Why can't they just leave young girls who like to read ALONE?! In the NYT, young-adult authors discuss the selling off of references for product placements to cosmetic companies, shoe brands, etc. Says Susan Katz, publisher of HarperCollins Children's Books: "If you look at Web sites, general media or television, corporate sponsorship or some sort of advertising is totally embedded in the world that tweens live in. It gives us another opportunity for authenticity." Authenticity. That's one way to spin it! In other news, nowhere is safe from ads. (Sent from my iPhone)

From the hardcover version of Cathy's Book, by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman. References were removed in the paperback. [NYT]

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