I think Holden is a child that was failed by the adults in his life.  The adults in his life either failed to see that he had issues or saw him as an easy target to abuse.  I feel for him there, because he is a victim.  

I also think he sucks as a person.   He assaulted Jane when she was in a very uncomfortable situation that he recognized.   He is insufferable, thinks he is genuine and smarter than so many others when he id do fake.   And the lack of applying himself frustrates me beyond end, especially because of the access to wealth he has.

He does have some pockets of compassion, but I don’t believe he has the skills to truly nurture them.   I think he perpetuates the cycles he endured, which doesn’t help anyone.

 I hope he got the help he needed, but I honestly question if he really does. 

I read this book when I was in high school because I heard of the notoriety.  I hated the book so much.   And over a decade later, I decided to give it another shot.   And I did catch things I missed in my first read through, it doesn’t positively change how I feel about the book.  I think you can have interesting conversations about the book, like about how patriarchy fails men too, how child abuse and molestation affected Holden to be who he is now.   You can talk how our systems failed him and so many children even today.   But I think it would be a disservice to call it a story of rebellion when it was just a kid trying to avoid the problems in their life.