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willkay's review against another edition
2.0
There are books that call out to you. You try to avoid them, you don't intend to ever read them, but somehow they end up in your hot sweaty hand as you walk out the store.
I came across this book 5/6 months ago on the "buy two get third free" shelf in Borders. I already had my two books and was doing that desperate search for a third book - you know how it always goes. I picked this up and read the first couple of pages and thought it had potential, this was going to be my third book. Except I ended up walking out with Cormac McCarthy' The Road. A couple of months later I am convinced I read a review from a friend, a review that raved about the book. Last month I had money in my pocket and was picking up a Roddy Doyle book and I love you Beth Cooper, somehow, came home with me.
I liked the first two pages, a friend liked it, so when I got to page 50 and toyed with throwing it away, I continued to read, waiting for it to get better. It never did. However, it wasn't "eye-clawingly-out" bad, it just never lived up to its own hype.
Basically it is a movie, a teen movie based on Graduation night from High School. The valevictorian (uber geek/nerd) announces in his speech that he loves the captain of the cheerleader squad, and hilarity ensues. However, whereas "SuperBad" I found amusing, this I didn't. The book moves from set scene to set scene (which would work well in a movie, not so good in a book - plot holes in a book make very little sense), each scene culminates in an action sequence which would look wonderful on the screen, but is convoluted in the book.
Maybe I didn't like this book because I found it full of clichés (at one point one character even accuses another of speaking in clichés). Or maybe because I never went to an American High School. Or maybe because I was never unpopular. Or maybe because I am too old. I am sure that some people will like it, just as I am sure that some people like "American Pie", it just didn't "rock my boat".
I came across this book 5/6 months ago on the "buy two get third free" shelf in Borders. I already had my two books and was doing that desperate search for a third book - you know how it always goes. I picked this up and read the first couple of pages and thought it had potential, this was going to be my third book. Except I ended up walking out with Cormac McCarthy' The Road. A couple of months later I am convinced I read a review from a friend, a review that raved about the book. Last month I had money in my pocket and was picking up a Roddy Doyle book and I love you Beth Cooper, somehow, came home with me.
I liked the first two pages, a friend liked it, so when I got to page 50 and toyed with throwing it away, I continued to read, waiting for it to get better. It never did. However, it wasn't "eye-clawingly-out" bad, it just never lived up to its own hype.
Basically it is a movie, a teen movie based on Graduation night from High School. The valevictorian (uber geek/nerd) announces in his speech that he loves the captain of the cheerleader squad, and hilarity ensues. However, whereas "SuperBad" I found amusing, this I didn't. The book moves from set scene to set scene (which would work well in a movie, not so good in a book - plot holes in a book make very little sense), each scene culminates in an action sequence which would look wonderful on the screen, but is convoluted in the book.
Maybe I didn't like this book because I found it full of clichés (at one point one character even accuses another of speaking in clichés). Or maybe because I never went to an American High School. Or maybe because I was never unpopular. Or maybe because I am too old. I am sure that some people will like it, just as I am sure that some people like "American Pie", it just didn't "rock my boat".
mrsfligs's review against another edition
5.0
Basic Overview
I Love You, Beth Cooper is the literary equivalent of watching a John Hughes movie or a classic John Cusack as a teenager-in-love movie (think Say Anything). The book chronicles one wacky night (graduation night, no less) in the life of Denis Cooverman, who gets the ball rolling when he declares his love for the uber-popular and out-of-his-league Beth Cooper during his valedictorian speech. And what kind of people are valedictorians? Nerds. The book offers the classic "nerd declares love for girl - girl plays with nerd for entertainment purposes - nerd is hounded and attacked by girl's extremely large and lethal Army boyfriend - nerd realizes there is more to girl that meets the eye - girl realizes nerd is not so bad after all" story.
My Thoughts
This is a fast, funny, incredibly amusing read. I loved this book and was basically giggling throughout. Doyle takes all the cliches of every teen movie you've ever seen and gives them a unique spin of his own. Unless you've never been to high school, never seen a teen movie, or have no sense of humor, I can't see why you wouldn't totally enjoy this book. Grade = A+
About the Author
Larry Doyle is a former writer for The Simpsons, works in showbiz and writes funny things for The New Yorker. He lives outside Baltimore with his wife Becky and their three kids. And you gotta love an author who uses his high school photo on the book jacket. If you get the version of the book that I got (the P.S. version), you also get extra special bonuses like Doyle's memoir on How to Become A Simpsons Writer in Only 26 Years, A Rude Interview With The Author Conducted By The Author, and Selections from the I Love You, Beth Cooper Agony/Ecstasy Contest. Be sure to get this version as the extras are TOTALLY worth it!
Some Excerpts
Denis was afraid of many things. A very long list of them could be found in a manila folder in the office of Dr. Maple, the phobophiliac lady psychiatrist Denis had seen from the age of five until twelve as a result of his parents having too much disposable income (Denis's therapy was completed successfully at age thirteen, a typical outcome for Dr. Maple, who suffered from ephebiphobia, a fear of teenagers). But the myriad things Denis feared -- which included, briefly, a fear of misusing the word myriad -- the thing he feared most often and most enthusiastically was the future.
Rich had had a much less tragedy-free life. We needn't go into details, since it's a long, sad and ultimately unoriginal story, but as a result Rich had developed a coping mechanism by which all of the terrible things that happened to him were merely wacky complications that would, before the movie of his life was over, be resolved in an audience-pleasing happy ending. He occasionally worried his life might be an independent film, or worse, a Swedish flick, but he chose to behave as if the movie he lived was a raucous teen comedy and he was somebody like Ferris Bueller or Otter from Animal House or, worst-case scenario, that guy who fucked a pie.
