He thinks the Cathcher in The Rye is the worse book ever assembeled out of any random letters. He can't believe that any good thoughts or good feelings can come out of it.  He is a brilliant young man, but he and Holden Caulfield are not going to be good friends and states that he will not read it.  What would you do?  But the best thing is that he is my grandson and I don't have to do anything about worry, but I can do plenty of that.

Is there something else he could read for his summer book?  There's a lot of great books that are usually included on summer reading lists.  Personally, I kind of see his point, there's not a lot of good feeling in Catcher in the Rye; that's not the point of the book.  If there's no other option for what book he has to read, maybe talk to him about what Salinger was trying to convey with the character of Holden.  If your grandson doesn't relate to Holden, get him to think about why that is and what that disconnect says about the difference between the two of them as people and between the different societies they live in.  Just some ideas, good luck.

cliff notes maybe? some books j ust don't jive with a person at the time they have to read them - or ever! I was forced to read 'animal farm' and 'lord of the flies' and I swear I remember very little..I think I ended up skimming the book and crossing my fingers on the test.

also I've recently discoverd audio downloads and they're pretty good...difffernt to listen to a story vs. reading it.

Yeah, Holden's a pretty angry guy.  If he has to read it, I agree that Cliff's notes or audio book may be the way to go.

I wasn't a big fan of it, myself, as I remember.

What is wonp?

The boy is absolutely right in his assessment of Catcher in the Rye, it is the worst book ever written.  It may be too late now, but any alternative would be better than that horrid waste of paper.

Wowzer, that's pretty harsh.  I wasn't a fan of the book but I can't say its the worst book ever written.  I do however think its time for schools to get some newer books.  DB's English class read The Kite Runner and he loved it.

It wasn't my favorite book, but I thought it was a pretty easy read, and it's a classic everyone should know, in my opinion.  Liking it is optional.  In fact getting through it without liking it might show a little character.  It's a hard life for all of us :p

I HATED Holden, I just wanted to take that boy and send him to an island somewhere. I did enjoy the style in which the story was written, at least it is a short book..LOL   I can see some teen boys relating to that character and the comments about actors in the book are quite true.

I think it is more for an older teen to enjoy and something that needs to be chosen and not forced upon to gain anything from.. I would go for the audio or cliff notes.

Poor kid!

I've found that Catcher In the Rye pretty much has to be read at the perfect time in ones life to really appreciate it. I read it on my own (it was never assigned in school) when I was in the 8th grade. I was in the perfect headspace- and probably hormonally- that I really connected with it even though I was nothing like Holden and it became my favorite book. I still have it on my shelf but I haven't read it since then- honestly I'm afraid of my fond memories of it getting warped by reading it as a twenty-something. :) I would maybe look at the things he does enjoy, literature and TV/movie-wise and use that as a guide for more books to get him to read. You might want to try Kafka, actually, or Vonnegut.

what's the book about a nyways? I've heard the title but never even considered reading it..

Once again--WHAT IS WONP?????

my guess is "won't" mistyped

Yes wonp is won't misspelled. and also Catcher in the Rye is , according to him,, the best book he's ever read!