Denis is the nerdiest of nerds, and Beth, the cheerleader and popular girl, is his unrequited love. During Denis’s graduation speech, he has the audacity to make this stunning confession, and over the course of the night, Denis and Beth, with friends along for the ride, traverse the night from one disaster to the next in a story that at times can be hilarious and entertaining, albeit that awkward, cringe worthy, can’t-watch-can’t-look-away kind of entertaining. That being said, its awkward situations can grow tiresome, especially since the momentum of the novel seems to run solely on putting Denis in humiliating situations. From beginning to end, Denis isn’t given much rest, and I couldn’t help wondering why someone who has been shy and timid his entire high school career doesn’t just turn around and go home at some point. Of course one might say, Beth the girl of his dreams, and in most coming of age stories, I’d go along, but in this novel, it seems a bit much, and to be frankly honest, repetitive to the point that it became predictable.Given proper motivation, I can always buy anything, even a repetitive plot, and most times I’d find this motivation in the way the characters evolve. Problem is, from Denis and company all the way to his torturous bullies, pretty much every character in the book is kind of shallow and one dimensional. Other than Denis’s confession during his graduation speech, Denis is extremely nervous, anxious, socially awkward, and overly geeky. Beth and all other popular girls are either stuck up, vapid, condescending, or impish sex kittens nothing more. Kevin, Beth’s boyfriend/ex-boyfriend, is in the army dumb, bulky, short tempered, and solves all problems with violence. Worse yet, Greg, another high school bully, seems so slow that he comes off as mentally challenged. Of course, all coming of age stories are based on these foundations, but the characters generally grow as the story unfolds not so much here. In any case, it all tends to border on being insulting on all accounts. I’ll be the first to admit to being a bit geeky and a loner in school, and even I, thought that none of these characters were as simple as they were presented. But not is all rotten, I Love You, Beth Cooper is consistently hilarious and jammed packed with teenage song titles and pop culture references that make a great guessing game. Rich, Denis’s totally-not-gay best friend, is quirky in a pretty interesting way and makes a great side kick. Doyle, our author, also has a keen and sharp eye for high school moments and places. Insane driving, parking down on secluded gravels roads, scoring booze, and crashing parties all feel authentic, even when they dive into cliché territory. Part of me wonders if Doyle meant this to be a young adult novel. It certainly lacks the sophistication of an adult novel, but seems a bit sexually graphic at times for the standard young adult novel. Maybe, Doyle underestimates our current youth and sees them as shallow and predictable. In the end, I Love You, Beth Cooper simply leaves the reader wanting something better.
Honestly, reading this book is like jumping on a roller coaster, forgetting to buckle your seatbelt, and you didn't have enough time to pull the bar down. So now you're flying all over the place, screaming your damn head off, swooping over the hills, feeling like you're going to throw up, ducking your head so you don't get decapitated, and then finally you pull back into the station, look at your partner that rode next to you and say..."Dude, that was one freakin' awesome ride. Let's do it again!!!!!!"It's a mixture of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Porky's, American Pie, and whatever coming-of-age movie you can think of. I had a great time reading this book and totally loved the pictures of Denis at the start of each chapter. As you work you're way through the book, his face gets a little bit worse for wear. But in the end he clearly feels that the best time he ever had in high school was this one single night!! If you're looking for a fun YA book to read then I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to you, but it won't change your world like, say, a John Green book would, but you will laugh and you just might see a trace of your "teen self" in some of these characters and their experiences!!I leave you with a funny passage that made me laugh: Denis took a calcaneus to the temple. He staggered backward into a corner, trapped. So this was it: boned to death in his own room. Not exactly the tragedy he had always dreamed about. He thought of his mother finding his bloody pulped remains, and then he thought of that copy of Celebrity Sleuth: Women of Fantasy 15 on the floor, lying open to topless shots of Kristanna Loken, the Terminatrix. Embarrassing. If he had time, he would try to eat the magazine before he died. p.87
Do You like book I Love You, Beth Cooper (2007)?
