The Catcher in the Rye is the story of a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield. After being kicked out of his third school, he takes his belongings and spends three days in NYC, until he can go home for Christmas break since he does not want his parents to know he has been kicked out. He meets many different characters, and has many crazy advenventures. The action in the novel never slows down.

The novel is written as a running commentary. Holden describes his feelings about everything, as he is explaining what happened. He also digresses a lot, and it can be confusing at times, but never the less, entertaining.