No kidding we get told to read these works for class without really having the tools to appreciate them. Another example of this is reading The Catcher in the

No kidding we get told to read these works for class without really having the tools to appreciate them. Another example of this is reading The Catcher in the Rye while in high school. The problem with this book for a teen is that theyre as a whole not far enough removed from the angst of Holdon's character to see the bigger picture. To a teen Holdon is this exaggeration of their worst characteristics and, this is extra relevant for the AP and honors students who tend to read Salinger, a literally manifest of their most annoying and disruptive classmates. Getting over this is a lot to ask a teenager. However removed from a teenage perspective it's much easier to see why the book is well regarded. It depicts a kid broken by the loss of his sister and broken by the abuse handed down to him from his caretakers. Being unlike Holden just makes it so much easier to empathize with him.