Denis could imagine any number of scenarios under which his conquest of Beth Cooper would be successful:
- if Beth went to an all-girls school in the Swiss Alps surrounded by mountains, hundreds of miles away from any other guys except Denis, son of the maths teacher, and Beth was failing algebra, for example;
- if Denis was a celebrity;
- if Denis had a billion dollars;
- if Denis was six inches taller and had muscles.
Seriously, if any of these excerpts made you smile, treat yourself and get this book now!
I Love You, Beth Cooper is the literary equivalent of watching a John Hughes movie or a classic John Cusack as a teenager-in-love movie (think Say Anything). The book chronicles one wacky night (graduation night, no less) in the life of Denis Cooverman, who gets the ball rolling when he declares his love for the uber-popular and out-of-his-league Beth Cooper during his valedictorian speech. And what kind of people are valedictorians? Nerds. The book offers the classic "nerd declares love for girl - girl plays with nerd for entertainment purposes - nerd is hounded and attacked by girl's extremely large and lethal Army boyfriend - nerd realizes there is more to girl that meets the eye - girl realizes nerd is not so bad after all" story.
My Thoughts
This is a fast, funny, incredibly amusing read. I loved this book and was basically giggling throughout. Doyle takes all the cliches of every teen movie you've ever seen and gives them a unique spin of his own. Unless you've never been to high school, never seen a teen movie, or have no sense of humor, I can't see why you wouldn't totally enjoy this book. Grade = A+
About the Author
Larry Doyle is a former writer for The Simpsons, works in showbiz and writes funny things for The New Yorker. He lives outside Baltimore with his wife Becky and their three kids. And you gotta love an author who uses his high school photo on the book jacket. If you get the version of the book that I got (the P.S. version), you also get extra special bonuses like Doyle's memoir on How to Become A Simpsons Writer in Only 26 Years, A Rude Interview With The Author Conducted By The Author, and Selections from the I Love You, Beth Cooper Agony/Ecstasy Contest. Be sure to get this version as the extras are TOTALLY worth it!
Some Excerpts
Denis was afraid of many things. A very long list of them could be found in a manila folder in the office of Dr. Maple, the phobophiliac lady psychiatrist Denis had seen from the age of five until twelve as a result of his parents having too much disposable income (Denis's therapy was completed successfully at age thirteen, a typical outcome for Dr. Maple, who suffered from ephebiphobia, a fear of teenagers). But the myriad things Denis feared -- which included, briefly, a fear of misusing the word myriad -- the thing he feared most often and most enthusiastically was the future.
Rich had had a much less tragedy-free life. We needn't go into details, since it's a long, sad and ultimately unoriginal story, but as a result Rich had developed a coping mechanism by which all of the terrible things that happened to him were merely wacky complications that would, before the movie of his life was over, be resolved in an audience-pleasing happy ending. He occasionally worried his life might be an independent film, or worse, a Swedish flick, but he chose to behave as if the movie he lived was a raucous teen comedy and he was somebody like Ferris Bueller or Otter from Animal House or, worst-case scenario, that guy who fucked a pie.
Denis could imagine any number of scenarios under which his conquest of Beth Cooper would be successful:
- if Beth went to an all-girls school in the Swiss Alps surrounded by mountains, hundreds of miles away from any other guys except Denis, son of the maths teacher, and Beth was failing algebra, for example;
- if Denis was a celebrity;
- if Denis had a billion dollars;
- if Denis was six inches taller and had muscles.
Seriously, if any of these excerpts made you smile, treat yourself and get this book now!
larkin21's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
Every 90s teen movie comedy (and some other teen genres) rolled into one book. There were laugh out loud moments and the writing wasn't bad. It was offensive, though. And felt too much like "the good guy (who isn't all that good of a guy) gets his moment with the girl" and not in an interesting way or without feeling a *little* incel-y.
karennext's review against another edition
2.0
To me: the main characters were completely unlikable. The plot was just ok. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen but I never felt like anything worthwhile happened. Then the ending... cliche. Ugh. Why this ever was made into a movie is beyond me.
jcpdiesel21's review against another edition
1.0
Obviously written with a movie version in mind, which made it disjointed at times. Characters were over the top and obnoxious rather than endearing. Aimed to be hilarious, but came up way short.
offbalance80's review against another edition
5.0
A laugh-out loud account of what transpires after the nerdy valedictorian has the nerve to declare his love for the head cheerleader is both the best teen comedy that hasn't been filmed (yet) and one of the most amusing character studies I've run across in a long time. Read this - you won't be disappointed.
bxermom's review against another edition
1.0
Denis Cooverman didn't want to give the usual graduation speech, so instead he announces to everyone present that he is in love with Beth Cooper, a popular girl of the graduating class. Sounds cute doesn't it? Its not. Beth doesn't know who he is and she's got a boyfriend. The story centers around the night of graduation and the crazy events involving Denis, Beth and their friends.
I think the language for this young adult book was over the top. Some of the sex scenes went beyond young and I would not allow my child to read this book unless he/she was 16 or older.
There is suppose to be a movie coming out but if its as bad as the book, I won't be seeing it.
I think the language for this young adult book was over the top. Some of the sex scenes went beyond young and I would not allow my child to read this book unless he/she was 16 or older.
There is suppose to be a movie coming out but if its as bad as the book, I won't be seeing it.
blevins's review against another edition
3.0
Kind of a teen night gone good (or bad) in the vein of SUPERBAD which just came out. Not as funny or as raunchy but has some similarities. Two nerds in over their heads w/ a popular clique of girls and the events of a single night. They get more than they bargained for by gaining entry into this unchartered world. A fun, light read that goes by in a blur...