The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is is a great book about finding your identity along all the conflict. The first-person narrative Bildungsroman Novel was written based in the early 50’s.The main Character, Holden Caulfield was a young man who struggled in all subjects besides English which was the cause of him having to end up in Pencey prep, his fourth school. The death of his brother, Allie left him traumatised. It lead to him having serious psychological issues and a problem with lying to everyone along with thinking and claiming they are all a “Phony”.
Holden struggled stepping up mentally. He partially wanted to associate himself with others in a mature way but a part of him pulled away from the adult world calling it a “phony”. Due to Holden’s search for self identity, he realizes that his innocence is what was holding him back.
I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 star being that, Holden finally found his true identity even though he was lost and isolated and the journey he took to get back on his feet was inspiring. I would recommend this book to teens 13 and older due to the adult language, drug use, and prostitution involved in the book. A more mature mind would handle the information more carefully.