Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I enjoy reading and I haven't read all the so-called "classics" so every once in a while I'll pick one up to see what all the 'fuss' is about and to say that I've actually read it. This way I don't have the bias of teachers and/or professors etc.
Perhaps it is my upbringing but Catcher in the Rye, for me, was in a word, boring. Holden Caulfield, to me, was not a "psychologically challenged" youth but a whiny teenager who needed a good kick in the pants. It was well written but I found myself continually asking "what's the point?" and when I reached the end my reaction was "That's it?? That's all?" I suppose 'intellectuals' will insist I missed the point but I will remain off the bandwagon and say that I would not recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great read
Review: I don't seem to quite grasp why some people just dislike "The Catcher in the Rye". One negative reviewer said just read the Cliff Notes version to spare the time. If you really want to find the true emotion in the book, READ IT. Sure, the protagonist, Holden Caufield is basically a messed up, immature person who has problems with life but if he didn't exist, there would have been no story. The basic summary is about a problematic 16 year old who hasn't lost his virginity and complains and questions things about life as he is kicked out from his fourth boarding school and tries to put things together by going to New York, his hometown. The book is well written even though he uses a lot of cuss words. It tells a message on his views on the adult world thinking that school is nothing but an ongoing path just to get a job and making money. Holden just doesn't want to accept the adult life and doesn't want to grow up and be part of society. And Holden explains this through his bad experiences in life. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about the rebel trying to escape from society but if you just seem to hate that and don't want to read about some guy who complains a lot, then this book is probably not for you. Not the best book I've read, but still worth the time if you're interested. It is J.D. Salinger's best work and if you want to read more of his works, read the short story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish". It's not as good as Catcher in the Rye, but with some good analysis, you'll be able to find the inside track.
Rating:
Summary: A milestone in American 20th century literature
Review: This book reads itself. It's funny, touching, realistic and well-written. Coming from France, I only read it recently but I really liked it. A American classic!
Rating: 
Summary: reminds me of yeshiva dorm life
Review: J.D. salingers' classic brought back many memories of yeshiva dorm life for me. The competition, snobs [and jocks]... Trying to fit into clicks,however, ultimately coming to the conclusion that everyone is full of [it]. All the while failing to realize that you are as well. In Catcher in the Rye Salinger sums up very well what it is like to be a teenager, to feel alone and missunderstood by everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Catcher in the rye review
Review: I think that this is the best book in the world! It describes perfectly the feelings as a teenager and the feeling of rejection and depression because I myself am a 14 year old boy. Holden is a great character and has they greatest perspective on life. This book includes comedy along with seriousness. What i mean is when Holden got drunk it was kind of sad to see what he was reduced to and the reasons that he got drunk. While that was somewhat sad it was also very funny to see Holden slurring all his words and stumbling around talking to people without a care in the world. While i was reading this book i was amazed at the amount of composure Holden showed even when people were dissing him. personally I would have punched some of them in the nose. It took me a while to figure out what happened to Holden at the very end of the book on account of the fact they never came out and told you. I thought that was a great way to end it for more advanced readers. And I loved Holden's idea of paradise. Being the Catcher in the rye. That was a great part in the book. Overall I thought this was an exelent book that every one should take the time to read and ponder about. thank you for taking the time to read my review.
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Summary: Shane Hess
Review: In this book The Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden is very wierd. He is pretty much a trouble maker. The story starts off with him telling you who is family is and he's telling you about them. Next, he tells you that he goes to a private school in northern Pennsylvania which is called Pency High. When Holden is at Pency, he visits his old professor that he had at some other school he droped out of. His name was Mr. Spencer. I think Mr. Spencer gives Holden a lot of advice for the near future. He has a roomate in one of the dorms that he hates. I have no clue why he hates him because his roomate acts like a real nice guy. His roomates name is Ackley. Finally Holden tells you that he is tired of school so he drops out of Pency High. After he drops out, he moves to upstate New York by himself and he stays in New York for a while. When he goes to New York, he visits his sister Phoebe where she tells him that they miss him and they want him to come home. Holden tells her that he wants to move out west away from everyboday and that he never wants to see them again. What will Holden do? Will he visit his family, or will he move out west?
Rating:
Summary: To be a child once more...
Review: It's sad that by the time one can read this book, he or she has already lost their innocence. Wow, just to be a kid again, or for that matter, to keep a child young for another day. Excellent book. I give it two thumbs up.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated overhyped spoiled brat angst
Review: I know this is required reading in high school. I know it's supposed to be hip and cool. I also know it's supposed to be based on a classic piece of literature. But it is one of the most overrated books of all time in my opinion. Perhaps it seemed new and innovative when it first came out, but now it's so overhyped it's disgusting. One of my biggest problems with the book is there is no background story - Holden was shipped off to a private school and asked not to return, apparently not the first school he was eased out of - but there's no reason given. Was he destructive? Did he threaten the other students? Or was he merely bored and didn't do schoolwork? Apparently he wasn't that troubled that they booted him out, the school intended to allow him to stay until the end of the semester. I get the impression the reason's a bit more than slacking off of the schoolwork, but it's never given. And in this age after Columbine, it's difficult to figure out what he could have done to be booted from school. The other problem I have is it's all from Holden's point of view - you don't know if he is behaving as crazy as he sounds or he's terribly self-conscious or exactly what is going on within him and around him. There's no description of how the outside world views him, really, just brief spots where others interact with him. He seems utterly miserable and depressed, but I'm never sure if it's the fact he's been booted from another school or he's clinically depressed and needs some sort of intervention. Read the book - if that's your choice or assignment - but know that if you don't think it's a wonderful piece of literature, you're not alone. And if you do think it's a wonderful piece of literature, you're not alone, either.
Rating:
Summary: Catcher in the Rye
Review: You have to let yourself enjoy it, and then it will mean something to you.
Rating:
Summary: Good style, but over-rated
Review: I'll admit, I enjoyed the style in which this story was written. He talks with slang, cuss words, uses street talk, and his prose is a good representation of the way people spoke in the late '40s and early '50s. However, what was the point to this book? Throughout the book, Caufield complains, whines, and tells the reader how much he hates life, the adult world, and everything else. He's very negative, very pessimistic, and is always cynical of society. He can't cope with his environment, can't adapt to the real world, and thus isolates himself and pretends he is above everybody else. The book has no conclusion either. .. No conclusion, little hope, and an abrupt end to a pointless book. If Holden Caufield hated life so much, why didn't he shoot himself and save my time, and the time of millions of other people? Kevin
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