Publishers are increasingly updating cultural references in older books to keep them relevant for today's young readers. A 2022 reprint of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars replaced early-2000s references like Fear Factor with mentions of TikTok, Instagram, and artists like Billie Eilish, sparking backlash from fans who felt the changes ruined the original story.

The practice, known as modernization, aims to prevent dated references from breaking the reading experience. Literary agent Kari Sutherland argues these updates help books resonate with contemporary audiences, while editor David Levithan at Scholastic uses a "time-agnostic" approach for series like Baby-Sitters Club, swapping VCR tapes for streaming references without introducing anachronisms.

Author Anthony Horowitz embraces the practice, regularly updating his Alex Rider novels to remove details like snooker tables and old cellphones that might alienate modern readers. However, researcher Leah Phillips criticizes the trend as not trusting young readers' abilities, pointing out that eighth graders study Shakespeare without similar accommodations.

The debate reflects broader tensions in publishing between accessibility and authenticity. While publishers see modernization as essential for maintaining sales of perennial bestsellers and long-running series, critics argue it fundamentally alters the author's original intent and underestimates readers' capacity to engage with historical context.