Rating: 
Summary: youth
Review: I've never been a real big Holden fan like friends of mine were in high school. I do think if I would have read it in the right voice it would have been funnier at least. I never felt exactly that way though. My kind of rebellion came at the same age but against different things. Anyway to this day I am still kind of suspect of anyone who says their favorite book is Catcher. Do they not realize that other books were written and ones more pertinent to their present age and ultimately more satsifying than that one. I sympathized with this character but the reason this book is not taught in schools isn't because it is dirty but because it is just mediocre literature. Salinger is not a great author just a sentimental favorite. Salinger's book is important for being the first to give a kid credit for having insight beyond his years but that is the extent of this books importance. I have to confess that at Holden's age I liked Dumas(imagination!), Rock 'n Roll(passion!), and certain young ladies(....!), and simply ignored parents, teachers and all pretenders to that unoccupied(as far as I was concerned) throne of authority. My advice to youth: put your faith in lasting things like literature, read David Copperfield. And make use of your youthful energy and passion and good cool kid sense, become an interesting person that the generation of kids after you will look up to. Four stars because even though not a fan, Holden just needs an understanding friend after all.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put This One Down
Review: I've never even come close to reading this classic by J.D. Salinger until I picked up this cheap little copy a few days ago. My only knowledge of the book came from Mark David Chapman and the killing of John Lennon two decades ago. I sat down with it right away and quickly became engrossed in the story told by narrator and main character Holden Caulfield. It's absolutely incredible that this was written in 1951. The language is slangy and fresh enough to make anyone believe that it was written close to today.The book is an account of a few days in the life of Holden Caulfield, teenager and cynic. Caulfield gets kicked out of his prep school and wanders around New York City for a few days, trying to avoid his parents and having a few interesting encounters along the way. All of these events are related to use directly through Holden's worldview. This worldview is depressingly downbeat, as Holden views most who tramp through this world as "phonies". To use one of Holden's favorite phrases, what "killed me" about this book is Salinger's ability to transform extremely arcane sensations and emotions into prose. When Caulfield talks about his dead brother Allie, he mentions how red his hair was. To show the reader how red it was, Holden talks about a day he was golfing and turned around and saw Allie about 150 yards away watching him. Great imagery! I could actually see his red hair while I was reading this. I loved Caulfield's hunting cap, the imagery of his being the catcher in the rye, and the ducks and frozen fish in Central Park. All point at Caulfield as something deeper than an angst-addled teenager slumming through New York. Caulfield is on a quest to save kids from his own fate. He achieves this in a sense at the end with his kid sister Phoebe. I'm thirty years old, which is still young enough to understand how Holden feels. I went through a stage where I felt exactly like Holden. Everybody does to some extent, I think. The trick is to survive it and not let it destroy you. I really thought this book would end on a bad note, but it seemed uplifting in a way. Read this book, if for nothing else then to say you've read it. Once you get started on this one, you will have a tough time putting it down. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Teenage years
Review: I've read 'The Catcher In the Rye' twice. Once when I was 14 years old and the second time more recently when i was 19. When I first discovered this book it soon became the most riveting read of my life. The subjects that it covers were ones that were extremley interesting to me at that age, so I found it to be very enjoyable.
However the second time i read it I found it extremley hard work to enjoy as much as I once did. I feel that a mature reader will find Holden Caulfield to be a very annoying and obnoxious character, as I did on this occassion.
On the other hand the story does move at a fast pace and is truly captivating. 'The Catcher in the Rye' has many devoted followers and many non-followers, I prefer to sit on the fence.
Rating: 
Summary: My Favorite Novel
Review: I've read a good amount of classics but this just takes the cake. It's just so timeless to me. Sure minor details were different at the time it was written but the basic idea of being a teenager is still the same. This book exposes the bitter truth-forcing you to remember that the best years of your life were also the worst. May this novel and it's message live on forever.
