The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was published 50-years ago, but that hasn’t stopped the 2011 controversy.  

The Catcher in the Rye was the most challenged book in schools between 1966 and 1975. More recently, in 2009, The Catcher in the Rye was listed as the sixth most frequently challenged book in libraries and schools, according the American Library Association. The book was challenged because some of the content—the offensive language and the sexually explicit scenes—were unsuited to middle and high school students.

                There have been many issues nationally with The Catcher in the Rye. An English teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was fired for assigning the book to his 11^th grade class.

                Arrowhead High School, however, does not have a ban on The Catcher in the Rye. In fact, it is a required read in English 10.

                Maralynn Markano, who teaches English 10, says, “I think The Catcher in the Rye gets a bad rap, because people focus on the bad language and they don’t focus on the renewal at the end. That there is a recognition that he [Holden] needs help and gets help and gets a clean start at the end of the book. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel. And although it seems like a depression book, you need to get to the end and see the hope.”