Review: 'My Return to the Walter Boys' is a disappointing addition to my guilty-pleasure series

“My Life with the Walter Boys” first became popular when Ali Novak released the book on Wattpad in 2010. It was officially published in print in 2014. It then had a resurgence after the release of a TV series based on the novel in December 2023.

The show, despite its mixed reviews, gained extreme popularity, a likely reason behind Novak releasing a sequel to the original story, titled “My Return to the Walter Boys," on April 15. 

I first became addicted (yes, addicted) to “My Life with the Walter Boys” when I watched the Netflix series last December. Whether it was because it was winter break or because I was watching it in my living room months before my parents would sell our house or because I’m a sucker for any coming of age romance no matter how bad, I was hooked.

While the plot of the TV show diverges from the original book, the general storyline remains: Jackie Howard moves to Colorado after the death of her parents and sister to live with her guardian family, the Walters, and develops relationships — some more intimate than others — with the 11 sons. 

After watching the 10-episode series in just a few days, I instantly restarted the show, only to now have watched it around seven times — both alone and with my roommates who constantly make fun of it.

Several months later, I got my hands on the book and finished it almost as fast as I did the show.

Last Tuesday, I spent all day thinking about my release-day shipment of the sequel. 

That same night, I opened to the first page with brimming excitement — and was immediately underwhelmed.

Novak starts the story with a prologue of text bubbles exchanged between Jackie and Cole Walter, her main love interest. The first book ended with Jackie moving to New York, so while I understand Cole is still in Colorado, the iMessage rip-off texts were a jarring start to the story.

The narrative then follows Jackie as she returns to Colorado after spending the summer in New York, and the reader is immediately hit with an awkward interaction between her and Isaac, another Walter boy. Isaac’s character seems different from the first book. For example, we learn that he had sex in the car minutes before picking Jackie up from the airport, which is out-of-character.

It’s not that I don’t appreciate a funny scene or some crass moments, but the line “Were you screwing someone in here?” just doesn’t roll off the tongue and sort of makes me want to rip out my eyes.

As the novel progressed, the beginning felt reminiscent of the first book, with cute moments between Cole and Jackie and mentions of the Walter family connection. I also appreciated how Novak seemed to place a little more emphasis on how Jackie was grieving because the first book — and the show especially — seemed to too-easily skip over the fact that both of her parents and her sister died on the same day several months prior.

However, toward the middle of the novel, the confusion really started to set in.

Every character — apart from Jackie, Cole and now Isaac — seemed to be irrelevant, when they all had more substantial roles in the first book. 

Additionally, though I love Cole and Jackie and enjoyed their romance arc in the first book — will-they-won't-they flirting, with a satisfying ending — it seemed their romance reemerged from nowhere in the sequel.

When Jackie returns to Colorado in the sequel, she didn't want to be with Cole because she was still processing her grief (understandable). The two then attended the homecoming dance and seemed to be dating after, with no build-up. To say I was confused is an understatement. No mention was made about them being a couple and last I knew, I thought Jackie had been taking space for herself. 

This narrative of Jackie and Cole dating and then not dating continued for basically the entirety of the second half of the story, creating an exhausting storyline. I actually started to feel neck pain from the whiplash Novak was inducing upon me.

By the end of the book, I was just ready for it to be over, and Novak cemented that feeling with a generic closing line. 

“My Return to the Walter Boys” was a massive disappointment for me, but I’m still holding out hope for season two of the TV show (which should be released by the end of the year),crossing my fingers that it won’t be as unbearable.

@dthlifestyle | lifestyle@dailytarheel.com