The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (Book Summary and Review) - Minute Book Report

This is a story about a boy named Holden Caulfield.
He just got kicked out of another all-boy's school called Pencey. He comes from a wealthy
family with a lawyer father, nagging mother, a brother who is a Hollywood writer, a brother
who died, and an intelligent sister. Holden really doesn't like phonies, which
is basically all types of people that annoy him. And so he leaves Pencey hating most,
if not all, of the people there.

He can't go home because he doesn't want to
tell his parents that he got kicked out so he goes to New York. In New York, he stays
at a hotel and meets more phonies. He takes a cab to various bars where he meets more
phonies. He meets an old girlfriend, but scares her with his plans of running away.

Finally he goes home, but sneaks in to see
his sister. They talk and she misses him. Unfortunately, he can't stay long and goes
to visit an old teacher of his. The teacher makes him a bed and gives him
advice on life.

When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, Holden says he wants
to watch children play in a field of rye and catch them if they fall off the edge of the
field. Holden goes to sleep, but wakes up to find that the teacher is patting his head.
Holden freaks out and sleeps in a terminal. He thinks about running away, but wants to
see his sister one more time. They spend the day together and as she is riding the carousel,
he decides not to run away.

The Catcher in the Rye has a bad reputation
in the literary world, but it really isn't so bad. A lot of the frustration that Holden
expresses is what young men often experience. His opinions of the world are honest, but
can be a little burdening at times. He is extremely negative and pretty much gets irritated
by everything and everyone.

The narrative style of the novel is interesting
as it uses second-person. The references to "you" as the reader make it feel like Holden
is speaking to you, making the story more personable. Looking at the story arc, not a lot happens
in terms of real life events. But what fills in the gap between or during these events
are the stories that Holden shares.

He refers to a lot of the people from his past, including
old teachers, students, and family. I'm sure all guys can relate to Holden a little.
So if you think you're a smart aleck that hates how fake people are and you have life
all figured out before you're 25, sorry, but Holden probably thinks you're a phony..