Jungle Rumble

Doyle, Larry. I Love You, Beth Cooper. New York, NY: Ecco, 2007.

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. Having an even vaguer idea are Beth’s side-kicks, Cammy (the pretty girl who pretends to be dumb) and Treece (the full-figured, gangsta girl wannabe).

And Denis, the captain of the debate team, is so far out of her league he is barely even the same species. Egging Denis on is his only friend, Rich, who endlessly quotes lines from movies even going as far as to cite the movie title, director’s name and year.

And then there’s Kevin, Beth’s remarkably large boyfriend, in town on furlough from the United States Army and his posse who could double as robots with muscle.

Complications ensue.

Denis comes of age overnight in this zany comedy about high school and that one person you always thought would be perfect for you…if you just could spend an evening with her.

In the same vein are:
King Dork by Frank Portman

In Portman’s dazzling debut novel, frustrated song-writer and high school student Tom Henderson finds his dead father’s copy of The Catcher in the Rye, and his life changes forever. Part social satire, part mystery, with a healthy dose of rock music (and angst), King Dork is must-read for anyone who didn’t quite fit in or has dreams of rock n’ roll stardom.

And my personal favorite:
How I Paid for College: Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theater by Marc Acito

All kinds of interesting scenarios arise when Ed Zanni, a high-school drama club star from suburban New Jersey, is denied tuition to Julliard by his well-to-do father and wicked step mother. Fortunately his close friends, Paula (ample of body, unlucky in love), Kelly (Ed’s cheerleader girlfriend), Doug (his football player love interest), Natie (a nerd with a gift for white-collar crime) and Ziba, (a regal, Middle Eastern beauty), are very willing to engage in fraud, forgery, and blackmail to help him pay for drama school. Ah, high school.