Let's be real: Catch-22 is a masterpiece, but it's not for kids. It's dark, profane, sexually explicit, and deliberately disorienting. The nonlinear structure and absurdist logic are brilliant but also make it a challenging read even for adults.

That said, for mature older teens (17+) and adults, it's genuinely enriching—a scathing, hilarious, devastating critique of war and bureaucracy that will change how you think about authority and institutional power. It invented a narrative style and gave us a phrase that perfectly captures impossible situations.

But here's the thing: it's also from 1961, and while it's aged better than many classics, the pacing and style can feel dense to modern readers raised on tighter narratives. If your teen is a strong, motivated reader who appreciates satire and can handle mature content, this is worth the effort. If they're not already into literary fiction, this might be a slog.