THe Catcher in the Rye: Summary The Catcher in the Rye is a book by J. D. Salinger and the story of a boy named Holden Caufield. He is no longer innocent, but exposed to the world. Phoebe, Holden's sister, is the opposite she is quite the innocent, never really being exposed to the world outside her protective bubble. Holden wants to protect such precious innocence only found in the children as a guardian of the innocent a catcher in the rye. The Catcher in the Rye is fundamentally a book about innocence. This book shows people of two different parties, the innocent (not tainted by the world) and the experienced (both good and evil), in