Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

67 reviews

enoemo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense 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

3.0

This was not at all the way I thought it would be. Gotta say, it takes a lot of reading between the lines to find the depth and layers in this one - it is too easy to write off the main character as the phoniest one of them all. But then again, him being edgy and annoying is a very 16-year old thing to be. His sister Phoebe sees through it all, and I thought she was the most loveable character out of the bunch. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Sexual assault

knapsacktragedy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

bexi's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Sexism

Moderate: Cursing, Lesbophobia, Violence, Body shaming, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Child death, Misogyny, and Suicide

Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Gore, and Sexual assault

friendlypoet's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Mental illness, and Grief

greenrequiem's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, and Mental illness

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Violence, Sexual assault, and Addiction

Minor: Murder, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Cancer, Child death, Religious bigotry, and Adult/minor relationship

sincerelyadah's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

At the beginning, I had a hard time “getting into” it, but as I read on, it became more and more interesting. Here’s a little review of it. (edit i’d give it more of a 4.5)

I feel like I have a lot of empathy for Holden. It’s really clear that he’s deeply depressed to the point that everything in the world depresses him even more. He’s hyper aware of how much and how often people pretend, or are being “phony.” And I think that is why most depressed him—at least as far as I can tell.

Holden also was probably abused or harassed (sexually) on at least a few occasions. When the whole thing happens with his old english teacher, he mentions how that kind of stuff has happened plenty of times before. And at the end, he seems to be with a psychoanalyst. I’m not sure what that means, but it all points to him being very traumatized. This further leads me to empathize with him.

Another thing I think the book really shows is how deeply Holden desires real connection. I think this is why seeing people be shallow and fake is so depressing. He wants so bad to have relationships that are real with people who are real. Especially romantically—

him with the prostitute definitely shows that.

I definitely understand that desire so another reason I empathize with him.

Moving away from the actual plot and characters towards the style, I want to mention the way Salinger writes. It’s not necessarily mind blowing, many have written books in the form of a letter, like Perks of Being a Wallflower. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not an enjoyable style. I really love the mystery, that we don’t know who he’s writing to, it adds something to the story as a whole.

And lastly, the ending. IM CONFUSED. Ill have to read some kind of explanation because even though I have my thoughts and theories, I don’t know if they’re right. If anyone does, please LMKKK

Anyway, that’s my review. I liked the book a lot. I wouldn’t say it’s absolute favorite but it’s definitely up there!

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

grizzlysnack'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

4.5

Based on the years of people telling me this book was terrible or it sucked, I believe it's because they didn't wrap their mind around the fact that this book is supposed to show you some form of empathy.

We're shown 3 days of 16 year-old Holden's life, and the text is trying to make you feel empathetic towards him, who is struggling with the loss of his innocence. Almost everyone can relate to that.

Salinger has a unique prose when it comes to Holden's perspective and how Holden sees the world. I think that those who dislike The Catcher in the Rye either couldn't grasp the idea of putting themselves in someone else's shoes when they read through it, or were expecting a completely different type of writing (like I said, Salinger's writing style is meant to be distant from the reader, it's what makes Holden relatable).

Holden Caufield has been treated so poorly by the 'adult world' that he is making terrible decisions to get the attentions of people who couldn't care less about his well-being. I think that's where the message gets blurred, and what leads to those poor reviews of the text.

Overall I think that The Catcher in the Rye is a wonderfully written novel, coming from a 19 year-old who never read it in high school (where/when most people read this book). If you're in the mood to reflect on a fictional character's life instead of worrying about the action that is happening, this would be a perfect read for you.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Grief, and Sexual assault

Minor: Pedophilia and Homophobia

aylin05's review against another edition

adventurous reflective sad fast-paced

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

2.75

For this being a book i read for a school research paper i thoroughly enjoyed it. while at times i was a little bored hearing about random people Holden knew and brought up, i think that in retrospect everything made sense. at first i didn’t understand or even like Holden, but that honestly changed by the end of the book, which was super sweet. this book deals a lot with growing up and the difficult/ scary transition between childhood and adulthood and a lot of Holden just trying to find his place in the world. I’d definitely recommend. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Suicide, and Alcohol

Minor: Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Sexual assault

krystaltyong's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death, Drug use, Gore, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Pedophilia, and Suicide

ncason93's review against another edition

reflective sad 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

Graphic: Misogyny and Homophobia

Moderate: Sexual assault