From the annual Advertising & Promotion to Kids Conference[8][9] to affiliate programs by catalog retailers such as Delia's that have teenagers advise their friends on what is desirable to Disney and McDonald's holding focus groups in high schools, Quart shows how companies have become increasingly sophisticated in hooking youngsters into a world of extreme consumerism that is ultimately harmful to them socially and developmentally.

She points out that companies trap these impressionable individuals "into a cycle of labor and shopping" with brands "aim[ing] to register so strongly in kids' minds that the appeal will remain for life".

She published Hothouse Kids: The Dilemma of the Gifted Child,[11] a book that examines the cultures of extreme child-rearing that can be found across the U.S. that puts heavy emphasis on early achievement.

Quart turns a skeptical eye on the growing genius-building business that includes the Baby Einstein videos, the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and IQ tests.

In a book that Publishers Weekly called "thoroughly researched and admirably evenhanded,"[14] Quart reports on self-advocacy among people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses that are usually treated with drugs.

"[21] A starred review by Publishers Weekly said, "Quart’s vision of an America where no one needs to put on 'codified theatrical performances via social media' to get the help they need is a breath of fresh air.

[31] Her work for The New York Times Magazine includes a feature on the indie music scene in Toronto,[32] a story about a transmale college freshman at Barnard.

Quart commissioned and helped originate Maisie Crow's 50-minute documentary about the Jackson Women's Health Organization, the last abortion clinic in Mississippi, writing its National Magazine Award-nominated multimedia story for the Atavist.

The book was well received by critics, and included in The New York Observer's "Innovation" section[40] and covered by The New Yorker, with Joshua Rothman describing it as "dense, playful, aphoristic.

[41] Alternet's Lynn Stuart Parramore wrote, "Quart’s laser-sharp phrases...have a way of sticking around in your head long after you turn the final page.”[42] She is married to Peter Maass, a journalist, and they live in New York City.