The Project

Publishers Weekly

Falkner delivers a thriller that melds humor, danger, and history. Luke, a 15-year-old New Zealand native transplanted to Iowa because of his father's teaching job, finds himself researching "the most boring book in the world" for an assignment. By an amazing coincidence, the only copy of that book, Leonardo's River, turns up the next day when Luke and his best friend Tommy help save the university library from flooding. The boys decide to sneak in and grab the book—an eccentric millionaire is willing to pay two million dollars for it—and are chased by mysterious men when they abscond with it. Their research leads to the discovery of lost writings of Da Vinci, complete with the true meaning of the Vitruvian man. They also end up in further danger as they uncover a Nazi conspiracy that could change the fate of the world. Falkner (Brain Jack) mixes some goofy concepts into this otherwise straightforward story, but he sells them well and doesn't let them feel forced. The result is an entertaining mystery with plenty of enjoyable twists and turns. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)

VOYA - Bethany Martin

While working to save the town from a flood, and themselves from a summer spent reading The Last of the Mohicans, high schoolers Luke and Tommy stumble across the most boring book in the world. Besides being extremely boring, the single existing copy of Leonardo's River, based on drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, also happens to be worth two million dollars. However, Luke and Tommy are not the only ones who want to cash in on the book. They soon find themselves hunted by a rare book collector who wants to use the information about time travel contained in the book to make sure Nazi Germany wins World War II. It is up to Luke and Tommy to stop him and save the world. Falkner has created a fast-paced story filled with twists and turns. The introduction of time travel halfway through the book, however, is a bit jarring and might turn off readers who like their adventure stories without science fiction elements. Those who do not mind some unrealistic plot points in their stories, along with conspiracy theorists and alternate history fans, will find much to enjoy. Recommend this book to readers who enjoyed Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer (Scholastic, 2004/VOYA December 2004) or Elise Broach's Masterpiece (Henry Holt, 2008) but are looking for a little more action. Reviewer: Bethany Martin

Children's Literature - Paula Rohrlick

When flood waters threaten an Iowa City library, fifteen-year-old friends Luke and Tommy volunteer to help move the books to safety. In the process, they stumble upon a unique and valuable volume: Leonardo's River, known as the most boring book in the world, but also, it seems, the repository of some amazing secrets. The boys are not the only ones who want the book, however; members of a neo-Nazi group known as the Werewolves are after it as well, and they want to use its secrets to change the course of history. Luke, who is from New Zealand, has a perfect memory; Tommy has a knack for talking his way into, and then out of, trouble. These gifts come in handy when the boys must go back in time to World War II to foil the bad guys' plans and prevent a world-changing catastrophe. If you can suspend belief, this is an enjoyable, action-packed thriller featuring wise-cracking and intrepid teen heroes. Fans of Falkner's other YA novels, Tomorrow Code and Brain Jack, will be eager to read this adventure. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick

School Library Journal

Gr 6–9—Luke and Tommy are sure that the book they have been assigned for a school project is the most boring one in the world. But which book can really claim that status? Challenged to find out, they do some research and stumble upon Leonardo's River, written 200 years before World War II and rumored to be so deadly dull that no one could ever finish it. Improbably, the boys discover the only existing copy in their public library-but they aren't the only ones interested in the volume. When they take it and are violently pursued by a megalomaniacal millionaire, they realize that there must be more to the book than meets the eye. Indeed, a deadly secret hides within its yawn-worthy passages and sleep-inducing chapters. Suspense builds as the friends uncover a kidnapping, a network of neo-Nazis, and plans for a nuclear bomb. The story transitions from mystery-adventure to science fiction with the revelation that the most boring book in the world contains coded instructions for the operation of a time machine that the neo-Nazis plan to use to change the course of World War II. Who better to travel back to 1940s Germany and foil a Nazi plot than two gutsy teenage guys? The wacky unbelievability of this story in no way detracts from its enjoyment. It reads like an action movie, with plenty of chases, explosions, and by-a-hair escapes. A good choice for reluctant readers, particularly boys.—Emma Burkhart, Springside School, Philadelphia, PA

Kirkus Reviews

New Zealand author Falkner delivers another solid thriller (Brainjack, 2010, etc.).

Iowa teens Luke and Tommy are in big trouble at school, not simply because they find their assigned reading boring and say so.Well, maybe the prank they played on the statue of the town's founding father was part of the problem as well.But they didn't mean to make trouble; they even volunteered to help save the library's books when the river overflowed its banks.It was just a lucky coincidence that they found a one-of-a-kind book in the process—a book that someone was offering a big reward to recover.They slip back the library to pick it up and get caught up in not just the flood, but a conspiracy straight out of World War II. It seems that this book contains plans to a time-travel mechanism that will enable some last, lingering Nazis to restore the Third Reich unless Tommy and Luke go back to 1944 to thwart them.Now they're really in trouble, running from thugs, deciphering the most boring book in the world and trying to save Europe from being overtaken by Adolf Hitler all over again. This volume is hard to put down, with engaging and well-drawn characters, plenty of action and nice side helpings of history.

An epilogue hints that this may not be the end of Tommy and Luke's adventures; readers will certainly be hoping for more. (Science fiction. 12 & up)