By J.D. Salinger
288 pages; Back Bay Books
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Johansson first encountered the novel's Holden Caulfield as a preteen. "There was a searching quality about him that affected me," she says. "You know: someone who wants acceptance from his peers but also pushes them away." Rereading Salinger's era-defining debut as an adult, Johansson noticed the "simplicity of his writing. Now I'm better able to appreciate the purity of his words."

— As told to Karen Holt