Book Review: My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak

My Life with the Walter Boys (My Life with the Walter Boys #1) by Ali Novak
Genre: Young Adult Fiction (Contemporary Romance)
Date Published: May 14, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

From a fresh new voice on the contemporary YA scene, My Life with the Walter Boys centers on the prim, proper, and always perfect Jackie Howard. When her world is turned upside down by tragedy, Jackie must learn to cut loose and be part of a family again.

Jackie does not like surprises. Chaos is the enemy! The best way to get her successful, busy parents to notice her is to be perfect. The perfect look, the perfect grades-the perfect daughter. And then...

Surprise #1: Jackie's family dies in a freak car accident.

Surprise #2: Jackie has to move cross-country to live with the Walters-her new guardians.

Surprise #3: The Walters have twelve sons. (Well, eleven, but Parker acts like a boy anyway)

Now Jackie must trade in her Type A personality and New York City apartment for a Colorado ranch and all the wild Walter boys who come with it. Jackie is surrounded by the enemy-loud, dirty, annoying boys who have no concept of personal space. Okay, several of the oldest guys are flat-out gorgeous. But still annoying. She's not stuck-up or boring-no matter what they say. But proving it is another matter. How can she fit in and move on when she needs to keep her parents' memory alive by living up to the promise of perfect?

Ali Novak wrote My Life with the Walter Boys when she was just 15 years old. First a hit on the online community Wattpad, this debut novel has already been read over 33 million times and is loved by readers around the world.

My Life with the Walter Boys is the first book in the series by the same name by Ali Novak. This was a pretty good read. I found out about it through the TV series. I liked the show, but the book is much better… as they usually are. The characters were very believable, and there are a lot of them. I do get some of the younger boys confused with one another, but I don’t feel like it detracts from the story at this point. The epilogue from Cole’s point of view was nice too. It let’s you know where his head is at in the beginning. It also makes me wonder if that’s who Jackie ultimately ends up with since none of the other boys had their perspective shared. The TV show actually drags things out more and makes issues out of non-issues. There's already so much going on. Why add more? Anyway, yes, the book is the way to go. 

Ali Novak writes contemporary young adult romance and is a recent graduate of the University of Madison Wisconsin's creative writing program. She wrote her first full length novel, My Life with the Walter Boys, at the age of fifteen. Since posting the story online, it has received more than 33 million reads and is now published by Sourcebooks Fire.

To learn more about Ali Novak and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, Wattpad, YouTube, and Twitter.

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