" I personally did not like this book whatsoever. Whenever I read a book, the beginning always has to catch my attention or else it will be terribly difficult for me to continue reading. In this case, the book did not catch my attention in the beginning. It made such a bad impression on me to the fact that it had so much cuss words. It seriously had a cuss word after every sentence and that annoyed me after the first chapter. Also, I was confused on the characters personality because he was upset then happy or he would be upset but smiling. He seriously whined the whole entire story and I could not take it. He made the stupidest decisions ever and was extremely stubborn. Also, there was NO story line, there was NO point of the story, I did not see it whatsoever. I do NOT recommend this book to anyone unless you have nothing else better to do -HannahB."
"This book never caught my attention in the beginning. Honestly, we just randomly picked it out of the list because we really did not know any of the other books. But always expect the unexpected. Even if it wasn't that interesting, I found the book better than I thought. The setting of the book and the characters were unrealistic, because Holden leaves his school sporadically and wanders off searching for a new life. No normal 16-year old would have the guts to do such things, although it is possible. It's just unrealistic. That's also not the reason why I didn't like it; most books are purposely made in that genre. What got me to dislike it in such a ways is the tone and mood of the book. Holden is a teenage loser that thinks nothing of himself but a failure, and uses that to belittle himself even more. That's really unattractive to a reader's mind. Seeing him lower himself more and more is disgusting. The end of the book was a little better, for he decides to do something with his life. The book is really just about a boy that thinks he's stupid and runs away for three days until he realizes that he is hopeless in life if he keeps doing that. He eventually goes home and continues his studies. I personally like supernatural happenings in books. Maybe that's why I didn't like the novel as much as others did."
-Nathan Jauregui
-Nathan Jauregui
"For me, the language is what caused me to dislike the novel. The words used to express the characters feelings sounded very improper and juvenile to me. I was confused throughout the novel and did not like any characters. The main character Holden complained about everyone and everything. Perhaps because I had nothing to relate to I did not enjoy the novel. I would not recommend this for anyone to read unless they like boring books and enjoy waiting until the middle of the novel for the story to get interesting."
-Kendra Walton
-Kendra Walton
"I can see why this book is a classic. There's a deeper meaning behind the story. Sure there is no defined story line, but what's behind the story gives it so much definition. Holden is not the most popular kid, or is he the most confident student. His expulsion from Pencey Prep just lowers his self-esteem. His external battle with all of his inmates increases his frustration as well. He does not fit in, and he's the target to most of his peers. To me, there was a reason behind everything that happened in the book. His brother died at an early age, and that scarred him for life. Holden shows humane aspects of a regular 16-year-old. He is constantly thinking of a girl, and he shows signs of sexual arousal from small sights. He's trying out new things and I feel like it's just a big struggle for Holden. Even outside of his school, he is shut down. When he ventures off on his own and meets other people, they shut him down as well. In one instance, he approaches three women who are much older than him. His approach was not successful as the women just mock him. Towards the end of the book, he realizes that he is worth something if he changes his lifestyle, which I think is an incredible touching theme."
-Andy Huynh
-Andy Huynh