I just finished reading it for the first time. It was so awesome. I feel like there was so much deep stuff in there, though, that I've barely skimmed the surface, that to fully appreciate everything I might have to reread it a couple of times...sort of how I felt after reading The Great Gatsby (which is also another really good book). I don't mean, however, that the book wasn't incredibly powerful the first time around, because it was. I'm tempted to share some of the moments particularly and more of my in-depth thoughts, but I'm not sure there would be any interest in that; plus, I don't want to spoil anything.
Instead I'll just say that I loved it and that I found Holden so easy to relate to and identify with, even if some people may not like him. I think that every teenager would at least recognize themselves in Holden once in the novel, if not more than that. Maybe that's one of the reasons the book feels like such a classic coming-of-age story to me and definitely a Young Adult novel,
even if that distinction was not necessarily around at the time.
Thoughts on The Catcher in the Rye anyone? Any agreements that it has to be one of the ultimate YA novels, even if it technically isn't one? (Of course, I haven't read nearly enough books to be able to make this an educated claim, but whatever...) Does anyone else really love the title and how it came into play in the book?
And one last thing: I have to suggest checking out John Green's videos on The Catcher in the Rye. They really helped me get a better grasp on the book, and they were highly entertaining, because, uh, duh, it's John Green. Here's the intro, part one, and part two.
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Yep, I loved The Catcher in the Rye. Loved the way the title came into play. Loved Holden. Loved everything about the book. It has got to be one of the ultimate YA novels (yeah, I'm unauthorised to make that claim too, haha).
ReplyDeleteWell, HC Australia do accept unsolicited manuscripts. So, I guess I could actually give it to her. She's a children's book editor too, including YA, so it would be perfect! (except for it would be ten kinds of awkward, so I would never do it, haha). But I probably will submit my manuscript to HarperCollins when I'm done with it. They're quite well known in Aus for publishing young authors and giving them a good time (they signed Alexandra Adornetto when she was 13).
ReplyDeleteMy first draft's nearly done! Whoopee, then it'll be time to edit. Damn, editing is always my downfall.