I Love You, Beth CooperLarry Doyle
I have to thank HarperCollins for offering I Love You, Beth Cooper in its entirety for free, online. This offer was for a limited time only, but you can try clicking here to see if the offer is still valid. Without this offer, I probably wouldn't have read Doyle's book, and it would have been to my loss.
Denis (one uncomfortable letter away from penis) Cooverman, who speaks nine languages (three of them real), delivers the valedictorian speech at his high school graduation. Deciding to make the most of an opportunity he'll never have again, he decides to let loose about what he really thinks about his peers, especially concerning his love for one Beth Cooper, the hottest girl in school (or at least in Denis' eyes).
What happens as a result of this speech is definitely not in any of the few scenarios imagined by Denis. Denis and his totally-straight best friend soon find themselves experiencing the night of their lives: Denis gets injured more times than is humanly possible; has several encounters with Beth's crazed, military boyfriend; and finally comes to know the real Beth Cooper.
With a nod to more than a few teen movies, Larry Doyle pens a madcap, fast-paced tale. It's not perfect: my biggest beef was with the abrupt (and slightly repetitive) ending. I could have done without a few scenes, including one especially groan-worthy (and unnecessary) scene involving a contact lens. That said, I genuinely laughed out loud several times during the novel, so I think the karmic scales are balanced.
In a nutshell: A perfect summer read. I look forward to the film version later this year (although MY Beth Cooper would never be Hayden Panty-whatsherface).
Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars
Denis (one uncomfortable letter away from penis) Cooverman, who speaks nine languages (three of them real), delivers the valedictorian speech at his high school graduation. Deciding to make the most of an opportunity he'll never have again, he decides to let loose about what he really thinks about his peers, especially concerning his love for one Beth Cooper, the hottest girl in school (or at least in Denis' eyes).
What happens as a result of this speech is definitely not in any of the few scenarios imagined by Denis. Denis and his totally-straight best friend soon find themselves experiencing the night of their lives: Denis gets injured more times than is humanly possible; has several encounters with Beth's crazed, military boyfriend; and finally comes to know the real Beth Cooper.
With a nod to more than a few teen movies, Larry Doyle pens a madcap, fast-paced tale. It's not perfect: my biggest beef was with the abrupt (and slightly repetitive) ending. I could have done without a few scenes, including one especially groan-worthy (and unnecessary) scene involving a contact lens. That said, I genuinely laughed out loud several times during the novel, so I think the karmic scales are balanced.
In a nutshell: A perfect summer read. I look forward to the film version later this year (although MY Beth Cooper would never be Hayden Panty-whatsherface).
Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars
2 comments:
I haven't read this yet, but I can't wait to. Thanks for the great review. Just from what I know about the book, Hayden P. seems all wrong! :-)
As of yesterday the offer was still valid because I was just over there telling myself that I really need to buy this book! And then I watched the trailer for the movie and I really wanted to buy it. (I didn't think Hayden looked that bad, but then I haven't read the novel...:)
Glad you liked it!
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