Project Nought by Chelsey Furedi

 Project Nought

February 10th, 2024

Project Nought by Chelsey Furedi, 2022, Graphic Novel/ Science Fiction, 330 pages

In 1996, Ren Mittal feels like he has never truly connected with others around him besides his pen pal, Georgia. When Ren's mother threatens to send him away, Ren flees on a bus to seek comfort from Georgia face to face. However, Ren wakes up and finds himself in the year 2122 as subject in Chronotech's time-travel program. In addition to feeling ambivalent about the program's purpose, Ren begins to develop feelings for his student guide, Mars. Ren and Mars soon discover that Chronotech is not all that it seems and are left with no other option: they must take down Chronotech before it is too late... 

I chose to read Project Nought because science fiction has always been one of my favorite genres! The title caught my addition: did Project Nought mean a project with no purpose? What was the project exactly? After realizing this novel involved an involuntary time-travel program for students, I was hooked. I wanted to see how Furedi could bring such a complicated concept to life, as well as find out if Ren would "find himself"in the future. 

Teaching and Content Considerations:

Project Nought would most likely work best as an independent novel to showcase in one's classroom library.  I believe students who are in 8th grade and up would enjoy Project Nought. Perhaps I am being too cautious here, but the complex time-traveling/alternate dimension concepts, college aged characters, and language of the story seemed to be geared towards older teens. Students who enjoy science fiction novels, are reluctant readers interested in "the future," or enjoy a (LGBTQ +) romance plot would be the ideal readers for this novel. 

Instructional Ideas

Although I'd recommend Project Nought as an independent novel, there are still many concepts students can explore! To begin, our protagonist Ren faces an incredible amount of conflicts (man vs self, v man, v society, v nature, v technology) throughout the novel. Students could map out (perhaps even illustrate) the different types of conflicts that Ren experiences in the past as well as the future. It would be interesting to see which types of conflicts have more of a looming presence in his life depending on the time period. Furthermore, Ren, Mars, Jia, and Pheobe all have different perceptions about Chronotech's time-traveling program. Students could share each character's point of view of the program as if they were being interviewed in the podcast Time After Time (featured in the novel). If teachers wanted more of a "project," students could create this mock podcast on Soundtrap capturing the characters' varying thoughts. 

Possible Read Aloud Passages

Note: I have never used a graphic novel as a read aloud. If I did, I would project the pages on the board for all students to see. The selections below are "passages" I would want students to look at more closely.

•  Pages 68-72 vs 73-74:"Interstellar Arcade" vs "Back at the University..."
•  Ren and Mars are having fun with each other at the futuristic arcade. This is the first time Ren seems to be enjoying the future and letting his guard down. Phoebe is stuck back at the university with her student guide. Students could compare the color schemes of the frames and infer what it suggests about the characters' feelings in each setting. 
• Pages 81-83: "You probably won't believe me..."
• Jia confesses to Phoebe that her old time-traveling subject died, but Chronotech covered it up. Students will begin to wonder about Chronotech's true intentions. 
• Pages 132-138: "You're me..?"
• Ren runs into the last person he would ever expect to see in the future: himself.  Great passage for students to revise their predictions about the plot!

Thoughts and Reflections

Project Nought was definitely an entertaining novel to read. I initially liked Furedi's idea of time travel and using it as a student exchange program. I also appreciated the allusions to the 90s (being a 90s kid myself), the sweetness of Ren and Mars' developing romance, and the inclusion of gender fluid characters and characters with disabilities. However, the plot was sometimes difficult to follow. Perhaps I am not the most science-oriented person, but I became a bit confused as Furedi began to talk about alternate dimensions. Additionally, I felt there were many unanswered questions about Eliza Yu and Rosalind Wiltshire. I think I would gain more from the novel if I reread it--looking back, there are a few hints at the truth of Chronotech's intentions at the beginning of the story. 

After reading Project Nought, I would love to learn more about New Zealand's (setting of the story in both present and future) attitude and laws regarding LGTBQ+ relationships over the years. In 1996, Ren is characterized as a loner and almost stifled. However, the future Ren wakes up to is welcoming of all people and relationships! Hence, I'd love to know more about New Zealand's history: if there was, or still is, discrimination against the LGTBQ+ community and actions taken to combat it.