My Life with the Walter Boys

by Ali Novak

Overview

Judy Spoon Ertel, world traveler and author extraordinaire, grew up in several towns (Chickasha, Duncan Altus) in Oklahoma. A former columnist and teacher in Central Texas, she is very familiar with life in small Texas towns like Wanderwood, Texas, the fictional setting for the Addie Girard Mysteries. Currently, she co-habs with her daughter Kate and their three cats in Central Oklahoma.

A New York Times Bestseller

Now a Netflix series!

When a tragic accident leads Jackie to move into a house filled with eleven boys, she gets far more than she ever expected. This sweet YA romance is perfect for fans of Kasie West and Jenny Han—and is one of the most beloved Wattpad books ever!

Moving in with eleven boys was not part of the plan.

Jackie's goal is perfection—perfect grades, the perfect look, getting into the perfect school. If she can achieve that, then maybe her too-busy mom and dad will take notice. But when her parents die in a tragic accident, Jackie is shipped off across the country to live with the Walters, her new guardians…who just happen to have eleven sons (plus a daughter who is basically one of the boys).

The Walter boys are loud, dirty, annoying—and, okay, some of the older boys might be Greek god level hot, but they don't think a city girl belongs on their horse ranch. How is Jackie supposed to fit into their chaotic world when she needs to keep her parents' memory alive by living up to the promise of perfect?

But as Jackie spends more time with the Walter boys, she begins to wonder if the perfection she's always strived for isn't the only way to find love after all.

Funny and moving, My Life with the Walter Boys is perfect for readers looking for:

• Wattpad love stories
• contemporary romance for teens
• binge-worthy YA novels
• relatable characters

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728205472
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	4,371
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Born and raised in Wisconsin, Ali Novak is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of contemporary young adult novels. She started writing her debut book, My Life with the Walter Boys, when she was only fifteen. Since then, her work has received more than 150 million reads online. When she isn't writing, Novak enjoys traveling with her husband, Jared; binding fan fiction; and reading any type of fantasy novel she can get her hands on. You can follow her on Wattpad, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok @authoralinovak;

Read an Excerpt

If Agatha Christie’s Miss Jane Marple warped into the Twenty-first Century, she could be Adelaide Bonner Girard, Mom Extraordinaire and woman suddenly on her own. Addie Girard has a knack for finding herself in the wrong place at an unfortunately right time, hustling to deal with the issues of singledom. But what to do about the body on the floor?

Friends in Wanderwood, TX, and her grown children are swept into the swirl of events while Addie strives to discover the joys of a new life as a widow in charge of many decisions. So many options and so little time to explore them—and a dead body on the floor—lead Addie’s life down paths that she never foresaw but now embraces as a part of her new adventure. Wanderwood, TX, isn’t St. Mary Meade, but the similarities and conflicts of small-town life are there. If only there weren’t that dead body on the floor!

Editorial Reviews

04/14/2014
Novak's first novel—which she wrote at age 15 and posted on social network Wattpad, where it gained a large fan base—is set just after 16-year-old Jackie's entire family dies in a car accident. She moves from New York City to Colorado with her mother's good friend, her new guardian. Now, Jackie will be living on a ranch with a family of 11 boys (including two sets of twins), their sole unfriendly sister, and a pet snake. The chaotic household's constant noise, sibling conflicts, and disarmingly laidback environment leave her disoriented, but also distract her from her recent tragedy. A compulsive organizer by nature, Jackie learns that not everything can be compartmentalized, and a messy romantic entanglement only throws her life into further disarray. Novak spreads the story thin, introducing multiple characters without developing them much. Prosaic descriptions at times undermine the story's emotional depth, and Jackie's response to her tremendous loss comes across as mechanical. Yet the themes of seizing rather than planning each moment and allowing for life's untidiness are explored with energy and humor. Ages 12–up. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"This title will appeal strongly to boy-obsessed readers who will find the romance, particularly the chemistry between Cole and Jackie, to be quite engrossing and the teen voices credible." ---VOYA

From the Publisher

07/01/2014
Gr 8 Up—Jackie is used to high-rise apartments, the big-city life, and the prestige of attending a private school. Then, catastrophe strikes and her parents and sister are killed in a car accident. Jackie's nearest living family member isn't equipped to take care of her so he ships her off to her mother's childhood friend, Katherine Walters, in Colorado. Katherine lives on a horse ranch with 12 kids (11 boys and one girl). Jackie arrives to the house to a pretty cold welcome, especially because her new bedroom was Katherine's sanctuary and art studio. Six of the brothers attend the narrator's school where the attractive Walter boys are sought after by all of the girls. As she struggles to make friends and acclimate to her new environment, she begins to embrace her newfound siblings, and all of the drama that comes along with being the token female in family of handsome, if annoying, boys. Especially confusing for the protagonist is the palpable chemistry that grows between her and one of the brothers. Ultimately, life with the Walter boys helps Jackie cope with the loss of her family while embracing another one, and pushes her to discover who she really is in this coming-of-age novel. Fans of Huntley Fitzpatrick's My Life Next Door (Dial, 2012) will enjoy this rambunctious group of siblings.—Jessica Lorentz Smith, Bend Senior High School, OR

School Library Journal