Understanding The Catcher in the Rye

 Kallen, Stuart A. Understanding The Catcher in the Rye. Part of the Understanding Great Literature series. 2001. 96p. ISBN 978-1-56006-783-7. Available at 813 KAL on the library shelves.

Writers love to entertain and communicate information to their readers. Sometimes, a writer creates a work that transcends the human experience and becomes a guiding post of a society's literature. J.D. Salinger was such a writer. Born in 1919 in New York City, Salinger was a poor student and was eventually sent to a military academy. After graduating, he tried college but left after a year and traveled to Europe, where he spent time learning German in Vienna. He returned to the United States and re-enrolled in college, meeting Whit Burnett, a professor there. Burnett recognized Salinger's writing talents, and encouraged him to write and submit his work to magazines. 

Salinger sold a few piece, but then was drafted in the U.S. Army during the Second World War. He served in Europe and landed in Normandy on D. Day, Throughout his war experiences he wrote parts of a book about a boy named Holden Caulfield which would eventually become The Catcher in the Rye. 

Released in 1951, the book gained instant fame for its profanity, its depictions of sex, its loose morals, and its deeply flawed main character. Protests and bans further increased sales, to more than 65 million copies. 

The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most analyzed and decorticated books in American literature. Hidden meanings are explored, themes are extrapolated, and characters' motivations parsed. Throughout it all, the book's impact on American society and beyond is explored, and the elements that make it an enduring novel that retains currency in a deeply changed world are discussed. 

Fans of The Catcher in the Rye or those wishing to know more about this seminal American novel will enjoy reading a carefully crafted analysis of one of the most famous novels of the 20th century.

The Radical Element: 12 Stories of Daredevils, Debutantes & Other Dauntless Girls

Spotwood, Jessica, Ed. The Radical Element: 12 Stories of Daredevils, Debutantes & Other Dauntless Girls. 2018. 320p. ISBN 978-0763694258. Available at FIC SPO on the library shelves.

Girls have always been bound by social conventions, but they often seek to escape these strictures and reach for their interests and talents. Fleeing religious intolerance, Rebekah becomes a teacher of other Jewish girls. Vilatte joined the Mormons but with her leaders’ execution, she reveals her inner strength. A stevedore on a steamship cruising the Colorado River, Ray hides both her gender and her goal, that of finding her real family. Rose, confined to a wheelchair, and her black friend Pauline, are responsible for the appearance of Lord Firebrand, who undermines the Confederacy. Ruby takes the plunge to join the circus. Grace, a Mexican-American hoping to become a star, realizes that beauty is not what society prescribes. Carrie wants to practice law so she can prove that each person deserves sovereignty over themselves. Emma’s family uses magic to stay out of events, but in 1943 the Nazis threaten the world and she goes against her parents’ wishes to protect her small Black community in Martha’s Vineyard. Rosemary wants to break in the men’s world of comedy writers for the nascent television industry. Lana Luau seeks to win a talent show for Miss Sugar and a chance to appear on sugar packages, an honor usually reserved to white girls. Susana’s Cuba is but a distant memory, but the arrival of her grandparents threaten to change her life here in the United States. Soheila has left Iran and must decide whether to follow her parents and her aunt’s wishes or blaze her own path.

The girls in these twelve stories pushed beyond recognized girlhood borders and sought to fulfill their own potential as human beings. From the stories of first- and second-generation immigrants to those of girls with diverse origins, sexual preferences, and abilities, each author showcases engaging writing and well-developed characters. Edited by Spotwood, these stories provide a look at 150 years of American history through the exploration of events and circumstances that are not well known. Readers who like to cheer for the underdog will appreciate the variety of tales told and will realize that they too, can become radical.

Young Adult Literature

Cart, Michael. Young Adult Literature. 3rd Edition. 2016. 310p. ISBN 978-0-8389-1462-5. Available at PROF 813.009 CAR on the library shelves.

The history of young adult literature is an intriguing one. Originally an outgrowth of children’s literature, writers began to pay particular attention to the young adult market, loosely defined as boys and girls aged between 12 and 18. With the explosion of disposable income and pocket money in the 1950s, book editors and companies realized that teens had both the interest and the economic power to purchase books that were attractive for them. Books targeted at teens became a mainstay of book stores. As society changed and adapted to new realities, so did books for young adults, pushing beyond the comfort level of most parents and addressing issues such as sexuality, drugs, and violence, as well as portraying different family configurations.

This third edition provides updated information about the field and incorporates recent research and sales reports to highlight the most recent changes in the publishing industry and trends in book publishing. School librarians, youth librarians, and anyone with an interesting in the history of literature will appreciate this survey of young adult literature.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 327p. 665 mins. Available both at FIC TWA the library shelves as an eBook and an audiobook from Overdrive.

Huckleberry Finn enjoys experiencing adventures with Tom Sawyer, because he never knows what to expect. That’s also true of his father, the town drunk who is always looking for easy money. In their prior adventure together, Huck and Tom had earned the significant sum of $6,000 each. Huck’s money has been entrusted with the local judge, and he himself has been placed in the custody of the widow Douglas for the purpose of civilizing him.

Sprung from this dreary existence of Church and learning by Tom, Huck joins his merry gang and spends some time before being captured by his alcoholic father. Taken to a remote cabin until he gets the money for his dad, Huck manages to escape and fakes his own death. He lands on an island in the Mississippi River, only to stumble upon Jim, old slave to widow Douglas. As a runaway slave, Jim can expect punishment or death if he’s caught.

Huck and Jim soon engineer a plan. They will go down the river until the Ohio, then travel northeast until Jim reaches a free state. That morning, though, Huck and Jim notice a boat on the river using dynamite. They are looking for his body! Huck and Jim head down the river, and thus begins a series of adventures that will sorely try Huck and Jim, including escaping hustlers, springing Jim free from prison, bad weather, and memorable encounters as they head down the river.

A classic of American literature, Huck Finn remains controversial for its language use but reflects the era in which it was written. It also proves that despite more than 150 years between the time the book takes place and today, boys will continue to be boys!