/lit/ - Literature

>>18820835
Because most people who pride themselves on being well-read see literature written for youths as entirely worthless. This is wrong, of course, but that's why. Catcher is a great book for the age range it's assigned in school, as it forces any kids with inklings of pretention to look in the mirror and realize how they're being perceived and how they affect other people. I read it when I was around 12 or 13 and identified heavily with Holden, until towards the end I realized that maybe I had some self-reflecting to do, if I was being this much of an asshole. I've talked to many kids who read the book and loved it, and it was the same for them.

It's a book that is meant to be read at a certain time in your youth, and outside of that context it doesn't mean much to most people. That's fine though. Not every book needs to be the best thing ever written, but merely a stepping stone to becoming a better person or a more thoughtful reader. Catcher teaches both these things, and is thus a worthy inclusion in the youth canon.