Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining For Required Reading
Review: I first read The Catcher in the Rye in 10th grade, and immediately fell in love with the voice of Holden. The style flowed easily, and the author quickly painted a perfect picture of the character by using the language that had no holds barred. It is because of this language that I have to agree with a reveiwer who said "Salinger is subtle, and yet wonderfully blunt". I was also impressed with how the author developed his character, and never strayed from the foundations he a laid. Not once did Holden seem unlike Holden. The Catcher in the Rye is a classic. Salinger so perfectly put himself into the shoes of an angry and depressed teen that it's almost impossible to think that anyone but Holden actually penned the novel. It is also no wonder that this novel has become required reading in many schools, irregardless of the complaints from parents not approving of the language the author has chosen. I have never regretted having been forced into the reading of this book in high school. In fact, I have a new found respect for any schoo lthat reequires it's reading. It was nice for me to have been able to read a novel that proved I wasn't alone. Not to mention that it forced the my whole english class to talk and think. What a marvel.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: I first read The Catcher in the Rye in 9th grade, and immediately fell in love with the voice of Holden. The style in which it is written flowed so easily in my mind because it sounded- if only the language and not all of the opinions, like the voice inside my head. Salinger is subtle, and yet wonderfully blunt. He goes out of his way to explain the details of Holden's thoughts, but does not reach to extend to you the actual events surrounding the beginning and end of the book. I find this to be a blessing now, though it was frustrating at the time. I frequently read online journals in which the events surrounding a particularly difficult patch in life are described in painful detail, but the thoughts of the person writing during those times are not adequately explained. It makes the events seem almost unreal even though they are supposedly accounts of real life. This account of teen angst, however, is believable. Holden's character and story are tangible to the reader. Never for a moment did Holden seem unlike Holden, nor the significance of a thought or event become less significant than it should. The Catcher in the Rye is an absolute a classic. Salinger so perfectly put himself into the shoes of an angry and depressed teen that it's almost impossible to think that anyone but Holden actually penned the novel.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: I first read THE CATCHER IN THE RYE twenty years ago and I return to itevery few years because I always find it so rewarding. What makes it asuperb novel is the voice of the narrator, Holden Caulfield. He isunreliable -- we know he must have a tenderness deeper than what he tellsus. It's difficult to create an unreliable narrator, because the reader isasked both to like and dislike the main character. But when it is done wellit is wonderfully engaging.In the years since I first read it I've looked often for a good narratorthat was as likably unlikable. I finally found one in a new novel --- LOVESONGS OF THE TONE-DEAF, by Asher Brauner -- which I recommend to anyone wholiked CATCHER IN THE RYE. Both novels are about alienation -- the ways inwhich young people feel no one understands them -- and the ways in whichthat assumption is probably true.Read both these books -- you'll love them.
Rating:
Summary: one of first books to take adolescents seriously
Review: I first read this book about 5 years ago when I was in my 40s and found it to be very interesting. Just as the movie, "Rebel Without a Cause" was one of the first movies to take adolescents and their viewpoints seriously, so was "Catcher" one of the first books to do so. Regarding the language, it's natural and fits the situation. The 3 (only) times that the "F" word is used (but who's counting), Holden is objecting to its use and trying to protect his sister from the word. People who want and wanted to ban this book either hadn't read it or didn't understand it. Books should be read and not banned, anyway. Most of us have felt out of place and disillusioned at one time or another. Salinger wrote about that type of experience from a young person's point of view instead of following the custom of the time and pretending that everything in life is wonderful. Life is varied, and it's sicker to ignore that fact than to address it
Rating:
Summary: The BEST novel EVER written
Review: I first read this book as a 14 year old sophomore in H.S. I loved it and could understand how a book could make me cry and laugh and examine my actions and reactions. I was afraid to reread it because I taught I might not be able to relate as much being older. Guess what. I was wrong. I recently reread it and appreciate it even more now. This book is a definate MUST read, I would encourage any and everybody to pick up a copy for themselves and their kids. No one should be allowed to graduate their sophomore year without reading it. I own several copies of the book by the various publishers who have been lucky enough to publish it over the years. There will never be anything written that can even compare. Salinger is a genius.
Rating:
Summary: THIS BOOK SAVED MY SANITY......
