The Catcher In The Rye [1951] - J. D. Salinger

"Boy, when you're dead, they really fix you up.  I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something.  Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery.  People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap.  Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody."

Synopsis: First-person narrator, Holden Caulfield, gets expelled from Pencey Prep, a college preparatory school, and travels to New York City. The story of Holden Caulfield has historically been one of the most frequently challenged books of the 20th century due to its liberal use of profanity and some very tame sexual situations (which would probably garner it a "PG13" if it were ever made into a film). The Catcher in the Rye is a classic anthem of teenage rebellion (although most of the rebellion occurs only in the mind of the protagonist!).

Total Sales Worldwide: More than 65 million

Critical Review: "This Salinger, he's a short story guy. And he knows how to write about kids. This book though, it's too long . . ." —James Stern, New York Times Book Review

Trivia: 

• Holden Caulfield was originally a character in Salinger's short story, "Slight Rebellion Off Madison," which appeared in the December 21, 1946, issue of The New Yorker.
• Salinger has not published an original work since 1965.
• Salinger once dated Eugene O'Neill's daughter, Oona, who later married Charlie Chaplin.