The Catcher in the Rye

Holden Caulfield has been kicked out of school again and, rather than go home, drifts around Manhattan. He meets old teachers, awkward dates and a very sweet little sister, and he complains about nearly everything.

The book lives or dies by Holden's voice, which is funny, repetitive and increasingly sad. Beneath the cynicism is grief for his brother Allie and a terror of growing up that he cannot name. Salinger lets the reader see what Holden cannot.

It is not a plot-driven novel, and some readers find Holden exhausting. But if you meet it at the right age, or revisit it later with more patience, it captures adolescent loneliness more honestly than almost anything else.