Denis Cooverman didn't want to give a typical graduation speech, cherishing memories and embracing challenges and crap. So, instead, he stood up in front of his 512 class-mates and their 3,000 relatives and said some-thing really important: "I love you, Beth Cooper." It would 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 then there's Kevin, Beth's remarkably large boyfriend, in town on furlough from the United States Army. Complications ensue. Denis comes of age overnight in this exhilar-ating, endearing novel that reminds us why we can't wait to escape high school but can never leave it behind. Speaking in "the stilted manner of adolescent public speakers throughout history," and sweating so profusely that he develops a "groin pool," Denis Cooverman interrupts his high-school valedictory address to say what's truly on his mind: "I love you, Beth Cooper." His confession kicks off this outrageously funny novel, set during a single graduation night that Denis miraculously spends with the object of his desire, a head cheerleader who, for the first time, registers his existence. Doyle has written for Beavis and Butt-Head and The Simpsons , making it no surprise that his first novel both celebrates and mercilessly satirizes all things teen with razor-sharp humor: "The sullen girl sang, wringing fresh bitterness from the already alkaline lyrics." The homage to teen movies is obvious, from the stock characters and scenarios (including the ubiquitous naked-drunk-girls scene) to direct quotes from legendary teen-film characters. It's the nonstop jokes and wry, uproarious descriptions that set this apart, and like the shows Doyle has helped create, the text is filled with phrases ("benevolent cliquetator") and lines readers will savor. Gillian Engberg Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “...humorously addresses the agony and ecstasy of adolescence. It’s high-school hell…Doyle has the scene down cold.” - Kirkus Reviews “In the flagrantly funny I Love You, Beth Cooper, Larry Doyle gives the coming-of-age novel a swirly.” - Vanity Fair “...hilarious...” - Esquire “…hilarious coming-of-age novel…” - Rocky Mountain News “I have never laughed as consistently hard with (or at) anything as I did with this book…” - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Larry Doyle…gives a 21st-century gloss to this familiar tale… wickedly funny…” - New York Times Book Review “An instant classic, right up there with great end-of-school landmarks like American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused. . . . a generous and tender-hearted portrait of a teenage wasteland that should be deeply familiar to anyone who made it though high school.” - Tom Perrotta, bestselling author of LITTLE CHILDREN “...an instant classic, right up there with great end-of-school landmarks like American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused.” - Tom Perrotta, bestselling author of LITTLE CHILDREN “If this book doesn’t make you laugh out loud, something is wrong with you.” - Dave Barry “…hilarious high school romp... never ceases to charm...unlike, say, PE.” - E! Online - Cool Stuff “...a demonstration of the power of good comic writing…” - Weekly Standard “A smart, incredibly funny pastiche…Doyle’s writing is fast-paced and full of self-aware nods to the audience.” - Houston Press - Blogs One of the “best comedy books of the summer.” - Time Out Chicago “…this side-splitting novel of adolescence is a classic teen movie waiting to be made.” - Entertainment Weekly - The Must List “…this book is laugh-out-loud funny…” - John Searles, NBC Weekend Today Show “...a romp, a goof, a wedgie to the coming-of-age novel... the book is blessed release.” - Cleveland Plain Dealer “Fresh, sweet, seriously funny.” - Newsweek “This funny, hopeful novel is like a John Hughes movie in book form.” - Indianapolis Star “...darn funny.” - Salt Lake City Tribune “Gleefully clever and adroitly sweet.” - USA Today “It’s all outlandish fun, but what do you expect from a former Simpsons writer?” - Daily Candy Los Angeles “Doyle [injects] his own brand of insightful, engaging humor and convincingly recreates the high school experience...” - New York Press “…the book is great... dark, absurdist, insanely funny send-up of a John Hughes movie…Buy it.” - New York magazine “The book is great. Those among us who will forever self-identify as recovering high-school outcasts . . . will delight in this dark, absurdist, insanely funny send-up of a John Hughes movie . . . Buy it.” - New York magazine “I Love You, Beth Cooper…made B&N fiction buyer Sessalee Hensley ‘laugh-snort through my nose.’” - USA Today “Hip and hysterical...a fun, teen coming-of-age story.” - Buffalo News “Doyle’s hilarious debut novel feels destined for the big screen . . . reminiscent of the best of John Hughes’ ‘80s come