At an experimental school on Nantucket Island, Montgomery Hughes discovers a dark secret.
In 2032, biotech entrepreneur Sonja Woodward has created a genetic test that can identify a predisposition in teenagers for unethical behavior before they reach adulthood. Those who test positive are sent to Woodward Academy on Nantucket Island. Montgomery Hughes, a high school senior, is among the first students sent to the school.
But Monty is there under false pretenses. He switched his test result with another student’s and is using an alias to hide his identity. Haunted by his disgraced father’s scandal, Monty is convinced he’s a bad seed. At Woodward, Monty discovers a dark side to Sonja’s ethics-intervention school. Students who don’t respond are treated in a secret lab with a technology that alters genes associated with empathy: the equivalent of a high-tech lobotomy. When Monty’s identity is revealed, Sonja’s gene-editing “cure” offers her the perfect opportunity for punishment—and Monty is scheduled for treatment.
The Empathy Academy by Dustin Grinnell is a high-concept philosophical novel that explores the science and perils of using genetic technology to predict and enhance complex human behavior.
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DUSTIN GRINNELL is the author of The Genius Dilemma and Without Limits. His work has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, New Scientist, Salon, VICE, and Writer’s Digest, among many other popular and literary publications. He earned his MFA in fiction from the Solstice MFA Program at Lasell University, and his MS in physiology from Penn State. He grew up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and now lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Learn more at www.dustingrinnell.com.
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What People Say
“The Empathy Academy is a thought-provoking thriller that balances action and contemplation. It prompts readers to ponder larger questions even beyond nature versus nurture: What does it mean to be a good person? How should we deal with the faults in ourselves and others? Should we stop loving people if they do bad things? Dustin widens the lens on these topics by including references to related books and psychological experiments. This story’s action-packed plot will keep readers guessing, and the energy it infuses into the deep questions at its core will keep them thinking.”
“The Empathy Academy is a commercial techno-thriller at its finest. Equally thought-provoking as it is a page-turner, you will not be able to put this book down. Let’s just say at Woodward Academy, all is not what it seems.”
“The Empathy Academy is packed with ideas that can do a great service to readers. It provides a digestible array of questions, concepts, and lessons that could blossom into something big for younger readers to take with them into the rest of their lives. ”
“The Empathy Academy falls into the category that was once called, “faction,” i.e., fiction about fact. Fiction that teaches. The novel, Brave New World, comes to mind. Reading The Empathy Academy was a nostalgia trip through education courses I took in college and later taught. Dustin handles the many references in his text to great books and thinkers with perfect pacing and an unerring eye for the grizzled humanist and the newcomer alike. This book is packed with delights for the intellect.”
“In The Empathy Academy, the following questions whirl—What makes a good person? What might make a person good? The young protagonist’s quest to find answers is thought-provoking and unsettling in ways that will ensure readers keep turning the pages.”
“The Empathy Academy combines a relentless narrative and multifaceted characters while probing the ethical ramifications of scientific progress. As in his first two novels, Dustin warns what could happen to human behavior when science can alter the limits of endurance, intelligence, and fundamental human emotions. What defines a good life? Why do otherwise good people do bad things? These questions lie at the heart of The Empathy Academy. Dustin delivers another compelling tour de force with his unique blend of medical technology, philosophy, and storytelling.”
“Dustin’s command of science and his curiosity of ethics and philosophy has led him on a pursuit for Truth. These traits are reflected in his fiction, which present as cautionary tales about technology with a glimmer of hope.”
“While sci-fi readers interested in thriller atmospheres will be the most likely audience for The Empathy Academy, it’s also highly recommended as a discussion piece for philosophy students interested in moral and ethical dilemmas. Placing it on the reading lists of such an audience will assure that its message, couched in strong adventure descriptions and ethical probes, will translate to thought-provoking debates and classroom discussions as students absorb a more contemplative message than the usual sci-fi read offers.”
“The Empathy Academy is well-written, fascinating, and beautifully executed.”
“As a former scientist, Dustin Grinnell’s fiction and nonfiction tackles psychological, ethical, and technological issues. His knowledge and experience in areas like biomedical science, Western integrative medicine, and medical mysteries proves invaluable. In The Genius Dilemma, his first novel, Dustin writes about a new drug that enhances the mind but creates psychopaths. In Without Limits, he explores an innovative and powerful enhancement to the human body. Now, in his third novel, The Empathy Academy, Dustin examines moral and ethical dilemmas involved in cutting-edge genetic engineering.”
“Dustin Grinnell writes speculative fiction that explores how technology (and thus, humanity) can go wrong. In The Empathy Academy, a scientist has invented a gene-altering technology that can “fix” the lack of empathy in adolescents. What could possibly go wrong?”
“The Empathy Academy by Dustin Grinnell is filled with thought-provoking ideas. In the continual search for right and wrong, this book reveals the difficult grey areas that are the hardest to avoid. With relatable characters and a writing style that makes it easy to dive straight in, this book is a must-read. This story is definitely suited for younger readers who find themselves questioning life in general as well as their own path to follow. The more experienced readers who have an interest in science and philosophy will also find this book intriguing. There are quite a few solid ideas regarding sorting our feelings and emotions that I would try myself. I also found the entire storyline quite relevant to our current global situation regarding medicine intended to help us, which really harms us more.”
“I’ve always felt that Horace described best what makes a work of art memorable and important. ‘He gains everyone’s approval who mixes the pleasant with the useful.’ The Empathy Academy does just this.”
Would society be possible without empathy? Is everyone born with it? and can empathy be taught to those who don’t have it?
