Review of "The Catcher in the Rye," #2

This book follows a few days in the life of a boy. Holden Caulfield: seventeen, pupil (or rather ex-pupil) of Pencey Prep, Agertown, Pennsylvania, and alienated kid. Holden has recently received the news that he has been expelled from Pencey, where he feels just as lonely as he has in every other school he's been kicked out of. He's so lonely, in fact, that he even spends free time with his fellow boarders – who he often hates – just to avoid spending a Saturday night by himself.

This book is sometimes easy to relate to but sometimes a little depressing. At times it seems that Holden's luck will never get any better. It felt like I was reading a book with the potential to be brilliant but lacking a really good story. It has to be said that the characters immediately hook you and the things that happen to Holden are undoubtedly interesting, but it feels at times like it doesn't go the way you want it to – which left me feeling that it lacked a certain something.

Frustrated and depressed, a fight that leads to a bloody injury leaves Holden at breaking point. What better to do than escape his last unhappy days at Pencey and run away to New York? Across three days Holden makes decisions, recalls significant figures from his past and fights against a looming feeling of isolation…

There were places I wanted the story to go and characters mentioned who I thought I was going to meet, so the story almost felt like it needed to continue into a different book. You do get to like Holden and feel quite close to him – a huge plus side – but it is a shame the novel has such an unsatisfying end. The Catcher in the Rye is like nothing you will have read before. It has a mysteriously appealing quality that I loved, but I couldn't recommend this book with the words, 'You have to read this', because it is likely that it will disappoint as a story.

Overall I would say that this teen and adult book is a sort of expression of emotion rather than a directly entertaining book, because it doesn't resolve itself like the normal book you would read for pleasure. However, I did enjoy it and I think that it is interesting in itself. Read it for this kind of experience – so you can make up your own mind on the 50s bestseller – but perhaps not if you want something guaranteed to satisfy…

http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/feb/19/review-jd-salinger-catcher-in-rye