I can't decide if Holden Caulfield is a genius or the most annoying character ever. I think I waited too long to read this book. I'd compare reading The Catcher in the Rye to reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I definitely wouldn't like The Perks of Being a Wallflower as much if I read it for the first time now. But I loved it when I did read it (I think I was 17?). I'm pretty sure I would have loved The Catcher in the Rye if I'd read it when I was 16/17.