Rating: 
Summary: Caulfield not a cynical brat
Review: I didn't read this book in school, and I haven't discussed it with many people. So I was somewhat surprised to read some reviews claiming that the protaganist, Holden Caulfield, is a cynical brat. Although Holden is certainly frustrated with humanity, he is also desperate to love and to help people. I would identify this internal conflict as the major theme of the book, exemplified by the title.
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.
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Summary: Addictive three-day documentary of a bitter 16 yr. old male.
Review: Hateful, insecure, immature... whatever you feel about old Holden Caulfield, it is impossible to deny certain resemblances between his train of thought and your own. This book is to me, not a story, but a cross-section of an inexperienced, stuck-up, angst-ridden teenager who cannot seem to channel his resentment towards adult life in a constructive manner. He catagorizes almost everyone by the comfortable term "phony", yet he doesn't realize that to succeed in life, one needs to utilize some of that malarky once in a while. After reading this book, I have thought twice before voicing my various complaints aloud, so as not to sound as much like a brat as Holden. The dialogue was extremely catchy, even for being almost half a century old. You go, Salinger.
Rating:
Summary: This book should be read by everyone!
Review: To anyone who didn't like this book: Pick it up again in a few years. Very few books require hitting the timing perfectly. At some point you will like it.
Rating:
Summary: most bad reviews about this book sound like they're from H C
Review: I read this book not out of interest from others but from its scandalousness. People who killed celebrities (or attempted to) were found with it in their possessions. It's also a "book-burner's and book-banner's favorite". I read it to look for anything that resembled "bad messages". I found nothing but the mindless bitter ramblings of a depressed and confused brat. It had no basic plot, no real storyline, nothing of the sort. To say the least, by the time I was finished I was quite angry at the book's fame (or should I say notoriety?). My first idea, apparently, was it was an utter piece of trash. BUT, when I spoke to others about it, I noticed the way I spoke of it sounded just like what I had read. That's when I found the secret: The Bitterness is the REAL MAIN CHARACTER, just like the Chaos of the movie "Natural Born Killers" was its main character and the Nadsat Dialect of "Clockwork Orange" was as important a character as "Your Humble Narrator, Alex" was. It was a primary example of the line about when we don't like other people or other things because we see something we don't like about ourselves in them. That's how I understand it anyway. So, next time you see or hear someone who seemingly can't stop whining and complaining for two seconds, hand 'em a copy of this book and tell them to go FIND themself.
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.
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Summary: You can't rub out words on the wall, but you could read this
Review: Catcher in the Rye was the book that got me started on my Salinger feeding frenzy. Once I read this, I couldn't read anything by another author for about three months. Luckily, all Salinger's are so good that I was never disappointed in my literary idol. I don't believe that there is anyone out there who cannot identify with Holden Caulfield and the "trauma" he is going through. The book is soooooooo absorbing that I finished it in about three hours, from cover to cover, and then read it again. I identify with Holden, and the fact that he is attempting to find his place out there somewhere amongst all the "phonies". Reading this has helped me find the path to who I am, along with a loooottt of the other Salinger stories. And no, it's not because I don't believe in God that I identify with Holden. I may be having a teensy religious rebellion, but that has nothing to do with it. Catcher in the Rye is one of THE BEST books you could read as a teenager, along with the other JDS's of course.
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Summary: This is a wonderful book!
Review: My english teacher didn't recommend this book to me in the 9th grade because she thought it would be 'over my head'. That is not so! I completely identified with Holden Caulfield; the depressed teenager, disappointed with mostly everyone around him. Beneath the humor, there are important messages about society and people in general. This is my favorite book, and I recommend it to anyone who wants someone to identify with, and to anyone who just wants to step into a teenager's mind for a while. I see why it is still a classic, after all of these years!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, a little dissapointing
Review: On one hand, this book was written fantastically, and really showed a lot about a teenage boy's life in a duration of just a few days. On the other hand, I was a bit dissapointed with the book. I hear everyone rave on and on about the book, like teachers, librarians, even my parents. The Catcher in the Rye just wasn't holding me down to my seat, or glueing my eyes to the book like other novels due. All in all, good book, overrated.
Rating:
Summary: What's the point?
Review: Overrated. Should not enjoy the status it has. Sends the wrong message to young people. Lacks depth. How it has earned a devoted following is beyond me. I had the dubious honor of writing a book report on this when I was 14. It is ultimately forgettable.
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