I'm on the fence about this one: on the one hand I really enjoyed reading an honest, straight-forward YA novel. The structure was interesting: somewhat anonymous letters written from the narrator, Charlie, to an undisclosed (female, I think...) recipient, detailing his first year of high school.

Where the story goes off the rails for me is that I distrust Charlie as a narrator. He's so much more than a wallflower and I had a hard time deciding if he really was super gifted like his English teacher Bill praises him as, or if Charlie veers more into savant territory. The end of the book reveals a traumatic past that helps fill in some of the behavior and gaps, but Charlie himself never really rang true for me. His experiences and description were spot on, but as a person, I didn't buy it.

In the end, I think Looking for Alaska is the next great heir to the Catcher in the Rye legacy.