I Love You Beth Cooper - Larry Doyle

The hilarious first novel from Simpsons writer Larry Doyle.
For a straight A student, Denis still has a lot to learn...
Denis Cooverman wants to say something really important in his high school graduation speech. So, in front of 512 classmates and their 3000 relatives, he announces: 'I love you, Beth Cooper.'
It should have been such a sweet, romantic moment. Except that Beth, the school's head cheerleader, has only the vaguest idea who Denis is. And Denis, the captain of the debate team, is so not in her league that he is barely even of the same species. And then there's Kevin, Beth's remarkably large boyfriend, who's in town on leave from the US Army...

I came across this book in a charity shop and after seeing the film, which I loved, I knew I had to read it. I was never aware that the film was the adaptation of a book and was pleasantly surprised to find them both following the exact same story as with most adaptations there are as lot of changes. This isn't my usual sort of book but I loved it. It was funny and made me laugh as well as being able to empathise with Denis. The one difference from the film is that Denis is painted as an incredibly vile looking person, to be fair in the film he isn't a looker but compared to how Doyle portrays him he could be a model.
The main thing I love in this story is how ballsy Denis is, I know from seeing people similar to him at school that they're normally shy and withdrawn and would never announce that they love the head cheerleader in front of a large crowd. Nor would they take on her army boyfriend which I think adds to the excellence of this story as Denis seems almost to be a superhero.
I would definitely recommend the book and the film and I am looking forward to seeing if Doyle will release another novel as I've begun to branch out from my usual chick lit.