My Thoughts: My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak

Sixteen-year-old Jackie Howard is devastated when her parents are killed in a car accident. She has no one to turn to except for her mom's best friend Katherine Walter. Jackie quickly discovers that Katherine is no stranger to being a mom-she's got twelve boys! And every single one is a handful...

Adjusting to life with the Walter boys is not going to be easy, especially when two of them start to show an interest that definitely goes beyond brotherly.

**Review Copy received from publisher.

Ali Novak's debut My Life with the Walter Boys was an incredibly fast read. I think I had in done in a day. Which is pretty quick for me- I am the slowest reader ever! When I first read the synopsis of the story, I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. But at the same time, I was pretty apprehensive. This was a story that I was pretty sure could get kind of corny. Having read it, and stewed over it some, I have to say, that I really liked it. It did get corny, and eye rolling at some points, but for the most part, it was enjoyable. However, there are a couple of things that I was unsure about.

The story begins with Jackie moving from her New York Home to a ranch in Colorado after the death of her family. She is off to live with a friend of her mother's who is mother to twelve of her own kids. My Life With the Walter Boys is essentially about Jackie adjusting to her new life. But wait... her new life now consists of eleven boys and a love triangle.

Let me just get this off my chest straight away. I hate love triangles. I have always hated love triangles. This is no exception. Specifically because this one is SO freaking stupid! I don't even think I am going to talk about it. Other than, it's dumb and shouldn't have even been part of the story. The whole romance aspect of this novel was little pathetic. Sorry to say. I think it all happened to fast. One second the boys were indifferent to Jackie, and the next they were in love with her. The same goes with her as well.

What also kind of bothered me about the romance love triangle was the circumstances. Jackie was living with the family, for all intents and purposes she was now part of said family. I know that there was no biological relationship between them at all, however, it felt weird to me that the first instinct for some of the boys was attraction, and that they felt it was appropriate, almost normal, to act on this attraction. What I guess I am trying to say is, there was no internal struggle, not fighting the lust, no guilt for the situation. If there had been some of that, I am pretty sure I would have appreciated this aspect of the book more.

In my last review of Something Real- another story about a large family, I mentioned that I was disappointed with how the author approached the relationships between the siblings. I am pleased to say that in the case of My Life with the Walter Boys, Ali Novak did a great job. I loved the relationship the brothers (and one sister) had with one another. They each had their own unique identities and personalities and they all got along (for the most part) with one another. I really loved seeing them all interact with each other and I could see the familial bond.

Overall, despite what I have said, I really did enjoy My Life with the Walter Boys. I just wanted more. I think, had the author hashed out some of the details more it would have been a stronger story. There were just a few things missing that kept the book from being great. Apparently Ali Novak was fifteen when she wrote this story, and posted it on Wattpad- now I have no idea what Wattpad is (well I sort of do) . Which explains a lot about the content of the story. I did like the book, and I will probably (most definitely) be reading the sequel, My Life as a Walter Boy.

~Happy Reading Everyone!