Valedictorian Speech

I Love You Beth Cooper


Written by: Larry Doyle

Released: May 8, 2007 by HarperCollins Canada/Eco Press

Summary: Denis Cooverman wanted to say something really important in his high school graduation speech. So, in front of his 512 classmates and their 3,000 relatives, he announced:

It could have been such a sweet, romantic moment. Except that Beth, the head cheerleader, has only the vaguest idea who Denis is. And Denis, the captain of the debate team, is so far out of her league he is barely even the same species. And Kevin, Beth's remarkably large boyfriend, is in town on furlough from the United States Army.

Ok, I had no idea that this was a book until after the movie was released and they released the movie tie-in book cover. And I didn’t really care for the movie since I’m not a huge Hayden Panettiere, but I figured that the book was always better, so when I saw it in a used book store for super cheap, I jumped at the chance.

One thing that they got right for the movie was that it was spot on as far as the book went. Seriously, I don’t think that I’ve ever witnessed a movie that was so completely synched with the book. Ever.

Now, the book was one that I greatly enjoyed purely because it was rather stupid (in a good way) and funny though at times it was rather insightful. I also really liked the pop culture references and the movie quotes used all throughout the book. Denis was that epitomized high school nerd who was destined for greater and better things outside of high school, if he only released his time there, who was hung up on the most unattainable girl ever. Then there was Beth who you first see through Denis’ eyes as perfection but you later learn that she’s more than human with plenty of faults. It really showed how you never know a person just by how you see them from a distance.

This book also addressed how trivial high school really is and how there’s more to life while showing just how stupid high schooler’s can be when they think that that time in their life is the everything. It also grasped at several of the main big points of life and how they affect a person whether it was drug use, alcoholism, low self esteem, or an eating disorder while also breaking the stereotype on stereotyped people (does that make sense to anyone but me?). Sure, it targeted the cliché problems, but the fact that it confronted so many is commendable.

Another thing that I enjoyed about this book was how at the beginning of every chapter the image of Denis reflected everything that had happened to him up until that point and how there was a movie quote which reflected what was to come. Those pictures are then translated to the cover and the entire cover art shows Denis' progression throughout the night. I thought that that was rather clever.

In short, I enjoyed this book. It was a good one to read while on break at work and it offered some insight into life in general. It also made me really want to date a Denis Cooverman of my own. I’m giving it a 7/10.