The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Genre: YA Coming of Age

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I started reading this book after finishing The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky, by recommendation of both my mom and my English teacher. I’d heard a lot about this book and even though I didn’t know what to expect, I did have high expectations.

Usually, when I read a book, I don’t formulate opinions until the end. Sometimes, I may like the beginning and the middle, but if it has a crappy ending, all of my opinions will change massively. The ending is what makes the book, in my opinion. Except for this book. My opinions were constantly changing. I thought it was pretty boring in the beginning and hard to stay focused because of the repetitiveness and the long paragraphs. However, then I really started to relate with Holden Caulfield and his point of view on things. I completely understand his hatred for everyone and everything, as I was going through this very same thing about the time that I read this. I couldn’t stand school and I didn’t understand what the point in trying was, and I would love all my friends then hate them the next day. His viewpoints on life are so similar to mine it is uncanny, although I do feel that I am a bit more optimistic than he was.

Once I connected with Holden, the story got interesting and I really enjoyed it. Before, I was dragging my feet in reading this book, but then I couldn’t put it down. I was riveted, and then it abruptly ended, and overall I was left confused. What happens next? What was the point of this whole story? It was actually quite frustrating.

I have found that of the old books I have read, they all end abruptly and without resolve. That is frustrating to me because I love endings and I always have, but I feel as if there aren’t endings in these books, and I don’t know what to do with myself.

Overall, I’d say this was a humorous, realistic, and relatable book with interesting characters and lots of sarcasm that may or may not leave you confused.

Four stars.