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If you have a brother or sister, or even relative, who's an adolescent, The Catcher in The Rye is a good book. However, they should be at least 16+ since the book contains foul language and some sexual references.

I won't give away the plot, in case you haven't read it, but it's basically about this teen who's tired of his life in college, since things aren't going too well. And he matures throughout the book, and learns some valuable lessons about life. Even though the book was written years ago, the way life was for the character, can still be related to today's teens.

i hope everyone here has read this book. i think i first read it in 9th grade and then it was mandatory reading in 11th(?)

hey - yeah, it was mandatory for me too. but I still enjoyed it.
read it about three or four times since then, too.

I read this book about half way through 2006, when i was about 16 and a half. I enjoyed it though I dont think there was really any bad foul language and the sexual stuff was pretty tame compared to some teen books I've read. Try Forever - Judy Blume if you think there's a lot of sexual stuff in catcher in the rye. You will find yourself horrible mistaken, and i read Forever when i was 14. lol.

I read this book a few years ago, and I own it now. I want to read it a second time, when I have the chance. It's definitely one of my favorite books.

The first time I read it was in high-school, interestingly. I disliked the way they "taught" in school, but we read very good books. I'm glad they didn't censor Catcher in the Rye because of the language or sex.

i read the book when I was in 10th grade and i didnt see what was the reason for all the controversy? Ok there were curses in there but comeon who hasnt heard people curse by the time there 14? and for that matter who hasnt seen/read/heard something 10x more sexual then they read in that book by 14? Give the young kids a little credit we know things.lol

i don't find the book very controversial... it's a very good read though.

ha i agree it was good. kindof reminded me of A Seperate Piece with the whole boys boarding school. Boys boarding school is always a recipe for disaster lol

Scott Hughes wrote:I read this book a few years ago, and I own it now. I want to read it a second time, when I have the chance. It's definitely one of my favorite books.

The first time I read it was in high-school, interestingly. I disliked the way they "taught" in school, but we read very good books. I'm glad they didn't censor Catcher in the Rye because of the language or sex.

I also first read this book when I was about 16 and I absolutely loved it. I love Holden's "I don't give a f*ck" attitude and I remember it having a huge impact on me back then.

I picked it up again last year and tried to read it, but I couldn't get through it at all. I kept thinking to my self how much of a whiny kid he sounded like. I guess this goes to show how tastes chage as you grow up.

Definitely a book thats picked up by Teens who normally don't read because because of the easy relation made with the angsty Caulfield. Liked it more in later reading then upon first time around.
Although,it seems "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," its the Catcher in the Rye for a new generation.

I've been teaching literature for the last couple of years. Catcher is one of the books I've taught more than once. Each time I teach it, I interpret it differently, as do my students.

Some readers find that Holden doesn't care, but many more discover that he cares too much. A lot of adults revisit this book when they feel like an adolescent again, searching for a new identity or fearing to enter the next stage of life.

I think most people read it in school now. It's funny because it has all the foul language and stuff. However, I guess in high school you can understand the point of it.

Okay, so I'm 21 and I had never read the book until a few weeks ago when I finally plucked it from my shelf and read it! I agree that getting through it was rough for me because Holden repeats himself so much and whines constantly, but the heart of the story is really great, I think. He is at that stage where he doesn't want to grow up, but wants to be treated like an adult. He judges everyone and trusts no one. He has such a great heart, too. Don't you just love the part where he sees "f*ck" scrawled on the wall and wants so badly to get rid of it, but can't? He hates that it is there for the world to see, even kids.

I imagine a lot of teenagers can relate to his character and that's why it would make a great read for high schoolers.

I'm sort of indifferent with this book. Yeah, I enjoy his little quirks and sayings and observations regarding random people, but, like you guys said, he whines too much.

It was enjoyable in the first half, but the second half, I got tired of him.

I do find it interesting how much he wants to perserve the innocence in kids, and even himself at times.

It's one of my favorite books. I loved the way it was written, the conversatonal tone of the book and everything about it. I hear there's a ton of symbolism but I don't see it. I can see how some would try to interpret all sorts of things but I figure it's very biblical in that sense how youc an read whatever you want out of it. I relate very much to Holden, have for years and ever since I read it the first time I have felt a lot better knowing there's someone else out there (even a fictitious character) who is unsatisfied but not really knowing what they want, they just know that THIS isn't it.

I don't think that it's too bad for younger folks because of language or sex but I think they'd find it boring since the frustrations of a youth is different than the frustrations of a teen.