I Love You, Beth Cooper (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Beth Cooper, Greg Saloga, Valli Woolly (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Former TV writer and magazine editor Doyle frenetically chronicles in his debut a long night of goofy teenage antics. After concluding he has nothing to lose, geekazoid valedictorian Denis Cooverman declares, during his graduation speech, his love for Beth Cooper, the way hot chief cheerleader. He is amazed to discover Beth is not completely repulsed by his feelings for her, although her army boyfriend, Kevin, is enraged. Beth, implausibly, later shows up at Denis's graduation party with two interchangeable sidekicks, Cammy and Treece. The party comprises exactly two guests, Denis (aka "The Coove") and his possibly gay best friend, Rich. Once Denis and Rich recover from the shock of being in the presence of pretty girls, they attempt to party, but the awkward celebration is cut short when Kevin arrives with his bruiser friends. Denis and Co. make their first of what will be several escapes, the circumstances of each providing Denis with evidence that Beth isn't the flawless goddess he'd imagined her to be. Overly rapid pacing, unlikely turns of events and quirky, funny dialogue reveal Doyle's TV roots (he has written for The Simpsons and Beavis and Butt-head). Doyle wrings from his typecast crew just enough teenage agony and ecstasy to keep readers interested. (May)
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From Booklist

Speaking in "the stilted manner of adolescent public speakers throughout history," and sweating so profusely that he develops a "groin pool," Denis Cooverman interrupts his high-school valedictory address to say what's truly on his mind: "I love you, Beth Cooper." His confession kicks off this outrageously funny novel, set during a single graduation night that Denis miraculously spends with the object of his desire, a head cheerleader who, for the first time, registers his existence. Doyle has written for Beavis and Butt-Head and The Simpsons, making it no surprise that his first novel both celebrates and mercilessly satirizes all things teen with razor-sharp humor: "The sullen girl sang, wringing fresh bitterness from the already alkaline lyrics." The homage to teen movies is obvious, from the stock characters and scenarios (including the ubiquitous naked-drunk-girls scene) to direct quotes from legendary teen-film characters. It's the nonstop jokes and wry, uproarious descriptions that set this apart, and like the shows Doyle has helped create, the text is filled with phrases ("benevolent cliquetator") and lines readers will savor. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Ecco (May 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061236179
• ISBN-13: 978-0061236174
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #336,280 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hugely evocative of high school, and very, very funny to boot, June 9, 2007

By	Catherine S. Vodrey (East Liverpool, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Larry Doyle's "I Love You, Beth Cooper" takes a novel type (the coming-of-age story) and manages to work in equal amounts of pathos and hilarity without detriment to either. What you need to know about the main characters is that Denis Cooverman is class valedictorian and captain of the debate team (he speaks "nine languages, three of them real") and Beth Cooper is the head cheerleader. As another reviewer has noted, if you thought high school was the be-all and end-all of your life, skip it. If you're one of the rest of us, get this book right now!

Denis decides to declare his love for Beth (who scarcely knows he's alive--their only contact has been from being seated alphabetically next to each other in class) from the podium at their high school graduation. From that moment, at the very beginning, the comedy comes fast and furious, starting with the response Denis prepares to Beth, depending on whether her reaction to his oath of love is positive or negative:

POSITIVE: "Then we agree."
NEGATIVE: "It's my medication."

Some of the hundreds of great lines from the novel include:

"Denis jerked his face to the side--universal body language for 'Yes, I was staring at you'--while maintaining his casual yet defiant pose against the wall. It made him look like a male underwear model, except not."

"Denis thrust his hands back into the closet, praying they would reappear holding anything resembling a weapon. A loaded revolver would be ideal, though unlikely (his mother felt hunters should be tried for war crimes and his father drove a Prius)."

"Rich [Denis's best friend] chafed at Denis's brain ruining all their fun . . . but the doom-modeling had saved Rich's life on at least five occasions: the 'Super Juice' made from Orange Powerade, 'Batman returns' cereal, crushed Superman vitamins and topped with Mr. Muscle oven cleaner (age five); the re-enactment of the mining car chase from 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' (age 9); the 'Harold and Maude' fake suicide re-enactment and sympathy ploy (age 14) . . . "

"Valli Woolly invited no one [to her party]. She had disinvited just enough people ('I have to keep it small') for word to get around. She wanted everybody to be crashing, so that they would all feel unworthy and she could eject anyone at any time. She was that much of a bitch."

"The kitchen was unnecessarily immense, as no one in the Woolly family ate anything with the exception of Mr. Woolly, and all he ate was Scotch."

There's a little too much bully-boy-beats-up-cowering-skinny-guy in the book for my tastes (all of it extraordinarily cartoonish and distracting), but that's my only complaint. This is an amazingly funny, laugh-out-loud-and-read-parts-of-it-aloud-to-anyone-sitting-near-you kind of book.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Hilarious!, May 19, 2007

By	Michael Kun "author of The Locklear Letters" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One of the most enjoyable, entertaining books I've read in a long, long time. I read the book in two sittings, finishing up at 4 a.m. this morning. I laughed my way throughout, to the dismay of my wife who I'm afraid was trying to sleep. This is a funny, fast-paced read, and I was actually more than a bit sad to see it end, which is always the sign of an excellent book. I hope it finds the large audience it deserves.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read!, May 31, 2007

By	A reader - See all my reviews

As other reviewers have said, this book is hilarious. The broad plot (high school geek gets a fun, crazy, intermittently painful night with the head cheerleader) is just the skeleton on which Doyle is hanging all his spot-on, extremely funny observations about modern life (teen and otherwise).

I started this on a plane and kept disturbing my seatmate by laughing out loud. The descriptions remind me a lot of David Sedaris.

It's a great gift for grads ~ but don't think of it as *just* a teen book. Anybody who has been to high school will enjoy it.