No one in their right mind would put it in their will that, after their deaths, their daughter should move into a house packed with ten boys. No responsible parent would ever make that choice.

Yet that’s the premise behind “My Life with the Walter Boys,” a young adult fiction novel by Ali Novak, which was published in 2014 and went on to become a successful Netflix series in 2023. The original story was published on Wattpad, a site where people can share stories they’ve written.

When I first read the book, I thought it was okay, but I wouldn’t have thought it was worthy of becoming a Netflix show. Still, when the show dropped, I gave it a chance. It was trending, I was bored, and I figured, why not?

Big mistake. It disappointed me almost immediately. I mean, I was like, “meh,” and it felt like it was only entertaining if I could watch it at the same time I was doomscrolling on my phone. I was only mildly interested in the story of the main character, Jackie (Nikki Rodriguez), who is sent to live with a dozen boys when her parents and sister die in a car crash. She finds herself attracted to Cole (Noah LaLonde) and Alex (Ashby Gentry), two brothers.

Then this April, the book sequel “My Return to the Walter Boys” came out, and Netflix dropped Season 2 four months later. This season chronicles Jackie’s return from New York to start her junior year while still stuck in the exhausting love triangle between Cole and Alex.

If you’re considering watching Season 1 or 2, here are my cautions. At the outset of the story, Jackie has just lost her parents and sister, yet she never really seems to struggle with those losses. Most people in that situation would be devastated, so her “oh well” attitude made it hard for me to take her story seriously.

Next, I found the love triangle between Jackie, Alex, and Cole downright annoying; it just felt forced and way too dramatic, like something out of a soap opera instead of real life. I also thought it was super unpleasant for there to be romantic storylines involving her “newly adopted brothers.” It just felt weird.

Finally, the Walter family is just unbelievable. They have so many kids, yet their problems are constantly being solved in unrealistic ways. The result is a viewing experience that feels both shallow and hard to connect with, and I’m not alone in thinking this.

“I didn’t get past the second episode, I fear, and those are two hours of my life that I’m never getting back,” read one Google review. “Jackie loses her entire family to a horrible accident, and she’s not showing any signs of grief or mental instability like… at all?? I’m sorry, but if your parents and sister all died and you, a young teenage girl, were left all alone and forced to uproot your life and move into a hectic house full of randos, would you not be a little shaken?” the review continued.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that I can’t stand this show. So, unless you’re feeling like a little self-torture or your only alternative is watching paint dry, don’t waste your time on this show.