The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger.^[3] A classic novel originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage angst and alienation.^[4][5] It has been translated into almost all of the world’s major languages.^[6] Around 1 million copies are sold each year with total sales of more than 65 million books.^[7] The novel’s protagonist Holden Caulfield has become an icon for teenage rebellion.^[8] The novel also deals with complex issues of innocence, identity, belonging, loss, and connection.

The novel was included on Time‘s 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923^[9] and it was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.^[10][11][12] In 2003, it was listed at #15 on the BBC‘s survey The Big Read.