The Experiment by Catherine Egan

The Experiment

Catherine Egan

Scholastic Inc. · Paperback · October 21, 2025

Welcome back to the Factory in The Experiment, the highly anticipated sequel to The Factory that Kirkus called a "thrilling and complex beginning to what will surely be a sought-after series"!

Buy on Amazon

We earn from qualifying purchases.

Who it’s for
Asher returns to the Factory unchanged, while his former best friend now runs it.
Themes
Time displacement, Friendship and betrayal, Uncovering secrets
Pacing
Fast

Nearest books

Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved.

  1. Time Lions and the Chrono-loopKrystal Sutherland, Martin Seneviratne46% matchShares Time Travel Fiction
  2. Alien Summer #1James S. Murray, Carsen Smith44% match
  3. The ExperimentRebecca Stead51% match
  4. The FortGordon Korman48% match
  5. RestartGordon Korman47% match
  6. Felix YzLisa Bunker47% match
  7. At the Mountains of MadnessJacopo della Quercia47% match
  8. TrexChristyne Morrell46% match

For older readers: The Fallout, The Replaced, Necropolis

Start with three books, and this one can be the first.

Members get a new edition every morning: a route out from their books to essays, research and talks, with the reason for each.

Start with this book

About this book

Welcome back to the Factory in The Experiment, the highly anticipated sequel to The Factory that Kirkus called a "thrilling and complex beginning to what will surely be a sought-after series"! It's been only moments since Asher Doyle made an impossible decision -- a matter of seconds since he set off a time bomb on the rooftop of the Factory that would change his life forever. At least, it felt like only moments to Asher. But he was wrong.

Continue reading

In reality, twenty years have passed since that fateful night. Twenty birthdays, and yet Asher is still the same thirteen-year-old boy he was when he arrived at the Factory. Asher Doyle, The Boy Frozen in Time. And it gets worse: Not only is his best friend, Vi, twenty years older -- she's the new director of the evil place she and Asher swore to bring down. What could possibly have happened to make her switch sides? As Asher wraps his head around all he's lost, he finds himself at the center of an experiment at the hands of his former ally and best friend. It's up to him and a new group of friends to expose what new sinister secrets lie buried at the Factory -- if he manages to make it out alive . . .

The Factory’s Time Gap

Asher returns to the Factory unchanged, while his former best friend now runs it.

Come here for

  • Asher’s twenty-year time displacement
  • The Factory’s new director and buried secrets

Expect

  • A thirteen-year-old confronting twenty years of change
  • An experiment led by his former ally

Where it sits

Time Travel Fiction87%
Dystopian57%
Thrillers & Suspense41%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Inventions & Inventors
  • Sci-Fi
  • Dystopian
Authors
Catherine Egan
Publisher
Scholastic Inc.
Published
October 21, 2025
Format
Paperback
Theme
Time displacement · Friendship and betrayal · Uncovering secrets
Reading lane
Inventions & Inventors