My Return to the Walter Boys

My Return to the Walter Boys is a young adult romance novel originally published in 2025. It is the sequel to My Life With the Walter Boys, both of which were written by Ali Novak. My Return to the Walter Boys sees Jackie Howard returning to the Walter ranch, this time wiser and with history with the family. She and her love interest, Cole, enter a push-pull situation that eventually results in their reunion. Both Jackie and Cole, along with several other characters, learn the power of Vulnerability as a Source of Connection, and Jackie continues Navigating Grief and the Healing Process after the loss of her family in an accident. Along the way, Jackie begins Building a Sense of Belonging Through Found Family. The Walter Boys books have been developed into a Netflix series that was released in 2023. They were also New York Times bestsellers.

This guide refers to the 2025 Sourcebooks Fire edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of illness, death, emotional abuse, substance use, and sexual content.

Plot Summary

Jackie Howard drifts apart from Cole Walter over the summer after returning to New York. She initially texts and thinks of him often but gradually goes silent despite his efforts to stay connected. When she returns to Colorado, Jackie is more mature and wiser but is anxious about seeing Cole again. After an awkward ride with the Walters’ cousin Isaac and an upsetting encounter where she finds her ex, Cole’s brother Alex, in bed with her friend Kim, Jackie tries to settle back into life with the large and chaotic Walter family. She reflects on the reality she faced in New York and determines not to use romance as a distraction anymore. At a town block party, Jackie reconnects with old friends and spends time with Cole, leading to another kiss and Jackie being thrust back into their romance. Even though she is attracted to him, she tells Cole that she can’t be with him, leading Cole to act hurt and cold toward her. This culminates in Cole accusing Jackie of trying too hard to impress his parents and saying that they’re “stuck” with her, which hurts Jackie, but she remains unwilling to engage in his drama.

Jackie volunteers to share a room with Cole’s sister, Parker, so that Cole can have the art studio. At the same time, she notices that Cole’s brother Nathan seems withdrawn and sad, particularly during their morning run, but he refuses to say why. At the family’s trip to the waterfall, Jackie watches Cole playing with his siblings and is reminded of both his kindness and his cruelty when he mocks her. 

When school starts, Jackie joins student council to strengthen her college application and ends up working with Erin, who was formerly an “enemy” due to Jackie’s history with Cole. Meanwhile, Jackie witnesses small moments of Cole’s kindness, like stepping in to cheer up his younger siblings, and begins to feel confused. She reaches out to Cole’s twin brother, Danny, who already knows that Jackie wants to be with Cole.

One day, Jackie stumbles across a gaming café just like the one in New York that she and her family used to go to. It makes her feel like she’s found a piece of home, and she starts visiting regularly. Slowly, Cole begins warming up to Jackie again, partly due to Danny’s influence. Jackie continues to wrestle with her feelings at Parker’s rugby game, where Cole flirts with her openly, and his siblings tease them about their relationship. At home, tension rises as Isaac lashes out at Cole’s parents, Katherine and George, and leaves, upset by a years-long conflict involving his father. 

Jackie’s complicated relationship with Cole suffers a moment of awkwardness when she accidentally walks in on him in an intimate moment, though Cole later lightens the mood with his usual charm. When Jackie tries on her deceased sister’s prom dress, she feels something shift within herself, as she sees both her sister and herself more clearly. Cole is visibly affected by the sight of her and asks her to wear the dress to the homecoming dance, implying he wants to go with her, and Jackie agrees.

At the dance, Jackie enjoys a romantic evening with Cole as he shows her the rooftop view of the town. They are interrupted by a fire alarm, apparently pulled by Isaac, who is arrested days later. Jackie begins questioning her relationship with Cole after overhearing gossip and wondering if she’s risking something with the Walter family by dating him, but she goes with him to the racetrack and sees how proud he is of helping a racer with his car. Jackie becomes increasingly concerned about Nathan, and when she confronts him, he pushes her away. 

Meanwhile, Cole surprises her by coming to Harry Potter trivia night. When Cole sees an old friend and it’s pointed out that he isn’t in college yet, he grows embarrassed and leaves Jackie without a word, hurting her once again. To apologize, Cole later takes Jackie to a remote clearing, where they connect emotionally and physically. The next morning, they’re caught in bed by Katherine, leading to them both being grounded and assigned extra chores. Jackie starts to feel torn between feeling guilty for being happy with Cole, worried about disrupting the Walter family, and unsure if continuing the relationship is the right thing. Despite Cole’s reassurance that there’s no right way to grieve, Jackie pulls back and breaks up with him; she is unable to reconcile her feelings, leaving Cole hurt and angry.

Jackie misplaces her mother’s necklace but finds it in the truck, along with Nathan, who is in tears. Jackie learns that Nathan’s seizures are worsening and leaving him uncertain about his future. She comforts him and gives him the pendant as a symbol of healing and hope that he will find a treatment that works. Later, at a yard sale, Cole confronts Jackie about avoiding him, and while he believes that they can heal together, Jackie feels pressured by being his sole source of happiness. 

At a Halloween party, Jackie and Isaac bond and share truths with one another. Later, Jackie overhears Katherine and George express their love for her as one of their own and realizes that she let fear dictate her breakup with Cole. She rushes to find Cole, only to discover that he’s moving out. His note explains how lost he has felt since being unable to play football and how he depended too heavily on her and now wants to figure out who he is. As a way to affirm Cole’s choice, Jackie writes a school article celebrating his success as a mechanic. She takes Cole to the gaming café to show him a piece of her history, telling him that he doesn’t need to have everything figured out yet. Cole kisses her, and they make plans to visit New York together. Jackie realizes that she now belongs in both places, with both parts of herself intact.