My Favorite Writing

My favorite style of writing is often subjective. I love being able to read the protagonist's thoughts as the story progresses. Specifically, I really enjoy reading angsty, rebellious teen novels. One that particularly stands out is The Catcher in the Rye by J. D Salinger. The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has become this icon for teen rebellion. What's more enjoyable about this book is how Holden deals with issues dealing with adolescence such as belonging and alienation. Set during the 1940's the book keeps up with the vernacular of the times.

Here's an excerpt from the novel,"There were never many girls at all at the football games. Only seniors were allowed to bring girls with them. It was a terrible school, no matter how you looked at it. I like to be somewhere at least where you can see a few girls around once in a while, even if they're only scratching their arms or blowing their noses or even just giggling or something. Old Selma Thurmer-she was the headmaster's daughter-showed up at the games quite often, but she wasn't exactly the type that drove you mad with desire. She was a pretty nice girl, though. I sat next to her once in the bus from Agerstown and we sort of struck up a conversation. I liked her. She had a big nose and her nails were all bitten down and bleedy-looking and she had on those damn falsies that point all over the place, but you felt sort of sorry for her. What I liked about her, she didn't give you a lot of horse manure about what a great guy her father was. She probably knew what a phony slob he was." (Salinger, 1951)

I'm sure everyone can relate to being an angsty teen. Thoughts circulating about everything in their lives - making fun of those around you. Cracking yourself up? That's pretty much sums up my adolescence. Other novels that contain that angsty teen rebellion novels include The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Often these characters go to a dark place, not realizing it's part of growing up - well, more or less.I think there always innocence as a silver lining to these novels. It's a bit of an escape for me to read these characters.