Neno Russell

"I chose J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye for two deeply personal reasons. I first read it as an angst-ridden gay eighth grader growing up in a small Tennessee town in the 1980s - a time when I didn't yet realize that my thoughts, feelings, and struggles were shared by many other teenagers. This book made me feel less alone. When deciding which book to plate, this choice was obvious because of the profound difference it made in my adolescence - and because of the unusual way I gained access to it. In 1982, the novel sat on my middle school's Restricted Shelf, but since I worked in the library, I was one of the very few students allowed to check it out. In a school of 350 students, I alone was able to experience this life-changing story. That sense of revelation and connection has stayed with me ever since."