My Life With the Walter Boys is classified as young adult contemporary romance, blending elements of coming-of-age narratives with romantic and familial themes. Though YA romance novels tend to focus on teen characters, they are popular with adult readers as well.

Like other novels within the same genre, such as the popular The Summer I Turned Pretty and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, My Life With the Walter Boys uses a central romance as a vehicle for the personal growth of the protagonist. The novel centers on a love triangle—another common trope in teen romances—generating tension and character development from the differences between protagonist Jackie’s relationships with her two love interests, brothers Alex and Cole. As Jackie struggles to figure out what she wants—the safety and comfort she feels with Alex or the intense passion she feels with Cole—she learns important lessons about who she wants to be and how she wants to live. As she wrestles with this decision, she is also slowly healing from the sudden loss of her entire family in a car accident. This emotionally challenging subject matter also aligns with conventions of young adult contemporary romance novels. These novels address complex themes such as grief, loss, and identity development, mirroring the life experiences of young adult contemporary fiction readers. According to the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Contemporary Romance Genre Guide, these novels appeal to teen readers because “these stories allow readers to see their own world and imagine the scenarios playing out on the pages” (Lind, Jessica. “Genre Guide: YA Contemporary Romance.” The Hub). As these novels are meant to mirror the experiences of their readers, an increasing number of young adult contemporary romances feature LGBTQIA+ characters, characters with disabilities, and other diverse identities that capture the wide spectrum of the teenage experience.