Well, I'm truly disappointed. I don't know what I thought this book was going to be. It's just a continuous rant of a mentally troubled teen. Don't waste your time! ( )

The most formative book of my young adult life by a lot. I am amazed at how beautifully and truthfully Salinger captures (as an adult) the feeling of being young and realizing for the first time that life is all about eating shit until you die, if you think about it from a certain angle.

This one is too personal for me to write about it much more on a public forum. I just have to say that it keeps getting better and better as the years creep up.

Behind all the faux-maturity and coping, sometimes you just need to cry out, “it’s not fair,” because in truth, it isn’t.

Alternative review: he’s literally me

Quote: When the weather is nice, my parents go out quite frequently and stick a bunch of flowers on old Allie‘s grave. I went with them a couple times, but I cut it out. In the first place, I certainly don’t enjoy seeing him in that crazy cemetery. Surrounded by dead guys and tombstones and all. It wasn’t too bad when the sun was out, but twice – twice – we were there when it started to rain. It was awful. It rained on his lousy tombstone, and it rained on the grass on his stomach. It rained all over the place. All the visitors that were visiting the cemetery started running like hell over to their cars. That’s what nearly drove me crazy. All the visitors could get in their cars and turn on their radios and all and then go someplace nice for dinner – everybody except Allie. I couldn’t stand it. I know it’s only his body and all that’s in the cemetery, and his souls in Heaven and all that crap, but I couldn’t stand it anyway. I just wish he wasn’t there. You didn’t know him. If you’d known him, you’d know what I mean. It’s not too bad when the sun’s out, but the sun only comes out when it feels like coming out. ( )

This book was repetitive to the EXTREME. Words like, and all, goddamit, horse around, crumby etc get driven into the ground and just make you mad. The character is completely annoying in his repetitiveness, selfishness, un-founded misery etc. Just a horrible person to have to listen to for the entire book.

I don't even know what the point of this book is. All of his opinions just got on my nerves - in the words of the Schwarzenegger - STOP WHINING!
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This book was an enjoyable read. However, the reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 5 was: I only liked it and didn't think it was an "amazing" book [according to the labels given:].

What I hated about the book:
- If you removed the likes of these sentences: "The way Holden spells words is annoying. Boy, what a phony. That kills me. That REALLY does. I swear." You'd downsize the book by half. It's very repetitive. With the overuse of certain phrases.
- Plotless. No massive climax. No twists. Nothing.

What I liked about the book:
- Holden's character. It made me feel better about myself, somehow. He can get stupid and immature at times, though.
- You don't feel forced to go through some chapters. Quite an easy read.
- Very realistic.
- This book was written in the 50s? Wow.

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I’m going to make this book my entire personality ( )