Memorable

Teenager Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from yet another prep school for failing his classes and having a really bad attitude. This story recounts his adventures and observations during a weekend on his own in New York City.

I remember being quite shocked at Holden's anti-social thoughts and non-stop profanity and not liking him at all when I first read this book. It was a pleasure to reread it forty years later and find that my feelings for him had changed a lot; now I find him a bright, charming, and pitiable combination of the social misfit from "Napoleon Dynamite,"  the angry young man from "Rebel Without a Cause,"  and a bit of Eddie Haskell.  His penchant for vulgarity and manic emotionality remind me of a scared puppy who's all bark and no bite; he's in desperate need of attention and affection and luckily, he gets it.

This classic character study of a troubled boy is highly recommended for mature readers.