My Life with the Walter Boys

 

December 25th, 2023

Rate: ⭐

"Cole Walter doesn't do nice unless he's getting something out of it. That boy's gonna eat you alive and you won't see it coming."- Ali Novak

"Colorado was just a bookmark between the pages of my life; the place I had to stay until I was old enough to go home."

"Why would anyone choose chaos when they could live in control?"

Okay, all honesty? I broke the unspoken rule of reading. I watched the show, before I read the book... I KNOW, okay? Don't yell at me! But lets be honest ok, even if I had not watched the show first, I wouldn't have liked this book all that well anyway. Yeah I said it! Congratulations, you have witnessed the first book I have read in like 10 years that I did NOT LIKE. Let's get into this shall we?

The book is based around Jackie Howard, a 16-year-old, New York Native, forced to move to Colorado by her Uncle Richard, (who isn't even her real uncle by the way) because he thinks that Jackie would do better with a functional family. When in all actuality, the way that Richard is written (by the way after he sends Jackie off to Colorado, he's basically non-existent.) it's like he cannot hack being a guardian. 

We are also introduced to Katherine Walter, who has come up from Colorado, to collect Jackie and her belongings and take her back to Colorado. It isn't until they are on the plane does Katherine tell Jackie that she has not one, not two, but 12 kids! (Cheaper by the dozen much?) This information instantly overwhelms Jackie. How in the hell do you expect to adopt a kid and drop em in the middle of your crazy ass family? Yeah, I said it!! Look under normal circumstances, 3 kids are a lot, but 12? Nah!! I'm good, I'd tell this lady to send me straight to an orphanage! 

You have to remember that Jackie is still grieving the death of her family. It's only been six months. Then she is forced to move in with 12 boys. So, they get to Colorado, and she's introduced to: Will, Cole, Danny, Isaac & Lee, Alex, Nathan, Jack & Jordan, Parker, and Zack and Benny Walter. Will is the oldest and doesn't live at home, but lives in town and goes to the local community college and is engaged to his high school sweetheart Hayley. Cole Walter, is the resident pretty boy, okay? Blonde hair, blue eyes, nice strong jaw line, photoshopped abs, and he knows he's pretty. obviously, this boy is a freakin womanizer. The boy goes through chicks like I go through socks! Therein lies the problem that I have with Cole. Danny is Cole's fraternal twin, he's shy and a movie buff, along with a drama nerd. Isaac and Lee are nephews to Katherine, they were dumped there by their dad, when he up and went back to war rather than deal with the fact that Lee's mom left him and raise his sons. Issac is also the resident pretty boy. Dark Hair, brown eyes, tan skin, evil smirk that some-how translates to girls "Oh that's Hot". Lee is a bit more reserved than his chaotic brother, but only by a little, and the boy has straight anger issues. 

Alex is the resident nerd, in the Walter family. he prefers to play video games, rather than focus on his studies and he feels like he is in constant competition with his brother Cole. He is still broken hearted over his girlfriend Mary, dumping him for Cole. (In girl world, dumping someone for their brother, is just sick, you don't keep it in the family you move on to new territory! Ya nasty!!) Nathan is the musical one. He always has a guitar in his hand and writing music when he's not busy studying. Jack and Jordan are the first set of twins, and everyone refers to them as monsters. They believe that they are going to be the next great movie producers. They always have a video camera in their hands, documenting every little thing in their life. Parker is the only girl in the Walter family, but let's face it, she's being raised with boys, she acts like a boy, might as well count her as a boy too. Last but not least are the last set of Twins; Zack and Benny, they are also the youngest ones in the family. They are typical little kids.

None of the Walter's are happy about Jackie's presence. In their eyes there is already too many kids, and it's hard to get attention when its needed let alone wanted. The only one that seems interested in her is Cole. But Jackie is determined not to be his next flavor sampling. But let's be honest, all girls have a thing for the bad boys, and being bad is written all over Cole's face. Here is where I start disliking this book; It's predictable. Girl really wants one guy, dates another guy to make the first guy jealous. First guy gets jealous, both guys get petty and put the girl in the middle, choices are made, and the girl ultimately chooses herself. 

And let's be honest, leaving the book on a cliff hanger, is what ultimately pissed me off in the end. There was no closure! Being completely honest this book lacked plot, ok? There was no clear-cut beginning, middle and end, everything was just kind of jumbled together, and put out as passing. I am not ok with subpar book. I need a good plot! I need character development, and I need curve balls, and unexpected twists, and then there's the ending, you ether put the girl and the guy together or you make her stand on her own two feet, but you do not end a book on a cliff hanger, when the entire novel, was barely a novel to begin with!

Honestly if you liked this book, then good for you, but this was a Wattpad book, not all of them are diamonds, you're gonna have a few misses in there. For me this book was a miss. Sorry but I'll pass on this book and stick with the show. I now understand why they had to embellish it a lot.