That reminds me of Catcher in the Rye. Odd book about a troubled kid who had a nervous breakdown, but apparently gets interpreted 100 ways. At least the Sun Also Rises was a bit more obvious (if a bit pointless in the end).
We had to read Catcher in the Rye when I was in High School. On a more favorable note, I took a semester class on The Hobbit / LOTR in the 11th grade, which was my introduction into Tolkien. Reading LOTR was the best homework ever.