The Boathouse

by Caroline Upcher

Book Overview

Motherless Molly Page is only 11 when she tells her father that she will look after him for ever. Then the Murphy family move in next door and a boisterous family life seems like the most glamorous thing in the world. Molly vows she will marry the boy next door. But which one?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0758203209
• ISBN13: 9780758203205
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Three Gorgeous Boys Next Door. Which One is for Molly?

Daughter of a Veterinarian, Molly Page is only eleven when she tells her father she'll look after him forever. Her mother died when she was only four years old and Molly believes this is her responsibility. Then everything changes when the Murphy family moves next door to their home in the London suburbs. Nora Murphy is exactly what Molly thinks a mother should be. And then there are the boys. Molly is in love with the eldest, gorgeous actor Billy. However middle brother Billy excites her as well, but it's the youngest Murphy boy, Warren, who remains by her side as the years fade away. Molly is happy with her lot, running a kennel service and taking care of her father. And it appears that Billy has finally noticed her, but then he takes off for New York to further his acting career and Molly follows. When she told her father she was going to marry the boy next door, he wondered which one, and in New York it's a question she's going to have to answer. She stays with her godmother, her mother's best friend, in the Hamptons at her invitation, where she searches for secrets about her mother, comes to grip with her mother's tragic death and after one disastrous night has her life changed forever. This story drew me in with the first page. Molly is a gem of a character, as are all three of the Murphy boys. Caroline Upcher has written a tender, moving story with just enough suspense to keep you glued to the pages.

deep character study

Fourteen year old Molly tells her father that she will marry the boy next door upon learning that the new neighbors have three teenage sons. Her father asks her which one? Molly meets Warren when he brings his ailing canary to her dad a veterinarian for treatment, but the bird is dead. Warren is in her class, a fact she never noticed before. She meets "Sweet Pea" Pete when she comes over to Warren's house at the invitation of his mother, but finds he uses nasty barbs as weapons of mass destruction. Eventually she meets the oldest beautiful brilliant Billy surrounded by a bevy of beauties.Several years later, Molly flees to Long Island to spend time with her godmother Mitzi and to clear her confused mind as something is lacking in her relationship. Mitzi would prefer her guest drop the rosy romantic glasses and toss the three Murphys into the ocean so they can swim back to England. What will Molly do and will she realize who really loves her as she is and not what she can do for them?Fans of deep character studies will do themselves a favor by reading this tale of a delightful individual's struggle between the past (especially her mom dead when Molly was four), the present (circa 2000), and the future (which Murphy?). Though the story line slowly develops so that the audience has a taste of Molly at various ages, readers will appreciate her as the saving grace of this novel. She is an intriguing mix of emotions that come alive differently with her interactions with the Murphy males.Harriet Klausner