Reviews with content warning for Child death - The Catcher in the Rye

Truly, this is one of my favorite books of all time. We read it for English last year, and I decided to re-read it because of some things going on in my life at the time. I really connect with Holden's desire to preserve the innocence of those who still have it because he lost his so abruptly, and at least personally I was hoping that he could recover even though all of that was happening to him. His story just breaks your heart.

And I think at the end, when he watches Phoebe go around on the carousel and grab for the golden ring, it shows he'll get better. He realizes that even when kids reach for that golden ring, even when they make risks that threaten their innocence and even fall or lose their innocence, they still have that same heart on them that wants to go around the carousel even if they're too old for it. He can't save everyone from losing their innocence because it's inevitable, but there's still that same heart on everyone, no matter how innocent they are. That ending to chapter 25 always makes me cry because it feels like to me he realizes there's a way out of his emotional struggles, and I feel so happy for him.

. Also, it would be a crime to talk about this book and not talk about the symbolism, how "everything means something" in this book as someone once told me. It really challenges you to employ your highest levels of thinking with every sentence Holden says, and that's one of my favorite things a book can do. Overall, I do think this is a worthwhile read, especially for those who are in a place or have been in a place where they can relate to Holden's need to preserve innocence to a fault.

Content Warnings

mabelbelle's review against another edition

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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

3.5

Content Warnings

cursed_sapphire's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Content Warnings

marte846's review against another edition

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relaxing medium-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

This book took me 10 days to finish, and it kind of got me in a reading slump. I didn’t like the writing style at all and the plot was also not very intresting. The main character is also pretty sexist and homophobic, which is understandable because this book is written in the ‘50s. The only thing that I did like about the book is that it sometimes had some great quotes. But if you would like to read a book like this I would recommend reading ‘Perks of being a wallflower’ and not this.

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