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karinarob's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault
lemonyholden's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this is my favorite book. while there is almost no plot the book still manages to entertain you (in my opinion.) the book does have a bit of sexism and homophobia (although some have questioned if holden is gay himself.) which should be kinda expected due to the time period and the ideas people had at that time. i recommend for you to read this as a teen, if you can.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Child death, Grief, and War
hadlihawkins's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing and Grief
Minor: Child death
zaraha's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief
lizziertaft's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Grief, and Alcohol
harriet_dolby's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Until the last 4 pages, I hated this book, I felt it such a slog despite it being only 230 pages long. I think the rreason why this book is so liked is the same reason why I don’t like it- the ‘teenage agnst’ which plagues the book. I feel now, that despite being 16, I would of enjoyed this book more when I was 10-13, although I wouldn’t have understood the more adult themes.
The main plot of this book is that a privilidged boy gets kicked out of his boarding school (his time at the boarding school was described using his favourite word in the first 50 pages… crumby- which I didn’t really get) and has to wait around for 3 days until he can go home for christmas- when the normal term time ends, so his parents don’t expect anything. During this time, he drinks a lot and visits some people from his past such as previous ex-girlfriends. He also tries to sleep with a sex worker but he gets too nervous and gets into trouble about it. The only parts I liked were hearing about him and his sister and when there are the symbolic moments- the catcher in the rye (the children are playing amongst the rye bales and in order to stop the children from falling off the cliff there is a catcher- the catcher in the rye which is symbolically what Holden relates to) and near the end when he feels himself falling everytime he crosses the road (in which he says that he is closer to his cousin, who has died- perhaps showing how due to his sleep deprivation, he questions his mortality, subsequently after this moment he undergoes some character development and spends more time with his sister and becomes more sympathetic to her).
My favourite quotes
-last line ‘dont ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody’
- a quote by the psycoanalyst- Wilhelm Stekel
‘The mark of the immature man is thathe wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one’
The main plot of this book is that a privilidged boy gets kicked out of his boarding school (his time at the boarding school was described using his favourite word in the first 50 pages… crumby- which I didn’t really get) and has to wait around for 3 days until he can go home for christmas- when the normal term time ends, so his parents don’t expect anything. During this time, he drinks a lot and visits some people from his past such as previous ex-girlfriends. He also tries to sleep with a sex worker but he gets too nervous and gets into trouble about it. The only parts I liked were hearing about him and his sister and when there are the symbolic moments- the catcher in the rye (the children are playing amongst the rye bales and in order to stop the children from falling off the cliff there is a catcher- the catcher in the rye which is symbolically what Holden relates to) and near the end when he feels himself falling everytime he crosses the road (in which he says that he is closer to his cousin, who has died- perhaps showing how due to his sleep deprivation, he questions his mortality, subsequently after this moment he undergoes some character development and spends more time with his sister and becomes more sympathetic to her).
My favourite quotes
-last line ‘dont ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody’
- a quote by the psycoanalyst- Wilhelm Stekel
‘The mark of the immature man is thathe wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one’
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Grief
mme_carton's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
clairegannondorf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is widely known for its relatability of the character feeling bitter about people and the world, while also having the self righteousness most have during one’s teenage and young adult years. Although I think this book has merit, I find it odd when grown adults identify this book as one of their all time favorites, or when someone claims that they feel akin to Holden. Holden is an extremely flawed character and has a narrow understanding of the depth of the people he knows. He makes light of very serious things, which may not have been concerning when it was first published, but would be cause for concern if anyone said such things in today’s world. I think this book would be beneficial to read in college with more perspective, rather than assigning it to high school students who may relate to and even admire Holden and his thoughts. All that being said, J.D. Salinger perfectly captures teenage angst and the universal struggle to make sense of people and the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
sabrinaleaf's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
2nd time reading:
At first, I was gonna give it a lower rating, maybe a 3.5 ⭐️. But I had too much fun annotating and analyzing this book. Finally understand it’s meaning and the underlying themes now that I’m older was truly magical.
At first, I was gonna give it a lower rating, maybe a 3.5 ⭐️. But I had too much fun annotating and analyzing this book. Finally understand it’s meaning and the underlying themes now that I’m older was truly magical.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Pedophilia, and Violence
bellaiu's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Addiction and Drug use