Rating: 
Summary: worst book ever
Review: I've read a lot of books. And I can say without doubt that this is the worst book I have ever read. Yes, you probably disagree with me. You'll say, "Well, it's a classic book!" The only reason you think it's a classic is because you've been TOLD it's a classic. But hear me out. Here are some reasons this is the WORST BOOK EVER: 1) BAD writing. My english teacher told the class that when we are writing anything, the opening sentence has to grab the reader's attention. Read the first page. It doesn't make me want to keep reading at all. 2) No plot. This book just keeps going and going. It's just Holden rambling on and on. It doesn't make any sense. When he is talking to Mr. Spencer, he is thinking about ducks. No, that's not a typo. He's thinking about DUCKS. Maybe there's some deep symbolic meaning in that. That gets me to my 3rd reason. 3) TOO MUCH SYMBOLISM, NOT ENOUGH INTERESTING STUFF: the problem is, too many writers focus on deep meanings and symbolism and themes instead of having an interesting, fun to read book. Personally, when I read a book (such as my favorite, The Wild Road, by Gabriel King) I read it because it is interesting, and it's a page-turner. I can't put it down. This book is the exact opposite. 4) A lot of profanity, not enough INTERESTING STUFF: yes, there is quite a bit of profanity in this book. And a lot of fighting. I just skip the fight scenes altogether, skip Holden's conversations about ducks, all that filler. Cut all that stuff out and you'll only have about 10 pages of reading material. I'm not exaggerating. Anyway, that's about it. I'm sure I'll think of something else later. If you have to read this for your english class.. well.. I feel sorry for you.
Rating:
Summary: Hooray for Holden
Review: I've read Catcher in the Rye over 20 times and I always find something new and fasinating about Holden's adventures in New York City. So vivid I found myself alongside Holden. It is a classic in its own right and deserves a place in everyone's bookshelf. He experienced his true feelings and got back in return. There is a bit of Holden in all of us and thank God for that. This book is dedicated to all phonies and for the rest of us.
Rating:
Summary: give me a break
Review: I've read lots of literature; more than you might imagine.
I read this thinking that I had missed a classic. This book does NOT "capture the rawness, is so enthralling, blah, blah, blah." It IS outdated and whiny. Instead of feeling empathy with a depressed main character, I feel the urge to only slap him. Why this has achieved classic status only attests to what P.T. Barnum said about people, numbers and fooling.
Rating:
Summary: Why am I even bothering writing a review on this book?
Review: I've read many books in my time, and this is the worst. I only read it because I had to for english. It is outdated and inapplicable to today's society. Holden is such a cop-out and a bad example to readers of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Everybody's a critic
Review: I've read some of the reviews and it's mostly from 2 opposite extremes of love or hate. No wonder Salinger feel compeled to retreat from society, the venom sometimes is too bitter a pill. I always thought Catcher in the Rye is about family or specifically relationship between siblings. The ending where the sister is pleading Holden to stay is one of the most poignant moment that I've ever read. It's not the world that he's angry about, it's the disconnection from his family and it took a display of love from his sister to finally pull him back. I've always felt a quiet introspection everytime I read the book and a greater appreciation for my family and especially my sisters. I think what Mr. Salinger is trying to say is that nothing is more important than family, nothing.
Rating:
Summary: Universal Tale
Review: I've read The Catcher in the Rye many times--when I was 11, 13, 15, and 17 years old. Seriously. I loved it from the first time I read it, but it didn't hit home until I was a junior and senior in high school. I AM HOLDEN CAULFIELD. Well, not literally and exactly. But almost. Holden is an extraordinary character. His absolute terror of leaving the wonderful, innocent, carefree world of youth is something everyone can relate to. I'm about to graduate from high school, and even though I'm excited to be a free, independent adult, I can't help but be terrified of the corruption and hard reality that lays ahead, which I have been blind to, as a young person. I mean--who wouldn't miss being a kid?--living at home for free, not having to do anything or be responsible for yourself or anyone. Holden embodies this. To me, that's what I related to most from the book. Most kids I know don't like the book cuz they're forced to read it for class, which is understandable. I wish they could see the beauty, and heartbreaking universality of Holden's story, though. It is something J.D. Salinger had the talent to grasp, and share it with the rest of the world. And it's so freakin' inspirational I have to go on Amazon.com and tell some people!
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