Jan Rivada's Reviews > The Catcher in the Rye

The story of Holden Caulfield, a 16 year old boy who is depressed and having a hard time to” fit in”. Holden is full of angst, gets bored easily and sees everything to be unreal and fake. He is very fond of the innocence of childhood as has been told in the story, particularly his fondness to his younger sister Phoebe. I find Holden to be a kind-hearted and sensitive person despite his behaviour. He is scared of the loss of childhood, the responsibility and commitment that adulthood requires.

Despite the book being published in 1951, I think many teenagers can relate to Holden because some teenagers in this generation are rebellious like him. I would recommend this novel to all the teenagers out there who faces the same issues with Holden because it talks about rebellion, identity crisis and independence. This book certainly wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea because some parts are full of swearing which is inappropriate for young readers and some might find it offensive, however I find it exciting because of the way J.D Salinger used sarcasm and humour.
The few days he spent in New York before meeting his parents made him experienced a lot of adventures which I think reflected his true identity as: compassionate, kind-hearted, innocent and a loving person.

This novel is a wake-up call to every teenager to always be hopeful and true to ourselves. It also inspires me to enjoy childhood and being careless sometimes to be able to enjoy the moment and not to worry for tomorrow. It’s about breaking the rules and do it the way you want it. Although Holden is hopeless, I believe that he’ll going to be alright as he had demonstrated intelligence, persistence and courage.

This is a good read, true classic and I recommend it to everybody. I learned that my Journalist/writer aunt once recommended this and actually lend the book to my mom as this has been required by teachers to read.