I can see why this became a classic and maybe I would have enjoyed it more when I was younger but I struggled to connect with this book. Holden is a good representation of a 16 year old, as a coming of age story it rings true and is nicely paced and well written. There are a few reasons though why I struggle to empathise with Holden; it's written so long ago, set in new York, and Holden is in private school all of which are very far from my life at 16.

At the same time I love the film dead poets society which has the same restrictions, so it's not entirely why I didn't get into the book. Ultimately I just didn't like Holden as a character, I can respect this book and objectively see it's value, but subjectively it's just not for me. Still 3.5 stars because I did enjoy the writing and found it a relaxing, if not absorbing, read