Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Над пропастью во ржи

Filled with empty verbiage after empty verbiage and enough mundanity for it to pass as contemporary rather than the fifties setting that it is, this pile of paper(I shall not bestow it the honor of being a book) is the definition of overrated. Holden Caulfield is the biggest phony no matter what he says. The only thing he ever gets right is that his siblings Allie and Phoebe are superior.
Read something else instead!
👎👎👎👎👎

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evawertz's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is one of the few books where I felt like mental illness was shown from the perspective of the person experiencing the mental illness in a very accurate way. Holden's superiority complex is precisely how it is to have one in real life, you feel justified to point out everything you find wrong in people while excusing your even worse faults. You act rashly because everything seems to lack value and time zooms by or stretches on forever in your mind. Unlike most books, there's not a final destination or moment in someone's life that completes the book. The book is a snippet of the plain but complex days in someone's life. There is no happy or sad ending just a pause and let's see what happens. It portrays how life isn't a story with a perfect beginning to end and how you never know what's next.

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zaraha's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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mme_carton's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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grace_cr1's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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naomistrom06's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Spoilers Ahead!!

Firstly, I wanna say that I read this as a teenager - which may affect the way I view this book. Holden is a very unlikeable character who hates everything and there is a repeating theme of: walking around New York, I hate this, memory, walking around, etc. But I was so interested in what Holden thought about everything and how he would reveal more about his life and memories to the reader. Some people feel like the beginning was too slow and unbearable to read. However, of course it is not as good as the ending, but I enjoyed how there wasn’t a point he was reaching or a goal he had in mind. I think that points towards the message of the book as well.

The teacher whom he stays with at the end of the book points of that Holden is headed towards a falling trajectory. Holden has been looking for something to hold onto and he just can’t find it.

I wasn’t until Holden spent time with his younger sister (one of the only people he has high regard for) and saw her playing on the carousel. The entire book the reader sees how depressed he is and how he hates everything. All of a sudden, he feels immense happiness.

I’m going to be completely honest, I cried so much that chapter. Seeing someone depressed thrn their lives around made me so emotional.

I am not depressed or anything, but I related to Holden’s point of view and gave me hope and motivation for my own future.

thanks for reading :)

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sunny_not's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Just a weird teenage boy hating everything, being sexist, racist and homophobic at the same time. Definitely of its time.

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libbykerns's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

An interesting read, though not one I necessarily enjoyed. My main takeaway is that Holden desperately needs a good therapist.

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