What happens when a person doesn't accept and doesn't play by the rules of the dominant culture? Holden, the teenage protagonist, is expelled from school and is desperate to find a place to fit it somewhere. Highly controversial since its release in the 1950s, Salinger gives a raw account of a classic coming of age tale in trying to stay true to yourself in the mists of a bunch of "phonies."
To learn more about the book:
New York Times - 1951 Book Review
Things to know BEFORE reading
PBS discussion of author and the book