New Trend in YA Lit?

Recent studies by Scholastic Inc. have shown that readership among children drops off at the age of nine to eleven. With their new book, "Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233," Sean Stewart and Jordan Weissman are trying to recapture this market. Intertwining reading with technology, the book makes the reader a detective, looking for clues within the text of the book and in outside sources. Aimed at young adults, readers help the heroine of the story, Cathy, find out why her boyfriend broke up with her. Kids can look for clues by checking out Web sites and calling phone numbers to listen to voicemails left by Cathy. The Web sites and phone messages give the kids access to secret codes, diary entries, photographs, and letters.

Personally, I think that this is a great way to get kids involved in reading. As a child, I could read for hours, but not ever kid is like that. Some kids struggle with reading due to learning disabilities. Some kids have trouble paying attention to the words on the page. This style of book could help keep kids involved in the story―involved enough that they want to read to the end. Most kids I know love to play the part of detective. Although kids will be getting clues from other sources, the clues always direct them back to the book, where they have to read to find out what happens next.

Some controversy has occurred with this project, though. Running House, an imprint of The Perseus Books Groups, made a deal with a major corporation to replace various products in the book with real products produced by the company. Frankly, it's sad to think about the amount of kid-focused marketing in the world today. Everywhere you turn there are ads for a new toy, a new cosmetic product, a new teen magazine, or a new video game. While numerous books contain name brand household products, at times I wish that this did not occur in books for kids.

What are your thoughts on all of this? How do you think this new style of book will change Young Adult literature? What do you think of blatant marketing strategies directed at kids? Post your comments and let us know what you think.


If you would like to read more about this book, there is a great article at Book Business Magazine, titled "Reality Check," by Matt Steinmetz. Click here to read the article.

You can also check out the book at Amazon.com