122, bringing up all sorts of questions about how he got there as well. Ren is a survivor!! It’s easy to root for him as he goes through this fray.