The story itself was written as a teenager's stream of consciousness, specifically a teenager with ADHD or some other difficulty with staying on topic, and in that regard it was done well but it's not something I enjoy reading. There really wasn't much to the plot; there were a few events and mostly Holden rambling about things he thought about during and because of those events. In Chapter 24, in the conversation with Mr. Antolini, the Oral Expression class comes up and Holden says that he didn't like the class because when students went off topic, the classmates yelled "Digression!" but Holden found the digressions more interesting. Yeah... maybe that's because he can't stick to the point at all when he talks. At least the book was short and easy to read quickly.
The reason I did bump up the rating a little after thinking on it is because it did provide some good points for me to reflect on, both about the plot and about the experiences of others.
Regarding the plot, at the beginning he mentions that he is somewhere near Hollywood that he "had to come out here and take it easy." At the end, he mentions the "one psychoanalyst guy they have here" from whom he is likely receiving help. The story itself appears to be the mental dissent leading to this supposed breakdown. We know Holden has the trauma of Allie's death and because it was due to leukemia, it likely wasn't quick. The mention of his parent's getting upset if anything about them is mentioned and the "blank space" of actually returning home before Holden was sent to get help is a little concerning. He says his parents are "nice" and it seems like Phoebe is doing well but it makes me wonder if there's something going on there. Phoebe was also quite adamant that their dad would kill Holden which I thought was a very child-like over-exaggeration, but maybe there were some fairly extreme consequences.
Regarding the experiences of others, I like to read books from the view point of main characters that are very different from my to help expand my emotional intelligence. I've read other books about main characters dealing with trauma and/or having mental breaks and I've enjoyed them and felt they helped to expand my perspectives. Holden is very different from me. With other characters, I was able to relate at least a bit and with Holden, I couldn't, which is what I think made this a particularly challenging read for me. But the exercise of thinking back through his actions and hypocrisies with the lens of trying to trying understand is experiences is thought-provoking and helps me on my own personal journey.