Rating: 
Summary: You'll never want to say goodbye to "Holden"...
Review: What is it about "Holden Caulfield", the troubled, adolescent narrator of "The Catcher in the Rye", that has made him one of the most famous and well-loved characters in American Literature? He will make you laugh out loud to yourself as you read his insightful and incisive comments about people and society. He will break your heart as he describes his feelings of loneliness and incompatibility with the world he lives in. His love and concern for his little sister will touch you. Holden's sense of wonder, his active mind,(which includes being a self-admitted "terrific liar"), and his self-deprecating humor will keep you hooked from his first line, "If you really want to hear about it..." to the final page. Yes, Holden,we REALLY want to hear about it, if you're doing the talking! Holden doesn't trust people much, but you, the reader? To you, he'll open up; hell trust you with his innermost thoughts, because he knows- you're no goddamned phony, for chrissake! That's what's so special about Holden; he makes YOU feel special because he confides in you and shares his fears and dreams with you. "Holden", and his story, "The Catcher in the Rye" is a gift; an heirloom from J.D. Salinger to generation after generation of readers.
Rating:
Summary: the damn book just killed me...
Review: This book was awesome, plain and simple. This book really shows human beings at their weakest. The protagonist; a boy that's about 16 is kicked out of school and leaves early to live on the streets for a few days before going home, but during these few days he makes some really stupid decisions. The whole book revolves around teenager's insecurities; about himself, about life, about the way the world works and quite a bit about girls actually. J.D Salinger did something really terrific. He only had one character really. Holden is still trying to preserve his child like innocence while discovering the world of adulthood. You really get to know and appreciate Holden throughout the book because everyone goes through that time in life. So even though the plot is not complicated and it's most definitely not action packed, you get so much character development that it makes a pretty big impact because everyone can reflect on what happens to Holden and what he thinks about everything. This book was wonderfully written and brings Holden to life perfectly. I congratulate J.D. Salinger on writing one of the best achievements in American literature.
Rating: 
Summary: A Catcher in the Rye
Review: A Catcher in the Rye is a book about a late teen-aged boy named Holden Caufield. Holden is expelled from prep school for sub-par grades. Holden then spends the next three days in New York City by himself. While in the city, Holden gets a taste of the real world. He also formulates cynical opinions about society and finds himself needing a break from the constant melancholy the people around him create.Although J.D. Salinger published A Catcher in the Rye in 1951, kids today can identify with the main character. The diction used in the book is very similar to that which is used by today's adolescents. J.D. Salinger does an outstanding job creating the mood that Holden Caufield emanates. Holden exemplifies an extreme cynicism that much of today's youth possesses; however, this parallel to adolescents today makes it a great book for people between the ages of 13-17. By the end of the book many of life's lessons come through and leave the reader pondering about his or her own childhood and beliefs. I really enjoyed this book because of the unique way in which it was written. J.D. Salingers thoughts flow onto the paper so smoothly that it is almost as if he is speaking directly to the reader. I would definitely recommend this book to all youth that battle the perceived need to conform to society
Rating: 
Summary: An Uniquely American Tale of Teenage Cynicism
Review: For several years the connotation of a being a "classic" had kept me from reading J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Not knowing specifically what it was about, I finally gave into curiosity when I read it for a literature class. I was instantly sorry I had waited so long to read this book. Holden Caulfield is a lazy, cynical teen in 1950s America and he has just left his third prepatory school to return home to his family in New York City. His parents are expecting him home on a Wednesday, yet it is Monday, so the events of the novel unfold over two days in the Big Apple.
The theme that struck me the most was the one of trying to grow up too early. Holden is very much like this. He presents himself as a mature figure, smoking, drinking, hanging out in clubs, yet in his personal relationships with people, he acts quite immature. In one part of the story, Holden calls up a prostitute, wanting to become a man after all the stories he had heard about girls from his class mates at Pencey Prep, only to acquiesce to his lack of experience and asks if the prostitute would "like to talk".
My main complaint of this novel is that it reads like a journal, giving only Holden's perspective on the events that occur. I believe it would have been an improvement if Salinger had given us a look into other character's minds so we could see their perspective. This is an especially important flaw because Holden, at his center, constantly wonders what others think of him.
I would recommend this novel to teenagers, especially those who feel they do not fit into their particular environment. I know when I was younger I could definitely relate to Holden. I also find it a delicious irony that much like Holden, J.D. Salinger has spent the better part of a century in seclusion in his Northeast home.
Rating:
Summary: Not THAT Good (3.5 Stars)
Review: This book was pretty good. At first, I really liked the main character (and narrator) Holden Caulfield. But as the book progressed, I started to like him less and less. While he criticizes people for being "phony", he at times is very "phony". He also made me hate the word "phony". He gets pretty annoying, and he is pretty immature. I really don't feel that sorry for him at all. But don't get me wrong, the book does make you want to keep reading and reading, but in the end, I felt that the book really was like, nothing. Sure it was very different when it first came out, and people all ran to get it, but it wasn't the best book I have read. I can name many books that are far better than this. I got mad at Holden a lot. There is nothing wrong with being a pessimist, but he just hates everything. His sister even asks him at one point in the book if there is even anything that he likes. It's stupid, also, that he keeps flunking out of school. The book is interesting and is worth a read, but it really isn't that great. It starts off kinda low, then gets better and even really good at one point, but then it just goes downhill and I really didn't like it in the end. Read it, though, and make your own conclusions. As Mark Twain once said "A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read." This may be a classic, and I am glad I read it, but I really don't want to read it again. Umm, Enjoy! (?)
