About the Book
-
Author:
- Chelsey Furedi
- Genres:
- Graphic Novels
- Science Fiction
Cover Story: Slightly Futuristic
BFF Charm: Destiny’s Child
Talky Talk: SuperGreen
Bonus Factor: Supporting Characters
Relationship Status: A Great Date
Cover story: Slightly Futuristic
A cis guy holding another guy’s hand. A non-binary character holding a girl’s hand in the background. Is that a Space Needle in the very back? I’m getting a slightly futuristic vibe here.
The Deal:
Ren Mittal is a teenager in 1996 New Zealand. He plans to run away from home when he suddenly appears in the year 2122 as a “subject” of a time travel program by a company called Chronotech. Chronotech intakes these subjects from different eras in the past so that students of the 2100s can learn their history and culture from them directly. When in the middle of an interview, Ren meets someone he last expects to see in 2122, which leads to the question: is Chronotech actually doing good, or is there something more nefarious going on?
BFF Charm: Destiny’s Child
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.
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Ren sort of falls for his time travel program partner Mars, a really sweet guy who idolizes Chronotech. Mars has funky-colored hair, is enthusiastic about everything, and stans the head of Chronotech, Eliza Yu. There’s a little bit of kissing that goes on in the story, but it isn’t fully fleshed out why Ren is interested in Mars. It seems like they could be just friends who bond over laser video games and candy, but suddenly they’re into each other? It’s hard to swoon when you don’t see the push and pull between the characters getting to know each other and crush on each other.
Talky Talk: SuperGreen
As Ruby Rhod said in The Fifth Element, everything here is SuperGreen. People are free to be themselves, and it seems like the laws in 2122 New Zealand support LGBTQ+ folks. Plus there’s all the tech jargon, though I was surprised that the tech hadn’t advanced much since 2023 (phones have the same limitations, Mars creates a drone, security cameras can’t “enhance,” etc.). Still, the life of a teen in 2122 seems aspirational.
Bonus Factor: Supporting Characters
The side characters are all squeezable and amazing. I would die for Tāne, the security guard in a wheelchair with greenstones in his earlobes. Phoebe crushes on Jia, who is a non-binary ex-student that got kicked out of the program. Mars is a marshmallow, and his protectiveness over his drone is adorable. I just want to hug them all. Furedi made a great group of characters that help support the narrative.
Relationship Status: A Great Date
We have an excellent graphic novel on our hands. Ren’s plight is believable and the teenaged heroes are all distinct in their own ways. Don’t be discouraged by the 300-page density of drawings and text; it all goes really quickly. You can chew through this in a day and feel satisfied by the ending.
Literary Matchmaking
The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg is another sci fi journey with a nefarious corporation.
Zoe Hana Mikuta’s Gearbreakers is another LGBTQ+ sci fi story, though set in a dystopia.
FTC Full Disclosure: I got a free copy of the book from the publisher. I received neither compensation nor kittens in exchange for this review. Project Nought is available now.
