Rating: 
Summary: I Must Have Missed the Boat
Review: My opinion of The Catcher in the Rye is a well thought out one. I have read most of the reviews that gave the book a poor rating, as well as most of the ones that gave it high ratings. After reading the reviews of many impressed readers I came up with one opinion; some can relate to Holden, while others cannot. I have just had to pacify myself with the fact that I don't enjoy this book. It disappoints me. So many of the readers had wonderful reviews, but I firmly believe that I just don't have the personality to appreciate the graphic language and bad attitude of Holden. Though out the story, I felt pity for Holden. Because J.D. Salinger did a good job of making him appear as a venerable character, I found myself wanting something good to happen for Holden. Needless to say, it never did. I realize that Lady Luck does not sprinkle her fairy dust on everyone, but the constant negative attitude and bad judgement of Holden annoyed me to the point of distraction. I'll admit, though, that I couldn't put the book down, but only because I was curious to see what everyone was raving about. I was so eager to get to the climax that I turned back after reading through the last chapter. "Where is it?" I wondered. I thought I had accidentally neglected to comprehend some magical work or phrase that would pull the story together. I had no such luck. I was left in a perplexed state. If I "missed the boat" on this book I am thankful. I just don't want the pecimistic attitude it takes to benefit from it.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay
Review: I am 12 years old, and I read "Catcher in the Rye," while flying Boston-Germany. I liked the general idea of the book, but I thought Holden Caulfield was very negative towards life. He always seemed to be finding the negative of people, yet I could find instances where he seemed very nice. A lot of the language in this book was 'inappropraite,' but I felt that helped convey Holden's confused, almost angry attitude towards all the "phonies" in life. He at times seems vulnerable, and at other times seems like a "rough and tough" high school student. I think maybe I should have read this when I was 14 or 15, just to get a clearer idea of what he was actually going through. I liked the book anyway, though. 4 stars!
Rating: 
Summary: because they wouldn't allow me to select zero stars
Review: I just finished reading The Catcher In The Rye, and I'm very confused. Maybe I took this book too literally, maybe the entire book is symbolic of something other than a kid wondering the streets of NY for a few days. My wife kept asking me how the book was, and I kept telling her that it's boring but something exciting is bound to happen soon. I mean this book is supposed to be great right? Well, nothing ever really happened. This book is very short, but it seems to take forever to read. Perhaps, after years of reading Stephen King books, I've come to expect too much.
Rating:
Summary: a must read
Review: This book is so true. Speaking as a high schooler, I cantotally relate to what Holden Caulfield is going through. At first, Iwas annoyed by his attitude and hatred towards everyone, but then I was that this is what every high schooler feels. I found myself agreeing with Holden regarding his detest of all the fakes in the world. He is looking for a place where he can be himself and a person he can trust not to betray him. I'm normally not one to htink about a book even when I'm not reading it, but with Salinger's THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, that is not true. I found myself constantly thinking about Holden and trying to comprehend his emotions and feelings. He is very confused and tired of everyone's phoniness. This book was fast-paced and fairly easy to read. I would not recommend this book to anyone that was younger than a high school age because of the language. One negative of the book was the offensive, very often used, adult language. Other than that, this book was excellent. I would recommend it to everyone of an appropriate age, eespecially any teenager that is sick of the fake attitude that most everyone in their school carries.
Rating: 
Summary: how 2 days make you question your entire life
Review: I heard a lot about this very book, but never exactly knew what it was all about. So finally i bought and i was deeply impressed. I never would have thought it to be possible that 2 days in someelse's life could make me look that throughouly at my own life. I asked myself about at million times if I am a phoney too. I can recommend everybody to read this book, but read it open minded, you have to experience it. Most certainly one of the best books i've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: An ode to the truth
Review: I read the book a couple of years ago and have re-read many time since then and reading all the reviews posted to this site has prompted me to comment on the fact that many of the people who rate it highly do so for the wrong reasons and those are either conformity or superficiality. While the novel concerns itself with the world of phonies and fakes this is simply a device used by the author to reveal Holden's slow descension into the abyss that is 'The catcher in the Rye'. The book is really about the loss of youth and innocence. Holden desires to catch those falling off the cliff into a corrupt world. It is a poignant dissection of a society that dictates peoples action and response and allows no room to just be. Those who love it for its apparent 'humour' and cynical desriptives are entitled to do so but I think that readers need to awaken to the fact that there is something more profound here than just a discussion on superficiality. Maybe this is why Salinger no longer associates with the world.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: I read Catcher in the Rye while on break from school. I'd heard many allusions to the book, and many people said they liked it, yet I didn't really know what it was about. It is fascinating, a true inspiration. Holden is so complex that you can't stop thinking about him when you're not reading. Salinger's amazing insights into human nature and his clever style of cynicism is unique to much of literature and better than all contemporary literature. As Holden starts to spiral down, you can't help but feel incredibly sad thinking about his situation. A boy, on the brink of breakdown, speaking of things that make so much sense. It makes you wonder if he's the one going crazy or if it's the way society is that is truly crazy. I will always love this book and I plan on going over it again to underline all the lines that I adored. For the people giving bad reviews, and as I've analyzed their comments, I must say that you missed the boat. I'm sure that you are the people that Holden is making his social critiques on. No symbolism, a boring character that is whining? Come again? Salinger's phrasing of his words is simplistic, but his message is not. Read it again, try and be more perceptive, and think harder about what is really being said. There is enlightenment waiting for you.
Rating:
Summary: A great book if you get it
Review: I think catcher in the Rye is a great book. One of the best I've ever read. I first read it when I was eleven and to be honest, I thought it was the stupidest book in the world. Holden swore constantly and not that much seemed to happen. He hated everyone he knew almost and I couldn't stand the book. People were always talking about what a good book it was though and I started thinking maybe I'd missed something in it. When I was twelve I read it again. I thought it was okay but still sort of dumb. Then this year (I'm fourteen) I decided to try reading it again. I was shocked. It was like a completely different book than the one I'd read only two years ago. Of course the book didn't change, I did. It was brilliant and Holden seemed like a very realistic person. My favorite parts are where he gets completely off track and just starts talking about his younger brother, Ally, who died or Jane, an old friend of his who he sort of had a crush on. I loved how he wasn't afraid to tell his opinions on anything. By the end of the book you feel like you really know Holden. I would recommend this book to anyone over about 13. Any younger than that and it might be too difficult to really understand what Holden thinks and is going through. Plus there is some stuff in the book which isn't appropriote for really young kids.
Rating:
Summary: All-Time Favortie!
Review: This is my all-time favorite piece of fiction. This book reads like it could have been written only years ago, and not decades ago. Salinger perfectly and accurately captures male adolescence, and in the process creates a novel for all ages. This is a timeless work, a book that I read usually once every year or two. The tone of the speaker (Holden Caufield) is typical of a disenchanted youth, confused with so many issues in his life. It is a novel that is probably over-analyzed (as many great works of literature are) and can be enjoyed purely on entertainment value, without all the psychological gobbledegook that professors attempt to shove down student's throats. Read it and enjoy it for what it is, a fascinating story about a boy who is going through a difficult time in his life and how he deals with it.
Rating:
Summary: outstanding!
Review: I know this book is, for the most part, universally liked, so I will make only one point. I recomend everyone reads it, but especially late teen and early twenties males such as myself. I read the book when I was 19. Never before in my life have I indentified with a novel like Catcher in the Rye. You feel as though Holden thinks your thoughts. This book gives an indepth account about comming to age in a modern world and the difficulties you encounter in discovering who your are.
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