The Phoenix
I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle Friday, November 20, 2009 By Stephanie Chan '13
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Take 5 graduating high school seniors, put them together and they’ll show you the impossible. Denis--the debate team captain, the valedictorian, the top notch nerd--commits a taboo with his love for the head cheerleader Beth Cooper. Denis knows himself, it’s nearly impossible for Beth to reciprocate his feelings. He hopes for a situation like this one to somehow happen: “If Beth went to an all-girls school in the Swiss Alps, surrounded by mountains, hundreds of miles from any other guys except Denis, son of the math teacher, and Beth was failing algebra, for example.” This, of course, only happens in his imagination. Denis uses every ounce of his bravery to finally face up to his feelings for Beth by telling her (and the rest of the graduating class, along with their parents and teachers) “I love you,” during his valedictorian speech. And what do we know? Beth is miraculously touched by his affections, though her violent boyfriend who’s part of the U.S. Army sure isn’t. Denis and Beth go through one night together filled with talking, arguing, laughing, yelling, running away, and enjoying the final day they have to themselves without worrying about college and what else is to come as they take their first step into the real world. Denis is extremely smart, but he isn’t your typical nerd. He doesn’t sit around at his computer desk waiting for lady luck to come. Instead he chases after it, no matter what the consequences are afterwards. Even if his face ends up completely pulverized by a deranged boyfriend of his paramour and deformed at the end, it’s all apparently worth it to Denis Cooverman. Beth Cooper is the head cheerleader but, not like the fakes you see in Hollywood movies. Beth is actually real . She’s a regular high school senior who takes any chance she can get to have a blast. She is no Barbie; there’s nothing plastic about her. Rich is Denis’ best friend, the one that is supposedly gay, and he quotes movies more than he talks as himself. Cammy and Treece are Beth’s best friends, but leaving those two alone, Rich, Cammy, and Treece have an adventure in store for them too. The next time you stop by Barnes and Nobles, Borders, The Strand, or a library, look out for this book. It’s a comedic journey complete with the things you might expect when it comes to a wild night out after your senior year graduation with no parents, and a nice car. |