Reviews

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

tilsestelle's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.75

thevalleyslily's review against another edition

1.0

There isn't a single thing I liked about this book, not the language, not the writing style, and definitely not the whiniest, most annoying narrator/main character. To him, everyone is phony, everything is lousy. His journey started nowhere, went nowhere and ended nowhere and while I can see what it was getting at (the process of losing childhood's innocence and growing up is painful and depressing at times), this book went about it in the least appealing way.

karmasbookshelf's review against another edition

reflective fast-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

4.5

Gave this book another try since my sister is reading it for school. My thoughts on it haven't really changed since I first read this a couple of years ago. It's a plotless book, it definitely relies on its main character and unfortunately for me I absolutely despite Holden. Having said that, while for this exact same reason younger me didn't enjoy the book, as of today I find my dislike for him one of the, if not the main reason why I love the book, love having strong feelings about characters, it's one of my favorite hobbies

renation's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

ginisworld's review against another edition

I don't think I fully understood or appreciated this book when I read it. Maybe I should read it again.

laurgarr's review against another edition

dark funny sad fast-paced

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

4.5

andotherworlds's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 // I can’t tell if this is a popular or unpopular take but I thoroughly enjoyed this. Holden is the epitome of “the” twelve year old boy and everything about him was seemed like an easily identifiable quality you could quickly attach to any boy his age. Obviously this book had its problematic moments, but they only added to the perspective being that of a young boy. Beyond the interesting character study, the writing in this was consistently entertaining and captivating for such a simple story. I completely understand why this is required reading for so many schools and I wish my school made more people read it.

katiescogins's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

hbar's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

gabyadams's review against another edition

4.0

maybe i liked it, and maybe i didn’t (i did. sorry elise.).