Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - The Catcher in the Rye

I was gifted this by my older sister when I was 18 and I never got around to reading it. She said it was intended to read before college, I didn’t understand until page 189. I found the words very comforting, unfortunately they came from a character who is suspect of preying on Holden sooo…He’s one of the many predators talked about in this book, to the point where I have to believe the author wanted us to understand how perverse men are.

The POV of Holden gets old quick. The book is slow and severely overrated. What many consider a classic, I think is just outdated and dull. I do have empathy for Holden and hope he found healing where it was he was getting help for at the end. He reminds me a lot of an old best friend I had, I’m convinced Holden was a Gemini moon.

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yustawrites's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh my God. If you rate this book low then you're a phony. I swear to God you are.

I'm lost for words. I just loved it. Holden really feels like a close friend. This book is overall SAD, but the humour in it is very special and has made me laugh to myself a few times. Very well done.

The writing is direct, it doesn't feel like there are any fillers, everything Holden says is important and I loved being in his head for a few days (even if that meant being a little sad, worried, heartbroken).

Negative reviews tend to say that the writing is repetitive - but this is exactly the point. Holden is talking to YOU. He is telling you his story about what happened after he got kicked out of the school (again) - so shut up and LISTEN.

Other negative reviews talk about Holden as this annoying anti-hero. I read one that said something like:

"I enjoyed the main character. Or rather I enjoyed hating him".

He is a 16-year old boy on the brink of a mental breakdown.

You cannot post reviews like that and wonder WHY WE HAVE A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS. It's exactly because of people like this - a.k.a. "phonies"; who won't listen, and shrug a struggling person off as "annoying", "rude", "obnoxious", "stupid".

This book made me cry. But what's different this time is that I cried while explaining the plot to someone else. Can you imagine?

God I love Phoebe. She's so like my little sister (and that kills me). Little kids really are more clever than you assume, and they are so pure.

I would like to thank J. D. Salinger for the ending. I really thought Holden is going to die in the end, but if he did I don't know if I could've taken that. Thank you for giving him a chance. Thank you for letting him live. Thank you for making him my friend.

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