So I saw this on my favorite sister-in-law's bookshelf and vaguely remembered a teen movie with the same name and so OF COURSE, had to borrow it. (This all happened last night at a Halloween party.)This book could be SO much more. Really. I love YA. I love coming-of-age stories. I love anything that falls into the category of satire, PARTICULARLY when it skewers social systems. Like high school. I was totally prepped to love the ever-loving shit of out of this book. And yet.And yet. It did not deliver. Come on, Doyle! Give me a character as genius and dynamic and amazing as Denis and let me see him win at something. Anything. Why so much violence, Doyle? I get it, I get it. High school losers who go into the armed forces are your own personal devil incarnate but let that shit go. Seriously. By the middle of the book, I was yelling, "NOT AGAIN!" at your plot contrivances. NO! NOT AGAIN.That being said, this book gets it in a lot of really small ways. Denis and Rich are characters I know (names will be redacted...ahem ahem) and really, who didn't fantasize about the Beth Coopers (male or female) in their high school? That being said, Beth having the foresight to see that this is the apex of her life is TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE. In my (humble) experience, those ladies don't have the insight to get that. (This said as someone who watched the girl with a "CHRLDER" license plate walk around her 10-year reunion saying "Wait, who were you?" to almost everyone there.) It's all a bit fantasy and revenge-y for Mr. Doyle...which...go you. It just doesn't make for compelling reading for the rest for us. Keep it in your spank bank.
—Rashmi Tiwari
I wanted to read this book before seeing the movie and I'm glad I did (not because I've seen the movie yet and am making comparisons, but because I can't imagine the movie can translate half the humor of this book).Denis Cooverman, aka "The Coove", aka "The Penis", decides that his valedictorian speech at his high school graduation is the perfect time to announce that he is in love with Beth Cooper, the head cheerleader, in addition to insulting several of his classmates. To his surprise, Beth approaches him at the reception and he invites her to a party. While sitting at home alone with his friend Rich Munsch, aka "Dick Munch", Denis is again surprised when Beth does show up to his "party" with two of her friends, shortly thereafter followed by her pissed off army boyfriend and two of his crones. What follows is a long night of getting drunk, beat up, nearly arrested, and sex, making this the best night of his life.The cast of characters is huge and hilarious and I found myself enjoying all of them, even though most had very few redeeming qualities: Rich with his habit of citing every movie quotation, Treece's involuntary whorishness, Denis's penchant for quoting facts. The action was over the top and Denis's face goes from a black eye to completely messed up. The epilogue is inconclusive; this isn't a romance, but I liked that Denis got to know the real Beth Cooper and liked her just as much as his fantasy Beth Cooper. 8/15/11 - A Note About the MovieI would give the movie 3 stars. The humor of the book borders between raunchy and nerdy, and the movie seriously downgrades the raunchy and misses most of the nerdy (since most of the nerdy humor occurs in the book's descriptions and Denis's thoughts). That being said, I think the movie was cast perfectly and it followed the book very closely.
—Kate
Well, I can guarantee that if you read this book you will1. Laugh2. Smile3. CringeLarry Doyle writes and understands geekdom at it's finest. Denis "The Penis" Cooverman is the smart kid, the Valedictorian. He also is in love with a girl he's hardley talked to, Beth Cooper. She appears to be this All-American, cheerleader, happy, easy-going girl. "The Coove" decides to proclaim his love for her in his Graduation speech which turns into a wild night spent with Beth, her friends and his friend Rich. Beth turns out to be a ruanchy, wild, impulsive crazy girl. She becomes real. Denis discovers his manhood and faces his fears. It's a pretty wild night.Bottom line: This is fun. It's giggle worthy. It's a make you smile sort of book. 3.5 starsAlso, I have to point out how close the movie followed this book. I'm going to have to re-watch asap, but I can't think of anything that was different.I also have to say that I enjoyed reading the book moreso than watching the movie.... big suprise there (sarcasm)The movie comes across way more teeny-bopper and main stream than the book.
—Kristy