Rating: 
Summary: It's really bad. It really is...
Review: I'm an avid reader...been so since a young kid. Heck, I even taught English for a while. Just don't want you thinking I'm some 10-year old who doesn't give a damn about books. I was lent a copy of this book by a colleague at work, saying that it was a "classic" and something all kids in the US had to read (I'm English - moved here a little under 4 years ago - so was fortunately spared reading this arduously long and boring book at school). I figured my kids would someday read it, so I thought "What the heck, I'll give it a shot." To say that it's the most insanely boring and pointless book I've ever read in my life would be an understatement. Aside from that, the style of writing is intensely annoying. Perhaps to give the "uninitiated" a taste of the style of this book, I'll try to imitate the part I found most annoying... "I was really bored with this goddam book. I really was. I know the girl who lent me the goddam thing meant well, but it bored me out of my mind. It really did. Forcing myself to read this brought me back to my school years, when I was forced to read "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. It was back in England, must've been the summer of '85. Man, it was hot. It really was. I remember thinking it had to have been as hot as in the story...." What does this show?
1. The insane amount of pointless swearing that goes on in the book.
2. The frustratingly annoying usage of the words "It really was." or "He really did." or "I really am." as a pointless reinforcement of what had been stated previously. The only thing this "writing style" (and I use that term liberally) reminds me of is back in school when someone would try to pad out their essays or stories with what we called "waffle" - pointless repetition to bump up word count. Period.
3. The author is so apt to digress from a point it's just not funny. He'll be in the middle of a conversation, take you into a 2-page retrospective on some randomly connected incident or memory and bring you back into the conversation expecting you to have your interest still maintained. Some reviews of this book dub the main character of Holden Caulfield as "whiny", and yes, he is to an extent. More annoying is the author's constant effort to prove a point by dubbing everyone that the character encounters as "phony". There is no plot, there is no story line...although I guess you could say the story line is "the day in the life of a manic depressive, borderline paranoid teenager who was just expelled from school again". No character is endearing, no anecdote or memory is interesting. It's just a seemingly endless pile of drivel that I was counting down the pages to finish. Do I want my kids to be forced to read this? A resounding "NO" is an understatement. Make them read the stylish writing of Shakespeare or the evocative and captivating writing of Harper Lee in "To Kill A Mockingbird". Our kids have enough to deal with in this day and age...let's not burden them further by boring them to death. Inspire them, teach them, let them be creative, but forcing them to read this senseless drivel is nothing short of torture.
Rating:
Summary: The most important novel of my adolescence
Review: J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye is believed to be one of the most honest and stunning books of the 20th century. The journey of Holden Caulfield through his departure of prep school and the events that follow, is one that teenagers and young adults have been able to identify with since the books publication. Holden represents the journey of wanting to change the future, but not knowing what the future should bring, a question that lingers in the mind of most who are Holden's age. Basically, the story follows our main character through one of the most defining times of his life up to this point. He describes his dislike of the school that he has been attending, the disinterest he takes in his classmates, and the general alienation he feels from those around him. Realizing that his presence there is utterly pointless both to those around him and to himself, he leaves the school for New York City. Though the story is clear, much of it is spent looking back upon Caulfield's life, the various mistakes he has felt he made, and the memories that are brought up by mere conversations. What is so remarkable about Catcher in the Rye, is that the main character not only shows what many see in themselves, but his journey is one that is both plausible and almost eerie in the readers ability to relate. Most certainly a book that will stay with me my entire life.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best
Review: This book is one of the greatest books of all time. I first read it when I was in highschool and thought it was great. It has been three years since then I still read it and enjoy it. It is one of those books that a person can read and enjoy every time it is read.
Holden goes through a lot of crazy situations and a lot of different feelings after he leaves his high school. It is one of those books that everyone can relate to. Although a lot of people never go through the things he does, everyone at one point in their life has the feelings he has. The feelings of being a loner and an outcast.
This is a book that everyone should read at least once in their life. A true literary classic. Salinger is a genius
Rating:
Summary: Catcher in the Rye
Review: The Catcher in the Rye is a literary masterpiece that symbolizes the preservation of youth and the rebellious attitude that children encounter in the teen years of their life. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the story, is the epitome of a rebellious teen. Because of lack of work and caring, Holden is expelled from three schools. A chronic liar, he cheats his way through his childhood. Though he has this terrible attitude, and an awful view on everything, he drags you into his life, and you begin to have sympathy for the character. The only thing that he would like to get out of his life is to become the "catcher in the rye", the one person that can keep children from going over the edge, and by edge I mean stepping into adulthood. This book is one of the best written, and certainly the most interesting book I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: AN ABSOLUTE READ!
Review: This book is quite good and i simply loved it. But a few of my friends downright hated it.
This is what the book actually does to you, you either hate it or love it!!!!
But you have to read it to find that out.Right?
SO go ahead and judge this book for yourself.
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