Review: I first read this book as a junior in High School; now a year later I've read it 11+ times! I too was struggling with life, and trying to transcend society and its hollow materialistic values. After I read this book, and others by the author, I decided to leave Lutheranism, for Buddhism. It has helped me greatly. At the time I first read the book thte weight of the hypocracy I saw around me was staggering, and I was struggling to fight off an impending nervous breakdown. Im a saved person because of this book. Thank you JD Salinger, wherever you are....
Rating: 
Summary: It's just a novel, not a "Modern Classic"
Review: I first read this book as a senior in high school, and though I enjoyed it and found some of Holden's observations on life amusing, particularly those pertaining to the commercialization of Christmas and the lack of decent cabs in New york, I did not identify with him as a character and found his outlook to be "whiny", not cynical. He is a boring, up-scale version of the traditional juevenile delingquent who blames the rest of the world for his situation, rather than make any attempt to change it. The problem is, Salinger does not give Holden the charisma or the inherent prudence necessary to be a genuine and successful smart ass. Holden's priviledged lifestyle and prep-school mentality also make it hard to believe that this kid has any idea of what he's talking about when he makes his vapid little comments on the human race. Salinger makes the mistake of funneling very adult themes and attitudes through a 17-year-old spokesperson, and it is not a good fit. Coming from the mouth of an adult, some of them could be insightful and appropriate, expressed as experience. Coming from a teenager, they just comes off as"I-don't-know-what-I'm-talking-about-angst." Grow up Holden. Experience life a little, and then you'll have the right to be taken seriously as a cynic. As for its status as a "calssic", this story is an amusing diversion that moves along at a fairly quick pace and provides better-than-average distraction. This is not a masterpiece of American litterature.
Rating: 
Summary: Whither Holden?
Review: I first read this book at fourteen and remember it vividly. That was thirty-two years ago. I think the principal appeal of this book among young readers is that it is profoundly comforting. To discover someone else sharing your own fears, anxieties, confusion and cynicism, comes as both a shock and a relief. I remember reading in amazement as Holden expressed thoughts I thought were mine alone. To realize that a "grown up" (someone of my father's generation, no less!) wrote the book and created Holden, gave me my first inkling that perhaps things weren't as bad as they seemed. For the first time, I actually began to believe my parents when they laughed off my "problems," said they were just a part of growing up, and told me things would get better. I think this experience in reading the book is not atypical. Whether you like "Catcher" depends, I suppose, largely on your age and, perhaps, on which crowd you fit into in high school. The "popular," "cool," and "in crowd" types probably see only a whiny rich kid with nothing to complain of. To the rest of us, Holden was a kindred spirit and we re-read the book regularly. I last read "Catcher" about a dozen years ago. Holden and I no longer had much in common. I doubt I will read the book again. If you are young, confused, and wondering about your place in the world, read this book. (Just don't take it too seriously.) If you are older, (or, if young, have already achieved "popular," "winner" or "overachiever" status) you probably don't need to and will wonder what all the fuss is about. No matter. For many, this is a book you will never forget.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent at Any Age
Review: I first read this book at ninteen and hated it for the first few chapters, but thankfully it was required reading so I was obliged to continue and thus it developed into one of the most meaningful books for me to date - years later it still holds a place of honor in my mind's anthology of great literature.
I did not find that I related that much to Holden personally, but his general ideas, insecurities, and his desire to feel as if he has a place where he can belong and feel loved (hence the inclusion of the crucial character Jane, who is never actually in the story) are characteristics that not only teens but adults can relate to. In a way, it is a comfort to me becuase it serves to remind me of what it was like being a teenager and how throughout that poetentially difficult period in life we are not as alone in our feelings of confusion and desire to feel some peace as we may think we are. While I would not call this a "feel good" book by any means, the vulnerability that comes through in Holden's inner monologues is touching and heartfelt in it's truth. I love this book and think that it has something to offer everyone, no matter what age you may be upon first reading it.
Rating:
Summary: The catcher in the rye
Review: I first read this book at school,but the teacher kept missing parts out which contained sex etc... but then i saw it in a bookshop and remembered how much I liked what i had read of it. So i read it and it was the best book i ever read,i have no negative remarks about it whatsoever.Holden Caulfield on the outside seems a negative guy,but on the inside you can tell that when he says 'I dont want to do anything when i grow up etc' he is just saying that because he is obviously trying to act tough all the time.I really enjoyed this and anyone can read it.
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