Catcher in the Rye

Rating:
Summary: This is a great . A little depressing at times, but great.
Review: I read the Catcher in the Rye, and I thought it was great. I did get the impression that Holden was angry at everything and everyone, but most teens are. He was an incredibly well-written character, and I loooved the book.

Rating:
Summary: A good book
Review: I read the review of someone else's on this page, who said you like Holden less as you get older. I don't agree with that statement. I think the older you get, the more you like Holden, because you realize how perceptive he is, and yet there is still that young innocence about him. I've also read "At Home in the World", a memoir by Joyce Maynard, the Author who had somewhat of an affair with him when she was 18, and he was 53. And if you are an avid J.D. fan, it's strange once you read her book. Apparently, J.D., or, "Jerome David Salinger" was very much like all the characters in his books. Smart, strange, confused; looking for more out of life than what life could ever give you. Even in her recount of their year long correspondance-turned romance, you never doubt once that what she is saying isn't true.
And so, even with all his seclusion, his hatred for most of the "real-world" characters, and his private collection of writings that were probably brilliant, you have to respect him for creating Holden. It's always nice to read that book and take a deep breath, because you are reading about a character who has real flaws, real insecurities, and seems pretty genuine.

Rating:
Summary: I great CLASSIC!
Review: I read the reviews of this book read what it was about and I thought this looks like a good book so I decided to buy it and see for myself!Boy was that a good,but depressing book!Holdens adventures throughout the unforgiving cities were very sad and kept you reading!(I got so mad when that prostite got Maurice to beat Holden up!!)Anyway this was the classic I thought it would turn out to be!This is totally one of my favorite books!At parts I could relate to Holdens sometimes complicated feelings and other times I failed to,and yet other times I felt sorry for him.He thought mostly everything was depressing!He frequently used the phrase "that kills me".And he said GD at least a million times but despite that it did not ruin this great book at the look into a complicted distrubed juvenile!So if you are a teen and would like a great book to read this is it!(I'm really 14!)

Rating:
Summary: If you think this book's about sex and drinking you're wrong
Review: I read this a few times: in 7th grade, in 9th grade. I don't understand reviewers who say they cannot relate to Holden 'cause he is a nutcase who is into whores and alcohol. I didn't drink or have sex before college and didn't want to, and I'm not crazy, but there is something in here I think most everyone can relate to: the ideas of not fitting in, of people being "phonies", of wanting to feel safe... Don't get offended by sex and drink; appreciate the ideas here, people.

Rating:
Summary: I gave it 5 stars because 6 wasn't an option!
Review: I read this book a few months before my sixteenth birthday - and I've never found a character I liked more than Holden Caulfield. The monologue is heartfelt, realistic, and funny. The things he goes through in this novel are timelessly relevant to a teenager's thoughts and feelings, yet the writing is so good, the character development so thorough, that it can appeal to any reader. I can't put into words my love for this novel, because it struck a chord deep within me; I read it at just the right time in my life (and I've read it many times since). I definitely recommend this.. it's a must-read for ANYONE. A million stars.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best I have read
Review: I read this book a few weeeks ago and It all rang completely true. I'm 16 and go to prep school, it was so true and has so many hidden messages, an amazing book. Holden is without a doubt the best character ever created in a novel. But I think this book is more autobiographical than fiction. This is definitely one of the very few books that I will keep forever. I don't know how anyone could not enjoy this.

Rating:
Summary: It has gotten better as I have gotten older
Review: I read this book about once a year, to keep myself in check. I have to make sure I am not becoming "Phoney." When I first read this in high school, I didn't relate to Holden all that much. I think I was too apathetic relate to his passion. But as I have become more mature (or jaded, some might say), Holden, and this book have become more and more important to me. Caufield is one of the most dynamic and well drawn characters in modern literature. If there is one drawback to this book, it is a bit dated. But then so is Hamlet. If you havent read it, get your hands on this book, It is unequalled. If you aren't already a bit bitter at the world, at the very least, this book will make you ask yourself why you aren't.

Rating:
Summary: Pitiful and Revolting
Review: I read this book and I am sorry I wasted the three hours to do so. This work is pitiful in its attempt to capture teenage "angst". Like any artist, the writer chooses what to write, creating his own context and showing us what he thinks important by his choice. The method of writing delivers what the writer thinks of the morality of life. In this case, Salinger (Sal) chooses to write about a teenager who is miserable in his life and in his attempt to be the Catcher in the Rye for his littler brethren, he doesn't even understand that he is the one driving them through the Rye to the cliff. This is a twisted, nonrational view of youth, and an attempt (sadly, quite effective) to create a generation in the image of the protagonist. The writing itself is sloppy and affected and I can honestly say, it isn't even a "good" bad book (in the image of say, Crime and Punishment). It's just plain bad.-Kelly Whiting

Rating:
Summary: Excellent story of a juvenile's thoughts
Review: I read this book as a 27 year old a few years ago, and I completely enjoyed every page of it. You do not have to identify with Holden Caulfield to apreciate the story, which I found to be an exquisitely written representation of one snobby teen-aged boy's thoughts as he goes home by himself after an expulsion from a prep school. What makes a great novel is the way in which it entertains, presents observations and defines its characters, which I found this book to have done exceptionally well.

Rating:
Summary: I want to join the "War against the phonies"
Review: I read this book as a requirement for my sophomore English class. Everyone else in my class hated it, but I loved it. Holden is a realistic, emotional character. He isn't perfect and he knows it. He may try to act like he is, but don't we all? The book takes place in a "rest home" in California, where Holden is getting psychoanalysis, just like his friend Luce told him to do. He talks about school, girls, sex (or lack thereof), all the phonies in the world and the four days before the start of Christmas vacation - four days that change Holden's life forever. It is a definite must-read!